Jer 15:20 | KD | STEP | By reprimanding his impatience, and by again assuring him of His protection and of rescue from the power of his oppressors. - Jer 15:19. "Therefore thus saith Jahveh: If thou return, then will I bring thee again to serve me; and if thou separate the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth. They will return to thee, but thou shalt not return unto them. Jer 15:20. And I make thee unto this people a strong wall of brass, so that they fight against thee, but prevail not against thee; for I am with thee, to help thee and to save thee, saith Jahveh. Jer 15:21. And I save thee out of the hand of the wicked, and deliver thee out of the clutch of the violent." In the words: if thou return, lies the reproach that in his complaint, in which his indignation had hurried him on to doubt God’s faithfulness, Jeremiah had sinned and must repent. אשׁיבך is by many commentators taken adverbially and joined with the following words: then will I again cause thee to stand before me. But this adverbial use has been proved only for the Kal of שׁוּב, not for the Hiphil, which must here be taken by itself: then will I bring thee again, sc. into proper relations with me - namely, to stand before me, i.e., to be my servant. עמד , of the standing of the servant before his lord, to receive his commands, and so also of prophets, cf. 1Ki 17:1; 1Ki 18:15; 2Ki 3:14, etc. In the words: if thou make to go forth, i.e., separate the precious from the vile, we have the figure of metal-refining, in course of which the pure metal is by fusion parted from the earthy and other ingredients mixed with it. The meaning of the figure is, however, variously understood. Some think here, unfittingly, of good and bad men; so Chald. and Rashi: if thou cause the good to come forth of the bad, turn the good into bad; or, if out of the evil mass thou cause to come forth at least a few as good, i.e., if thou convert them (Chr. B. Mich., Ros., etc.). For we cannot here have to do with the issue of his labours, as Graf well remarks, since this did not lie in his own power. Just as little is the case one of contrast between God’s word and man’s word, the view adopted by Ven., Eichh., Dahl., Hitz., Ew. The idea that Jeremiah presented man’s word for God’s word, or God’s word mixed with spurious, human additions, is utterly foreign to the context; nay, rather it was just because he declared only what God imposed on him that he was so hard bested. Further, that idea is wholly inconsistent with the nature of true prophecy. Maurer has hit upon the truth: si quae pretiosa in te sunt, admixtis liberaveris sordibus, si virtutes quas habes maculis liberaveris impatientiae et iracundiae ; with whom Graf agrees. כּפי (with the so-called כ verit .), as my mouth shalt thou be, i.e., as the instrument by which I speak, cf. Exo 4:16. Then shall his labours be crowned with success. They (the adversaries) will turn themselves to thee, in the manner shown in , but thou shalt not turn thyself to them, i.e., not yield to their wishes or permit thyself to be moved by them from the right way. Jer 15:20. After this reprimand, the Lord renews to him the promise of His most active support, such as He had promised him at his call, Jer 1:18.; "to save thee" being amplified in Jer 15:21. Jeremiah 16:1-17:4 The Course to be Pursued by the Prophet in Reference to the Approaching Overthrow of the Kingdom of Judah. - The ruin of Jerusalem and of Judah will inevitably come. This the prophet must proclaim by word and deed. To this end he is shown in what relation he is to maintain towards the people, now grown ripe for judgment, and next in he is told the cause of this terrible judgment; then comes an account of its fulfilment ( ); then again, finally, we have the cause of it explained once more ( ).

‏ Jeremiah 15:20

Jer 15:19-21 By reprimanding his impatience, and by again assuring him of His protection and of rescue from the power of his oppressors. - Jer 15:19. "Therefore thus saith Jahveh: If thou return, then will I bring thee again to serve me; and if thou separate the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth. They will return to thee, but thou shalt not return unto them. Jer 15:20. And I make thee unto this people a strong wall of brass, so that they fight against thee, but prevail not against thee; for I am with thee, to help thee and to save thee, saith Jahveh. Jer 15:21. And I save thee out of the hand of the wicked, and deliver thee out of the clutch of the violent."

In the words: if thou return, lies the reproach that in his complaint, in which his indignation had hurried him on to doubt God’s faithfulness, Jeremiah had sinned and must repent. אשׁיבך is by many commentators taken adverbially and joined with the following words: then will I again cause thee to stand before me. But this adverbial use has been proved only for the Kal of שׁוּב, not for the Hiphil, which must here be taken by itself: then will I bring thee again, sc. into proper relations with me - namely, to stand before me, i.e., to be my servant. עמד , of the standing of the servant before his lord, to receive his commands, and so also of prophets, cf. 1Ki 17:1; 1Ki 18:15; 2Ki 3:14, etc. In the words: if thou make to go forth, i.e., separate the precious from the vile, we have the figure of metal-refining, in course of which the pure metal is by fusion parted from the earthy and other ingredients mixed with it. The meaning of the figure is, however, variously understood. Some think here, unfittingly, of good and bad men; so Chald. and Rashi: if thou cause the good to come forth of the bad, turn the good into bad; or, if out of the evil mass thou cause to come forth at least a few as good, i.e., if thou convert them (Chr. B. Mich., Ros., etc.). For we cannot here have to do with the issue of his labours, as Graf well remarks, since this did not lie in his own power. Just as little is the case one of contrast between God’s word and man’s word, the view adopted by Ven., Eichh., Dahl., Hitz., Ew. The idea that Jeremiah presented man’s word for God’s word, or God’s word mixed with spurious, human additions, is utterly foreign to the context; nay, rather it was just because he declared only what God imposed on him that he was so hard bested. Further, that idea is wholly inconsistent with the nature of true prophecy. Maurer has hit upon the truth: si quae pretiosa in te sunt, admixtis liberaveris sordibus, si virtutes quas habes maculis liberaveris impatientiae et iracundiae; with whom Graf agrees. כּפי (with the so-called כ verit.), as my mouth shalt thou be, i.e., as the instrument by which I speak, cf. Exo 4:16. Then shall his labours be crowned with success. They (the adversaries) will turn themselves to thee, in the manner shown in Jer 15:11, but thou shalt not turn thyself to them, i.e., not yield to their wishes or permit thyself to be moved by them from the right way. Jer 15:20. After this reprimand, the Lord renews to him the promise of His most active support, such as He had promised him at his call, Jer 1:18.; "to save thee" being amplified in Jer 15:21. Jeremiah 16:1-17:4

The Course to be Pursued by the Prophet in Reference to the Approaching Overthrow of the Kingdom of Judah. - The ruin of Jerusalem and of Judah will inevitably come. This the prophet must proclaim by word and deed. To this end he is shown in Jer 16:1-9 what relation he is to maintain towards the people, now grown ripe for judgment, and next in Jer 16:10-15 he is told the cause of this terrible judgment; then comes an account of its fulfilment (Jer 16:16-21); then again, finally, we have the cause of it explained once more (Jer 17:1-4).