Commentary on the Holy Bible

son of Jehoiakim. The fourth year of Jehoiakim. The beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim. The beginning of the reign of Zedekiah. After the carrying away of Jeconiah. The tenth year of Zedekiah. (Under Zedekiah) during the siege of

(Under Zedekiah) when he had obliged his subjects to give liberty to the Israelites whom they had reduced to slavery. Under Jehoiakim. Under Jehoiakim.

Under Zedekiah during the siege of Jerusalem.

Under Zedekiah while Jeremiah was in prison.

In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah

Taking into consideration the order of the reigns, a child may perceive that the above prophecies are not in the order of the times of their dehvery; and that the sheets or skins on which the text of that MS. was written, from which the present copies have derived their origin, have been pitifully interchanged, huddled and tacked together, without connexion or arrangement.

The preceding and subsequent chapters Dr. Blayney tliouglit sufficiently correct for all the general purposes of chronology; and it is according to this order that he prints the text in his edition and translation of this prophet.

Dr. Dahler, as we have seen, is more circmnstantial. Where he has dates, as are shown in the preceding table, he produces the text in that order; where there are not positive dates, he ascertains several by circumstantial intimations, which bear great evidence of accm-acy; but there is a numerous class of discoiurses which he is obliged to insert in this work by critical conjecture. In -such a case as this, when the arrangement of the common text is so evidently defective, and in many respects absurd, this prociedure is quite allowable; for although the present text as to its arrangement has the sanction of antiquity, yet when a remedy is found, it would be absm-d, if not sinful, to follow an order which we may rest satisfied never did proceed from the inspired writer.

I hope none will suppose that the.se observations detract any thing from the Divine inspiration of the book. The prophet dchvered his discourses at particular times in select portions, during forty or forty -three years; these were afterwards gathered together and stitched up without any attention to chronological arrangement. Though the Spirit of the Lord directed the prophet, yet it would he absurd to suppose that it guided the hand of every collector or scribe m\,o whose custody these several parcels might come. Suppose a man buy a copy of the Bible in sheets, and not knowing how to collate them, stitches the whole confusedly together, so that in many places the sense cannot be made out from a preceding to a following sheet, would it not be singularly foolish for any person to say, " As God is the Fountain of wisdom and Author of reason, such incongmities cannot proceed from him, therefore this book was not given by Divine revelation." A child in a printer's office might reply, " Cut the stitching asunder, that is man's work; collate the sheets and put them in their proper order, and you will soon see that every paragraph is in harmony with the rest, and contains the words of Divine wisdom."

Many an ancient MS., which appeared mutilated and imperfect, I have restored to order and perfection by cutting the binding asunder, and restoring the sheets and leaves to those places from which the ignorance and unskilfulness of the binder had detached them. May we not be allowed to treat the dislocations in the writings of a prophet in the same way, when it is evident that in the lapse of time his work has suffered by the hand of the careless and ignorant.

But it may be asked, " After all the evidence I have, and the concessions I have made, why I have not transposed those disjointed chapters, and produced them in the order in which I think they should be read?" I answer. Were I to give a new translation with notes of this prophet separately, as Drs. Blayney and Dahler have done, I should feel it my duty to do what the objection states; but as my province as a general commentator requires me to take up all the books of the sacred volume in the order in which I find them in the present authorized version, though convinced that this arrangement is neither coiTCCt nor convenient; so I take up the parts of each, however transposed, in the same manner, directing the reader by tables and notes to regidate his use of the work so as to produce general edification with as little embarrassment as possible.

For general purposes, Dr. Blayney^s clironological arrangement may be sufficient; but for greater accuracy Table I. may be preferred. These may at least be considered in the light of helps to a better understanding of these several prophecies; but no man is bound to follow either, farther than he is convinced that it follows what is specifically set down by the prophet himself, or fairly deducible froin strong circumstantial evidence.

In my notes on this prophet I have availed myself, as far as my plan would permit, of the best helps within my reach. The various readings of Kennicott and De Rossi I have carefully consulted, and occasionally strengthened the evidence in behalf of those readings, more particularly recommended by collations from my own MSS. I regret that I have not been able, for the reasons mentioned at the conclusion of the notes on Isaiah, to produce all the various readings of importance found in these ancient MSS., and especially in the Book of Lamentations, which is contained in_^i'e of them; but like the woman in the Gospels, 1 have done lohat I could, and must leave the rest to those who, with better abilities, may possess the gi-eater advantages of youth and strength, with unimpaired sight.

Reader! God designs thee a blessing by every portion of his word: in thy reading seek for this; and if these notes be helpful to thee, give Him the glory.

Chronological notes relative to the commencement of JeremiaKs prophesying.

Year ftom the Creation, according to Archbishop Usher, 3375. — Year from the Deluge, according to the generally received Hebrew text, conferred with Acts vii. 4, 1719. — Fourth year of the thirly-scrcnth Olympiad. — Year from the building of Rome according to the Varronian account, 125. — Year before the vulgar era of Clirist's nativity, 629. — Twelfth year of Ancus Martins, the fourth king of the Romans: this was the one hundred and twentieth year before the expulsion of the Tarquins. — Nineteenth year of Phraortes, the second king of Media. — Twenty-third year of Archidamus, king of Lacedamon, of the family of the Proclidae. — Sixteenth year of Eurycrates II., king of Ijacedamon, of the family of the EuryslhenidK. — Third year of Sadyattes, king of Lydia, which was the eighty-seeond year before the conquest of this kingdom by Cyrus. — Twelfth year of Philip, the sixth king of Maccdon, or the two hundred and ninetythird before the commencement of the reign of Alexander the Great. — Thirteenth year of Josiah, king of Tudah. — Epoch of the building of Cyrene by Battus, according to some chronologers.

General title to the whole Book, 1—3. Jeremiah receives a commission to prophesy concerning nations and kingdoms, a loork to which in the Divine purpose he had been appointed before his birth, 4—10. The vision q/" the rod of an almond tree and of the seething pot, with their signification, 11-16. Promises of Divine protection to Jeremiah in the discharge of the arduous duties of his prophetical office, 17—19.

''HE words of Jeremiah the

01. XXXVII. 4. son of Hilkiah, of the priests that luere '^ in Anathoth in the

2 To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Jndah, •• in the thirteenth year of his reign. k. M^cir.^3394. 3 jj ^ame also in the days of

B C. fir. 610. Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king 01. XLii 3. of Judah, "^ unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the

Verse 1-3. The words of Jeremiah] These three verses are the title of the Book; and were probably added by Ezra when he collected and arranged the sacred books, and put them iir that order in which they are found in Hebrew Bibles in general. For particulars relative to this prophet, the times of his prophesying, and the arrangement of his discourses, see the introduction.

Eleventh year of Zedekiah] That is, the last year of his reign; for he was made prisoner by the Chaldeans in the fourth month of that year, and the carry-

4 Tiien the word of the Lord

5 Before I ''formed thee in the belly s I knew thee; and before thou earnest forth out of the womb I ^ sanctified thee, and I ' ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

ing aivay of the inhabitants of Jerusalem was in the fifih month of the same year.

Verse 4. The tvord of the Lord came unto me] Then I first felt the inspiring influence of the Divine Spirit, not only revealing to me the subjects which he would have me to declare to the people, but also the words which I should use in these declarations.

Verse 5. Before I formed thee] I had destined thee to the prophetic office before thon vvert born: I had formed my plan, and appointed thee to be my envoy to this people. St. Paul speaks of his own call to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles in similar terms, Gal. i. 15, IB. S5S

The prophcfs viswns of the JEREMIAH.

7 But the Lord said unto me,

Say not, I am a cliild; for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and ' whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

8 " Be not afraid of their faces; for " I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

9 Then the Lord put forth his hand, and o touched my mouth. And the Lord said tmto me. Behold, I have Pput my words in thy mouth.

10 1 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to ' root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to

Verse 6. / cannot speak^ Being very young, and wholly inexperienced, I am utterly incapable of conceiving aright, or of clothing the.?e Divine subjects in suitable language. Those who are really called of God to the sacred ministry are such as have been brought to a deep acquaintance \vith themselves, feel their own ignorance, and know their own weakness. They know also the awful responsibility that attaches to the work; and nothing but the authority of God can induce such to undertake it. They whom God never called run, because of worldly honour and emolument: the others hear the call with /ear and trembling, and can go only in the strength of Jehovah. " How ready is the inan to go. Whom God hath never sent! How timorous, diffident, and sloiv, God's chosen instrument!" Verse 7. Whatsoever I command thee^ It is ray words and message, not thine own, that thou shalt deliver. I shall teach thee; therefore thy youth and inexperience can be no hinderance.

Verse 8. Be not afraid of their faces'\ That is, the Jeivs, whom he knew would persecute him because of the message which he brought. To be fore-waxnei is to be half armed. He knew what he was to expect from the disobedient and the rebellious, and must now be prepared to meet it.

Verse 10. / have — set thee over the nations] God represents his messengers the prophets as doing what he commanded them to declare should he done. In this sense they rooted up, pulled down, and destroyed — declared God's judgments; they builded np and planted — declared the promises of his mercy. Thus God says 10 Isaiah, chap. vi. 10: " Make the heart of this people fat — and shut their eyes." Show them that they are stupid and blind; and that, because they have shut their eyes and hardened their hearts, God will in his Judgments leave them to their hardness and darkness. Verse 11..A rod of an almond tree.] iptv shahcd, almond tree a?id seething pet

11 Moreover the word of the R.Roman.'

Lord came mito me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.

1 2 Then said the Lord unto me. Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.

13 And tlie word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying. What seest thou? And I said, I see ' a seething pot; and the face thereof is ' toward the north.

14 Then the Lord said unto me. Out of the " north an evil ^ shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

xxiv. 3. tHeb. from ttie fact from npBf shahad, " to be ready," " to hasten," " to watch for an opportunity to do a thing," to awalce; because the almond tree is the frst to flower and bring forth fruit. Pliny says. Floret prima omnium amygdala mense Januario; Martio vero pomum maturat. It blossoms in January, when other trees are locked up in theii winter's repose; and it bears fruit in March, just at the commencement of spring, when other trees only begin to bud. It was here the sjmibol of that promptitude with which God was about to fulfil his promises and threatenings. As a rod, says Dahler, is an instrument of punishment, the rod of the almond may be intended here as the symbol of that punishment which the prophet was about to announce.

Verse 12. / ti'ill hasten my word] Here is a paronomasia. What dost thou see? I see npiy shaded, " an almond," the hastening tree: that which first awakes. Thou hast well seen, for (ID!? shohed) I will hasten my word. I wiU awake, or watch over my word for the first opportunity to inflict the judgments which I threaten. The judgment shall come speedily; it shaU soon flourish, and come to maturity.

Verse 13. A seething pot — toward the north.] W'e find, from Ezekiel xxiv. 3, &c., that a boiling pot was an emblem of tear, and the desolations it produces. Some have thought that by the seetliing pot Judea is intended, agitated by the invasion of the Chaldeans, whose land lay north of Judea. But Dr. Blayney contends that njliJV "JSC mippcney tsaphonah should be translated, From the face of the north, as it is in the margin; for, from the next verse, it appears that the evil was to come from the north; and therefore the steam, which was designed as an emblem of that evil, must have arisen from that quarter also. The pot denotes the empire of the Babylonians and Chaldeanr lying to the north of Jiidea, and pouring forth its multitudes like a thick vapour, to overspread the land. Ehher of these interpretations will suit the text.

oi. xxxvu. 4. families of tlie k'ngdoms of the

R. Roman., north, saith the Lord; and thej^ ^^' shall come, and they shall ' set

every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities

16 And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, ''who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.

17 Thou therefore '• gird up thy loins, and

V opened. The door shall be thrown abroad, that these calamities may pass out freely.

Verse 15. Shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates'\ As the gates of the cities were the ordinary places where justice was administered, so the enemies of Jeru.salcm are here represented as conquering the whole land, assuming the reins of government, and laying the whole country under their own laws; so that the Jews should no longer possess any political power: they should be wholly subjugated by their enemies.

Verse 16. / will utter my judgments'] God denounced Kis judgments: the conquest of their cities, and the destruction of the realm, were the facts to which these judgments referred; and these facts prove that the threatening was fulfilled.

Worshipped the works of their mon hands.] Idolatry was the source of all theii wickedness, and was the cause of their desolations. For "Cl'J'ah lemaasey, the works, more than a hundred M.SS. of Kennicolt^s and De Rossi's, with many editions, have TTii/j.'o''} lemaaseh, the work. Idolatry was their one great work, the business of their life, their trade.

Verse 17. Gird up thy loins] Take courage and be ready, lest I confound thee; take courage and be resolute, p pen, lest by their opposition thou be terrified and confounded. God is often represented as doing or causing to be done, what he only permits or suffers to be done. Or, do not fear them, I will not dismayed at their laces, lest 1 R.Roman., "' confound thee before them. '^'

18 For, behold, I have made thee this day ''■ a defcnced city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.

19 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; "^ for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver

suffer thee to be confounded. So Dahlcr, Ne crains pas que je te confonde a leurs yeux, " Do not fear that 1 shall confound thee before them." It is well known that the phrase, gird up thy reins, is a metaphor taken from the long robes of the Asiatics; which, on going a journey, or performing their ordinary work. they were obliged to truss up under their girdles, that the motion^ of the body might not be impeded.

Verse 18. / have made thee this day a defenccd city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls] Though thou shalt be exposed to persecutions and various indignities, they shall not prevail against thee. To their attacks thou shalt be as an impregnable city; as «nshaken as an iron pillar; and as imperishable as a wall of brass. None, therefore, can have less cause to apprehend danger than thou hast. The issue proved the truth of this promise: he outlived all their insults; and saw Jerusalem destroyed, and his enemies, and the enemies of his Lord, carried into captivity. Instead of man chomoth, walls, many MSS. and editions read nan chomath, a wall, which corresponds with the singidar nouns preceding.

Verse 19. They shall not prevail against thee] Because I am determined to defend and support thee against all thy enemies. One of the ancients has said, ©sou ^sXovToj, xai S'lri pi'i'oj irXsii Sw^r)' Thestius, apud Theophil. ad Autolyc. lib. ii. " God protecting thee, though thou wert at sea upon a twig, thoo shouldst be safe."

God expresses his continued 'regard for his people, long,«mce chosen, 1-3. He then expostulates with them on their ungrateful and worse than heathen return to his regard, 4—11; at which eren the inanimate creation must be astonished, 12, 13. After this their guilt is declared to be the sole cause of the calamilies which their enemies had power to inflict on them, 14-17. They are upbraided for their alliances with idolatrous countries, 18, 19; and for their strong propensity to idolatry, jwtu'ithstanding all the care and tender mercy of God, 20-29. Even the chastenings of the Almighty have produced in this people no repentance, 30. The chapter concludes with compassionately remonstrating against their folly and ingratitude in revolting so deeply from God, and with warning them of the fearful consequences, 31-37. VoL^IV. ( 17) 267

k" Wn.'!' 2 Go and cry in the ears of ''•^- Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the

Lord; I remember "thee, the kindness of thy >> youtli, the love of thine espousals, ° when thou wentesl after me in the wilderness, in a land that ivas not sown.

3 *■ Israel ivas holiness unto the Lord, and " the first-fruits of his increase: ' all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord.

4 Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel:

5 Thus saith the Lord, s What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, "> and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?

6 Neither said they, Where is the Lord

' Or, the laud of Carmcl.

of deserts and of pits, tlirough a ^'

land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?

7 And I brought you into ' a ™ plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and tiie goodness thereof; but wheii ye entered, ye "defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.

8 The priests said not. Where is the Lord? and they that handle the ° law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, f and the propliets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that i do not profit.

9 Wherefore ' I will yet plead with you, saith the Lord, and ^ with your children's children will I plead.

10 For pass ' over tlie isles of Chittim, and

Verse 2. / remember thee] The youth here refers to their infant political state when they came out of Egypt; they just then began to be a people. Their espousals refer to their receiving the law at Mount Sinai, which they solemnly accepted, Exod. xxiv. 6-8, and which acceptance was compared to a betrothing or espousal. Previously to this they were no people, for they had no co7istilution nor form of government. When they received the law, and an establishment in the Promised Land, then they became a people and a nation.

Wentest after me] Receivedst my law, and wert obedient to it; confiding thyself wholly to my guidance, and being conscientiously attached to my worship. The kindness was that which God showed them by taking tliem to be his people, not their kindness to him.

The first fruits of his i7icrease] They were as wholly the Lord's, as the first fruits were the property of the priests according to the law. Num. xviii. 13. These the priests alone had a right to devote to their own use.

All that devour him shall offend] As they were betrothed to the Lord, they were considered his especial property; they therefore v.'ho injured them were considered as laying violent hands on the property of God. They who persecute God's children have a grievous burden to bear, an awful account to give.

Verse 5. What iniquity have your fathers found in me] Have they ever discovered any thing cruel, un- just, oppressive in my laws? Any thing unkind or tyrannical in my government? Why then have they become idolaters?

Verse 6. Through the loildcmess] Egypt was the house of their bondage: the desert through which they passed after they came out of Egypt, was a place where the means of life were not to be found; where no one family could subsist, much less a company of 600,000 men. God mentions these things to show that it was by the bounty of an especial providence that they were fed and preserved alive. Previously to this, it was a land through which no man passed, and in which no man dwelt. And why! because it did not produce the means of life; it was the shadoiv of death in its appearance, and the grave to those who committed themselves to it.

My land] The particular propcrltj of God, which he gave to them as an inheritance, they being his pe culiar people.

Verse 8. They that handle the laiv] ^il!2i^^ velhopheshey, they that draw cut the laio; they whose office it is to explain it, draw out its spiritual meanings, and show to what its testimonies refer.

The pastors also] Kings, political and civil rulers.

Prophesied by Baal] Became his prophets, and were inspired with the words of lying spirits.

Verse 9. I tvill yet plead with you] D'^t; arib, I will maintain my process, vindicate my own conduct, and prove the wickedness of yours.

Verse 10. The isles of Chittim] This is the island of Cyprus, according to Josephus. In 1 Maccabees, see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if

their gods, which are " yet no gods? ^ but my

people have changed their glory for ^ that which

12 >' Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be iiorribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith

13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the ^ Fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

15 ■= The young lions roared upon him, and ^ yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.

chap. viii. 5, it is taken for Macedonia. Besides this, how they (the Romans) had discomfited in battle Philip and Perseus, king of the Chitlims. Chittim was the grandson of Japhet; and Bochart has made it appear that the countries inhabited by the Chittim were Italy and the adjacent provinces of Europe, lying along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea; and probably this is the prophet's meaning.

Send unto Kedar] The name of an Arabian tribe. See if nations either near or remote, cultivated or stupid, have acted with such fickleness and ingratitude as you have done! They have retained their gods to whom they had no obligation; ye have abandoned your God, to whom ye owe your life, breath, and all things!

Verse 12. Be astonished, O ye heavetis] Or, the heavens are astonished. The original will admit either sense. The conduct of this people was so altogether bad, that among all the iniquities of mankind, neither heaven nor earth had witnessed any thing so excessively sinful and profligate.

Verse 13. Ttoo evils] First, they forsook God, the Fountain of life, light, prosperity, and happiness. Secondly, they hewed out broken cisterns; they joined themselves to idols, from whom they could receive neither temporal nor spiritual good! Their conduct was the excess of folly and blindness. What we call Iiere broken cisterns, means more properly such vessels as were ill made, not staunch, ill put together, so that the water leaked through them.

Verse 14. Is Israel a servant ^ Is he a slave purchased with money, or a servant bom in the family? He is a son himself If so, then, why is he spoiled? Not because God has not shown him love and kindness; but because he forsook God, turned to and is joined with idols.

16 Also the children of Noph '^b'^-^to. and " Tahapanes, ' have broken oi. xxxvii. 4

the crown oi thy head. r. Roman.,

17 s Hast thou not procured this

unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when '' he led thee by the way?

1 8 And now what hast thou to do ' in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of '' Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria to drink the waters of the river f

19 Thine own ^ wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backsliduigs shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts..

20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and " thou saidst, I will

Verse '15. The young lions roared upon him] The Assyrians, who have sacked and destroyed the kingdom of Israel, with a fierceness like that of pouncing upon their prey.

^'erse 16. The children of Noph and Tahapanes] Noph and Tahapanes were two cities of Egypt, otherwise called Memphis and Daphni. It is well known that the good lung was defeated by the Egyptians, and slain in battle. Thus was the crou-n of Judah's head broken.

Verse 18. Wliat hast thou to do in the way of Egypt] Why dost thou make alliances with Egj'pt!

To drink the waters of Sihor 1] This means the Nile. See on Isa. xxiii. 3.

The %vay of Assyria] Why make alliances with the Assyrians? All such connexions will onlv expedite thy ruin.

To drink the waters of the river?] The Euphrates, as "inj nahar or ~\T\jT\ hannahar always means Euphrates, the country between the Tigris and Euphrates, is termed to this day Maker alnahar, " the country beyond the river," i. e., Mesopotamia.

Instead of cleaving to the Lord, they joined affinity and made alliances with those two nations, who were ever jealous of them, and sought their ruin. Es'i/pt was to them a broken reed instead of a staff; Assyria was a leaky cistern, from which they could derive no help.

Verse 20. Of old time I have broken thy yoke] It is thought by able critics that the verbs should be read in the second person singular, thou hast broken thy yoke, THOU hqsl burst thy bonds; and thus the Sepinagint, tfuviTfiNf/aj rov ^uyov rfou, " thou hast broken thy yoke." And the Vulgale, Confregisti jugum meum, rupisti vincula mea; "Thou hast broken my yoke, thou hast burst my bonds;" and so the A/'abic. But

Ag ^^ 3375. not " transgress 01. XXXVII. 4. every high hill and under every R^Rom^'; green tree thou wanderest, '^- T playing the harlot.

21 Yet I had i planted thee a noble vine, Avholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into ■■ the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?

22 For though thou ^ wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet ' thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God.

23 "" How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way ' in the valley, know what thou hast done: '^ zAoM ari a swift dromedary traversing her ways;

the Chaldee gives it a meaning which removes the difficulty: " I have broken the yoke of the people from thy neck; I have cut your bonds asunder." And when this was done, they did promise fair; for " thou saidst, I will not transgress;" but still thetj played the harlot — committed idolatrous acts in the high places, where the heathen had built their altars, pretending that elevation of this kind assisted their devotion.

Verse 21. / had planted thee a noble vine'] I gave thee the fullest instruction, the purest ordinances, the highest privileges; and reason would that I should expect thee to live suitahhj to such advantages; but instead of this thou art become degenerate; the tree is deteriorated, and the fruit is bad. Instead of being true worshippers, and of a holy life and conversation, ye are become idolaters of the most corrupt and profligate kind. See Isa. v. 1, &c., where the same image is used.

Verse 22. For though thou loash thee with nitrel It should be rendered natar or natron, a substance totally dillerent from our nitre. It comes from the root "\nJ natha'; to dissolve, loosen, because o, solution of it in water is abstersive, taking out spots, &c., from clothes. It is still used in the east for the purpose of washing. If vinegar be poured on it. Dr. Shaw says, a strong effervescence is the immediate consequence, which illustrates Prov. xsv. 20: " Tlie singing of songs to a heavy heart is like vinegar upon natron;" that is, there is no affinity between them; opposition and strife are occasioned by any attempt to unite

Thine ini/juity is marked before me] No washing will take out thy spots; the marks of thy idolatry and corruption are too deeply rooted to be extracted by any human means.

A'erse 23. See thy way in the valley] The valley nf Hinnom, where they offered their own children to Moloch, an idol of the Ammonites.

A swift dromedary traversing her way.):] Dr. Dlay- wilderness, that snuffeth up the 01. xxxvif. 4.

Wind at ^ her pleasure; in her r. Roman., occasion who can * turn her ^^"

away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.

25 Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but "^ thou saidst, ^ There is no hope; no; for I have loved " strangers, and after them will I go.

26 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets.

ney translates, " A fleet dromedary that hath taken to company with her."

Dr. Dahler rather paraphrases, thus:— Semblable a une dromedaire en chaleur, Qui court d'une cote a I'autre.

" Like to a dromedary in her desire for the male. Which runs hither and thither."

This is an energetic comparison; and shows the unbridled attachment of those bad people to idolatry, and the abominable practices by which it was usually accompanied.

Averse 24. A wild ass used to the wilderness] Another comparison to express the same thing.

Snuffeth up the wind] In a high fever from the inward heat felt at such times, these animals open their mouths and nostrils as wide as possible, to take in large draughts of fresh air, in order to cool them.

In her month they shall find her.] The meaning is, that although such animals are exceedingly fierce and dangerous wi_en they are in this state; j'et, as soon as they have found the male, the desire is satisfied, and they becoT.e quiet and governable as before. But it was not so with this idolatrous people: their desires were ever fierce and furious; they were never satiated, one indulgence always leading to another. The brute beasts had only a i^hort season in which this appetite prevailed; but they acted without restraint or limit.

Verse 25. Withhold thy fool from being unshod] When it was said to tliem, " Cease from discovering thy feet; prostitute thyself no more to thy idols."

And thy throat from thirst] Drink no more of their libations, nor use those potions which tend only to increase thy appetite for pollution. Thou didst say. There is no hope: it is useless to advise me thus; I am determined; I have loved these strange gods, and to them wiU I cleave.

Verse 26. As the thief is ashamed] As the pilferer is confounded when he is caught in the fact; so shalt thou, thy kings, princes, priests, and prophets, be con-

R. Roman.,' hast ''brouglit me forth: for they '^' have tiu'ncd ° their back unto me,

and not their face: but in the time of their ''trouble tlicy will say. Arise, and save us.

28 But ' where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they '' can save thee in the time of ihy ' trouble: for "^ according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.

29 " Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord.

30 In vain have I ° smitten your children; tliey received no coiTection: j'our own sword hath P devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

31 0 generation, see ye the word of the Lord, "i Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, ' We ^ are lords; ' we will come no more unto thee?

("Or, begotten me. sHeb. the hinder part of the neck.

founded, when God shall arrest thee in thy idolatries, and deliver thee into the hands of thine enemies.

Verse 27. Thou a.n 7ni/ father] By thee we 'have been produced, and by thee we are sustained. Tliis was the property of the true God; for he is the Author and Supporter of being. How deeply fallen and brutishly ignorant must they be when they could attribute this to the stock of a tree!

Verse 28. According to the mimber of thy cities are thy gods] Among heathen nations every city had its tutelary deity. Judah, far sunk in idolatry, had adopted this custom. The Church of Rome has refined it a little; every city has its tutelary saint, and this saint has a procession and worship peculiar to himself So here; not much of the old idolatry is lost.

Verse 31. Have I heen a loildemess unto Israeli] Have I ever withheld from you any of the blessings necessary for your support 1

A land of darkness] Have you, since you passed through the wilderness, and came out of the darkness of Egypt, ever been brought into similar circumstances % You have had food and all the necessaries of life for your bodies; and my ordinances and word to enlighten and cheer your souls. I have neither been a wilderness nor a land of darkness to you.

We are lords] We wish to be our o«-n masters; we will neither brook religious nor civil restraint; we will regard no laws, human or Divine. It was this disposition that caused them to fall in so fully with the whole.system of idolatry.

Verse 32. Can a maid forget her ornaments] This people has not so much attachment to me as young my people " have lorgottcn me r. Roman., days without number. ^^"

33 Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love ' therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways.

34 Also in thy skirts is foimd ^the blood of the soids of the poor innocents: I have not foiuid it by "■ secret search, but upon all these.

35 '^ Yet lliou sayest. Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, ^ I will plead with thee, ^ because thou sayest, I have not sinned.

36 ^ Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? '' thou also shall be ashamed of Egypt, = as thou wast ashamed of AssjTia.

37 Yea, thou shall go forth from him, and ^ thine hands upon thine head: for the Lord hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shall not prosper in them.

females have to their dress and ornaments. They never forget them; and even when arrived at old age, look with pleasure on the dress and ornaments which they have worn in their youth.

Days without numher.] That is, for many }-ears; during the whole reign of Manasses, which wasffty- Jive years, the land was deluged with idolatry, from whicli the reform by good King Josiah his grandson had not yet purified it.

Verse 33. Why trimmest thou thy loay] Ye have used a multitude of artifices to gain alliances with the neighbouring idolatrous nations.

Hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy icays.] Ye have made even these idolaters worse than they were before. Dr. Blayney translates, " Therefore have I taught calamity thy ways." A prosopopoeia: " I have instructed calamity where to find thee." Thou shalt not escape punishment.

A'erse 34. The blood of the souls of the poor innocents] We find from the sacred history that Manasseh had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; see 2 Kings xxi. 16, and Ezek. xxxiv. 10.

/ hope not found it by secret search, but upon all these.] Such deeds of darkness and profligacy are found only in Israel. Dr. Blayney translates, " I have not found it in a digged hole, but upon every oak." Others cover the blood that it may not appear; but ye have shed it openly, and sprinkled it upon your consecrated oaks, and gloried in it.

Verse 35. Because I am innocent] They continued to assert their innocence, and therefore expected that God's judgments would be speedily removed!

I will plead with thee] I will maintain my process, follow it up to conviction, and inflict the deserved punishment.

Verse 36. Why gaddest thou about] When they had departed from the Lord, they sought foreign alliances for support. 1. The Assyrians, 2 Chron. xxviii. 13-21; but they injured instead of helping them. 2. The Egyptians: but in this they were utterly disappointed, and were ashamed of their confidence. See chap, xxxvii. 7, 8, for the fulfilment of this prediction.

hands upon thine head] Thou shall find all thy confidence in vain, — thy hope disappointed, — and thy state reduced to desperation. The hand being placed on the head was the evidence of deep sorrow, occasioned by utter desolation. See the case of Tamar, when ruined and abandoned by her brother Anmon, 2 Sam. xiii. 19.

Thou shalt not prosper in them.] They shall all turn to thy disadvantage; and tliis, as we shall see in the history of this people, was literally fulfilled. O what a grievous and bitter thing it is to sin against the Lord, and have him for an enemy '

The first five verses of this chapter allude to the subject of the last; and contain earnest exhortations to repentance, with gracious promises of pardon, notioithstanding every aggravation of guilt, 1-5. At the sixth verse a ncio section of prophecy commences, opening with a complaint against Judah for having exceeded in guilt her sister Israel, already cast off for her idolatry, 6—11. She is cast off, but not fm- ever; for to this same Israel, whose place of captivity {Assyria) lay to the north of Judea, pardon is promised on her repentance, together ivilh a restoration to the Church of God, along with her sister Judah, in the latter days, 12-20. The prophet foretells the sorrow and repentance of the children of Israel tinder the Gospel dispensation, 21. God reneivs his gracious promises, 22; and they again confess their si7is. In this confession their not deigning to name the idol Baal, the source of their calamities, but calling him in the abstract shame, or a thmg of shame, is a nice touch of the pencil, extremely beautiful and natural,

01. XXXVII. 4. away his wife, and she go

R. Roman., irom him, and become anolher ^~' man's, ^ shall he return unto her

again? shall not that "^ land be greatly polluted? but thou hast ^ played the harlot with many lovers; " yet return again to me, saitli

2 Lift up thine eyes unto ' the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with.

NOTES ON CHAP IIL Verse 1. If a man put away his wife] It was ever understood, by the law and practice of the country, that if a woman were divorced by her husband, and became the wife of another man, the first husband could never take her again. Now Israel had been married unto the Lord; joined in solemn covenant to him to worship and serve him only. Israel turned from following him, and became idolatrous. On this ground, considering idolatry as a spiritual whoredom, and the precept and practice of the law to illustrate tliis case, Israel could never more be restored to the Divine favour: but God, this first husband, m the plenitude of his mercy, is willing to receive this adulterous spouse, if she will abandon her idolatries and return unto him. And this and the following chapters are spent in affectionate remonstrances and loving exhortations addressed to these sinful people, to make

^ In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilder- 01. xxxvii. 4.

ness; " and thou hast polluted r, Roman., the land with thy whoredoms and ^'^'

3 Therefore the ' showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a ^ whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.

4 Wilt thou not from this time ci"v unto me, them sensible of their own sin, and God's tender mercy in offering to receive them again into favour.

Verse 2. As the Arabian in the wilderness] They were as fully intent on the practice of their idolatry, as the Arab in the desert is in lying in wait to plunder the caravans. Where they have not cover to lie in ambush, they scatter themselves about, and run hither and thither, raising themselves up on their saddles to see if they can discover, by smoke, dust, or other token, the approach of any travellers.

Verse 3. There hath been no latter rain] The former rain, which prepared the earth for tillage, fell in the beginning of November, or a little sooner; and the latter rain feU in the middle of April, after which there was scarcely any rain during the summer.

Verse 4. Wilt thou not — cry unto me. My father] Wilt thou not allow me to be thv Creator and Pre-

My father, thou art ' the guide of " my youth?

5 "Will he reserve his anger ^~^ for ever? will he keep it to the

end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.

6 The Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which ° backsliding Israel hath done 1

she is P gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.

7 '^ And I said, after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous "^ sister Judah saw it.

8 And I saw, when ^ for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had ' put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; " yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

9 And it came to pass through the " lightness of her whoredom, that she ^ defiled the land,

server, and cease thus to acknowledge idols ^ See on chap. ii. 27.

Verse 5. Will he reserve his angev for ever?] Why should not \\Tath be continued against thee, as thou continuest transgression against the Lord ]

Verse 6. T/ic Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king] This is a new discourse, and is supposed to have been delivered after the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah. Here the prophet shows the people of Judah the transgressions, idolatry, obstinacy, and punishment of their brethren, the ten tribes, whom he calls to return to the Lord, with the most gracious promises of restoration to their own country, their reunion with their brethren of Judah, and every degree of prosperity in consequence. He takes occasion also to show the Jews how nmch more culpable they were than the Israelites, because they practised the same iniquities while they had the punishment and ruin of the others before their eyes. He therefore exhorts them to return to God with all their hearts, that tbcy might not fall into the same condemnation. See the following verses.

Verse 7. And I said] By the prophets Elijah, Eliska, Hosca, Amos, &c.; for all these prophesied to that rebellious people, and exhorted them to return to

and committed adultery with " stones and with stocks.

10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not "''' """""' "■ turned unto me ^ with her whole heart, but ^ fcignedlj% saith the Lord.

1 1 And the Lord said unto me, " The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.

12 Go and proclaim these words toward ''the north, and say. Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for 1 am " merciful, saith the Lord, a7id I will not keep anger for ever.

13 "* Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast " scattered thy ways to the ^ strangers s under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord.

14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; ^ for I am married unto you: and I will takp you ' one of a cit)', and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:

grossncss of her idolatry: worshipping objects the most degrading, with rites the most impure.

Verse 11. Backsliding Israel hath justified herself more] She was less offensive in my eyes, and more excusable, than treacherous Judah. So it is said, Luke xviii. 14, the humbled publican went down to his house justified rather than the boasting Pharisee. The one was more to be pitied than the other, and more likely to receive the mercy of God.

Verse 12. Proclaim these loords toward the north] The countries where the ten tribes were then in captivity, Mesopotamia, Ass}T:ia, Media, &c., see 2 Kings xvii. 6; these lay north of Judea. How tender ami compassionate are the exhortations in this and the following verses! Could these people believe that God had sent the prophet and yet prefer the land of their bondage to the blessings of freedom in their ov.n country, and the approbation of their God 1

Verse 14. I will take you one of a city, and two of a family] If there should be but one of a city left, or one willing to return, and tivo only of a whole trihc, yet will I receive these, and bring them back from captivity into their own land. I have heard these words most sinfully applied to show the nature of a fancied eternal decree of election, that has appointed in several cases one only out of a whole city, and tioo out of a lohole family, to be eternally saved, leaving the rest, according to the decree of reprobation, to perish everlastingly! And yet these persons, who

B.'^'RomanT'' whicli shall ' feed you with

16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, Tlie ark of the covenant of the Lord: " neither shall it " come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall " that be done any more.

17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, ^ to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they i walk any more after the "■ imagination of their evil

18 Li those days Hhe liouse of Judah shall walk ' with the house of Israel, and they shall

spoke thus of the Fountain of eternal goodness and mercy, professed to believe in Him who by the grace of God tasted death for every man.

Verse 15. / will give you pastors according to mine heart] The pastor means either the king or the prophet; and the pastors here promised may be either kings or prophets, or both. These shall be according to God's own heart; they shall be of his own choosing and shall be qualified by himself: and in consequence they shall feed the people with knowledge, ni'T dealt, that Divine truth concerning the true God and the best interests of man, which was essentially necessary to their salvation; and understanding — h'2WT\ kaskeil, the full interpretation of every point, that in receiving the truth they might become wise, holy, and happy.

A''erse 16. The ark of the covenant of the Lord] This symbol of the Divine presence, given to the Jews as a token and pledge of God's dwelling among them, shall be no longer necessary, and shall no longer exist; for in the days of the Messiah, to which this promise seems to relate, God's worship shall not be confined either to one place or to one people. The temple of God shall be among men, and every where God be adored through Christ Jesus.

Neither shall that le done any more.] The ark shall be no more established, nor carried from place to place; nor shall men go to visit it. All its ceremonies and importance shall cease; and, if lost, shall never be rebuilt.

Verse 17. They shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord] The new Jerusalem, the universal Church of Christ, shall be God's throne: and wherever he is acknowledged as the Lamb of God ivho takes away the sin of the world, there God sits on his throne, and holds his court.

have ^ given lor an inheritance r; Roman., unto your fathers. cir. annum 5.

19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee ^ a ^ pleasant land, "= a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, " My father; and shalt not turn away '' from me.

20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her "= husband, so ^ have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the

21 A voice was heard upon " the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they liave perverted their way, and they have forgotten the Lord their God.

Verse 18. The house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel] That is, in those days in which the Jews shall be brought in with the fulness of the GentUes.

Out of the land of the north] From Chaldea. This prophecy has two aspects: one refers to the return from the Babylonish captivity; the other, to the glorious d.ays of Christianity. But the words may refer to that gathering together of the Jews, not only from Chaldea, but from the countries of their dispersion over the face of the whole earth, and uniting them in the Christian Church.

Verse 19. How shall I put thee among the children'] As if he had said, How can ye be accounted a holy seed, who are polluted? How can ye be united to the people of God, who walk in the path of sinners I How can ye be taken to heaven, who are unholy within, and unrighteous without?

And I said, Thou shalt call me. My father] This is the answer to the above question. They could not be put among the children unless they became legal members of the heavenly family: and they could not become members of this family unless they abandoned idolatry, and took the Lord for their portion. Nor could they be continued in the privileges of the heavenly family, unless they no more turned away from their heavenly Father.

Verse 21. A voice was heard upon the high places] Here the Israelites are represented as assembled together to bewail their idolatry and to implore mercy. While thus engaged, they hear the gracious call of Jehovah — -

Verse 23. Return, ye backsliding children] This they gladly receive, and with one voice make their confession to him: " Behold, we come imto thee, for

A. M. cir. 3392. come uiito tliec; for thou art the

'^'^■''"°"'°°- hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: ' traly in the Lord out God is the sahation of Israel.

24 ^ For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and

thou art Jehovah our God;" and thence to the end of the chapter, show the reasons why they return unto God. 1. Because he is the true God. 2. Because the idols did not profit them: they could give no help in time of trouble. 3. Because it is the prerogative of God alone to give salvation. 4. Because they had no land of prosperity since they had abandoned the worship of their Maker. And this was not only their case, but it was the case of theii forrfat/iers, who all suffered in consequence of their idolatry and disobedience. 5. These reasons are concluded with a hearty confession of sin, at the thought of which they are confounded; for the remembrance of their sin was their herds, their sons and their daughters.

25 We lie down in our shame, r R"'man.r'' and our confusion covereth us: "'■ """""^ ^- ^ for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and "■ have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.

grievous to them, and the burden was intolerable. This confession ended, God appears in the next chapter with gracious promises, and proper directions how they are to return, and how to conduct themselves in future.

Verse 24. For shame hath devoured] The word shame, here and in chap. xi. 13; Hos. ix. 10, is supposed to signify Baal, the idol which they worshipped. That thing or shame which has brought you into contempt, confusion, and ruin. Sooner or later every sinner must be ashamed of his conduct; next, confounded; and, lastly, ruined by it, unless by true faith and hearty repentance he returns to the Lord.

Sequel of the exhortations and promises addressed to Israel in the preceding chapter, 1, 2. The prophet then addresses the people of Jndah and Jerusalem, exhorting to repentance and reformation, that the dreadful visitation with which they were thrMtened might be averted, 3, 4. He then sounds'the alarm of war, 5, 6. Nebuchadnezzar, like a fierce lion, is, from the certainty of the prophecy, represented to be on his march; and the disastrous event to have been already declared, 7—9. And as the lying prophets had flattered the people with the hopes of peace and safety, they are now introduced, [ivhen their predictions are falsified by the event,) excusing themselves; and, with matchless effrontery, laying the blame of the deception upon God, (".4?!^ they said," <Sfc., so the text is corrected by Kennicott,) 10. The prophet immediately resumes his subject; and, in the person of God, denounces again those judgments which were shortly to be inflicted by Nebuchadnezzar, 11—18. The approaching desolation of Jerusalem lamented in language amazingly energetic and exquisitely tender, 19-21. The incorrigible wichedness of the people the sole cause of these calamities, 22. In the remaining verses the prophet describes the sad catastrophe of Jerusalem by such a beautiful assemblage of the most striking and afflictive circumstances as form a picture of a land " swept with the besom of destruction." The earth seems ready to return to its original chaos; every ray of light is extinguished, and succeeded by a frightful gloom; the mountains tremble, and the hills shake, under the dreadful apprehension of the wrath of Jehovah; all is one awful solitude, where not a vestige of the human race is to be seen. Even the fowls of heaven, finding no longer whereon to subsist, are compelled to migrate; the most fruitful places are become a dark and dreary desert, and n-ery city is a ruinous heap. To complete the whole, the dolorous shrieks of Jerusalem, as of a woman in peculiar agony, break through the frightful gloom; and the appalled prophet pauses, leaving the reader to reflect on the dreadful effects nf apostasy and idolatry, 23-31.

Verse 2. Thou shalt swear. The Lord liveth] Thou shalt not bind thyself by any false god; thou shalt acknowledge me as the Supreme. Bind thvsolf ay roe,

the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they » glory.

3 For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, ' Break up your fallow ground, and s sow not among thorns.

4 '' Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and bum that none can quench it, because of the evil of yoiu- doings.

5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say. Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, ' Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.

6 Set up the standard toward Zion: ^ retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the ^ north, and a great " destruction.

7 " The lion is come up from his thicket, and ° the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his

The nations shall hless themselves in him] They shall he so fully convinced of the power and goodness of Jehovah in seeing the change wrought on ihee, and the mercies heaped upon thee, that their usual mode of benediction shaU he, May the God of Israel bless thee!

Verse 3. Breah up your falloiv groitnifl Fallow ground is either that which, having been once tilled, has lain long uncultivated; or, ground slightly ploughed, in order to be ploughed again previously to its being sown. Ye have been long uncultivated in righteousness; let true repentance break vp your fruitless and hardened hearts; and when the seed of the zvord of life is sown in them, take heed that worldly cares and concerns do not arise, and, like thorns, choke the good seed.

Verse i. Circumcise yourselves] Put away every thing that has a tendency to grieve the Spirit of God, or to render your present holy resolutions unfruitful.

Verse 5. Blow ye the trumpet] Give full information to all parts of the land, that the people may assemble together and defend themselves against their invaders.

Verse 6. I will bring evil from the north] From the land of Chaldea.

Verse 7. The lion is come i,p] Nebuchadnezzar, king of Baoylon. " The king (Nebuchadnezzar) is come up from his tower." — Targvrn.

The destroyer of the Gentiles] Of the nations: of way; he is gone forth from his ^^ ^ ^._. ^^^ place ''to make thy land deso- oi. cir. XLii. i. late; and thy cities shall be laid r! r" manT'' waste, without an inhabitant. cir. annum 5.

8 For this i gird you with sackclotli, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned back from us.

9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.

10 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! ■■ surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, ^ saying. Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.

1 1 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, ' A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan nor to cleanse,

1 2 Even " a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also ' will I "■^ give sentence against them.

Verse 8. Lament and howl] iVSti heililu. The aboriginal Irish had a funeral song called the Caoinian, still continued among their descendants, one part of which is termed the ulaloo: this is sung responsively or alternately, and is accompanied with afull chorus of sighs and groans. It has been thought that Ireland was originally peopled b}' the Phoenicians: if so, this will account for the similarity of many words and customs among both these people.

Verse 10. Ah, Lord God! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people] The Targuin paraphrases this verse thus: " And I said, Receive my supplication, O Lord God; for, behold, the false prophets deceive this people and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Ye shaU have peace." The prophet could not reconcile this devastation of the country with the promises already made; and he appears to ask the question, Hast thou not then deceived this people in saying there shall be peace, i. e., prosperity 1

Whereas the sword reacheth unto the.9011I.] That is, the life; the people being generally destroyed.

Verses 11—13. A dry wind — afull wind — as clouds — as a whirlwind] All these expressions appear to refer to the pestilential winds, suffocating vapours, and clouds and pillars of sand collected by ivhirlwinds, which are so common and destructive in the east, (see on Isa. xxi. 1;) and these images are employed hero

R. Roman., be as a whirhvind: ^ liis horses cir. annum 5. ^^ swiftcr than eagle s. Wo unto us! for we are spoiled.

1 4 0 Jerusalem, ^ wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou maycst be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?

1 5 For a voice dcclareth " from Dan, and publislicth affliction from Mount Ephraini.

16 Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come *" from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.

17 "As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the Lord.

18 ''Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth luito thine heart.

1 9 M}^ ^ bowels, my bowels! I am pained at '' my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast lieard, 0 my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

Verse 13. Wo unto us.'] The people, deeply affected with these threatened judgments, interrupt the prophet with the lamentation — Wo unto us, for we are spoiled! The prophet then resumes: —

Verse I-l. O Jerusalem, wash thine hea'-t] Why do ye not put away i/our tcickedness, that ye may he saved from these tremendous judgments 1 How long shall thy vain thoughts of safety and prosperity lodge withih thee? Whilst thou continuest a rebel against God, and provokcst him daily by thy abominations!

Verse 15. For a voice declareth from Dan] Dan w.-is a city in the tribe of Dan, north of Jerusalem; the first city in Palestine, which occurs in the way from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Affliction from Mount Ephraim.] Between Dan and Jerusalem are the mountains of Ephraim. These would be the first places attacked by the Chaldeans; and the rumour from thence would show that the land was invaded.

Verse 17. As keepers of a field] In the eastern countries grain is often sown in the open country; and, when nearly ripe, guards are placed at different distances round about it to preserve it from being plundered. Jerusalem was watcned, like one of these fields, by

IS spoiled: suddenly are "my R.Roman., tents spoiled, and my curtains in a "'■ '■"""'"^- moment.

21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me: they are sottish children, and they have none understanding; ' they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

23 "^ I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was ' without form and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

24 ■" I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.

25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and " all the birds of the heavens were fled.

26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the IjOrd, and by his/fierce anger.

27 For thus hath the Lord said. The wJiole land shall be desolate; ° yet will I not make a full end.

guards all round about it; so that none could enter to give assistance, and none who wished to escape were permitted to go out.

Verse 19. My bowels] From this to the twenty ninth verse the prophet describes the ruin of Jerusalem a.nd the desolation of Judea by the Chaldeans in language and imagery scarcely paralleled in the whole Bible. At the sight of misery the bowels are first affected; pain is next felt by a sort of stricture in the pericardium; and then, the heart becoming strongly affected by irregular palpitations, a gush of tears, accompanied with wailings, is the issue. — " My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart, (the walls of my heart;) my heart maketh a noise in me; 1 cannot hold my peace." Here is nature, and fact also.

My tents spoiled] Even the solitary dwellings in the fields and open country do not escape.

Verse 23. I beheld the earth, (the land,) and lo, it was without form and void] in21 inn tnhu vahohu; the very words used in Genesis to denote the formless state of the chaotic mass before God had brought it into order.

Verse 25. The birds of the heavens were fled.] The land was so desolated that even the fowls of heaven

R. Roman., be blacK. because i have spoken cir; annum 5. ^f^ J j^^^^g purposed it, and ' will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.

29 The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall he forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.

30 And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with

could not And meat, and therefore fled away to another region. How powerfully energetic is this description! See Zeph. i. 3.

Verse 30. Though thou rentest thy face with painting] This probably refers to the custom of introducing stibium, a preparation of antimony, between the eye and the lids, in order to produce a fine lustre, wliich occasions a distension of the eye-lid in the time of the operation. In order to heighten the effect from this, some may have introduced a more than ordinary quantity, 80 as nearly to rend the eye-lid itself. Though

make thyself fair; " thy lovers will despise

3 1 For I have heeurd a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that " spreadeth her hands, saying, Wo is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.

thou make use of every means of address, of cuiming, and of solicitation, to get assistance from the neighbouring states, it will be all in vain. Reference is here particularly made to the practice of Aar/o(.s to aUure men.

Verse 31. Bringeth forth her first child] In such a case the fear, danger, and pain were naturally the greatest.

Spreadeth her hands] The gesture indicated by nature to signify distress, and implore help. We have met witli this figure in other parts, and among the classic writers it is frequent.

The prophet, having described the judgments impending over his countrymen, enlarges on the Corruptions which prevailed among them. Their profession of religion icas all false and hypocritical, 1,2. Though corrected, they were not amended, but persisted in their guilt, 3. This was not the case with the low and ignorant only, 4; but more egregiously so with those of the higher order, from lohose knowledge and opportunities belter things might have been expected, 5. God therefore threatens them with the most cruel enemies, 6; and appeals to themselves if they should be permitted to practise such sins unpunished, 7—9. He then commands their enemies to raze the walls of Jerusalem, 10; that devoted city, whose inhabitants added to all their other sins the highest contempt of God's word and prophets, 11—13. Wherefore his word, in the tnouth of his prophet, shall be as fire to consume them, 14; the Chaldean forces shall cruelly afflict them, 15—17; and farther judgments await them as the consequence of their apostasy and idolatry, 18, 19. The chapter closes with a most melancholy picture of the moral condition of the Jewish people at that period which immediately preceded the Babylonish captivity, 20-31.

can find a man, ^ if there be any that execut-

Verse 1. Broad places] Market-places, and those where there wss most public resort.

If ye can find a man] A certain philosopher went through the streets of Athens with a lighted lamp in his hand; and being asked what he sought, answered, " I am seeking to find a man." So in Jerusalem none was found, on the most diligent search, who acted worthy the character of a rational being.

I will pardon it.] I will spare the city for the sake of one righteous person. So at the intercession of Abraham, God would have spared.Sodom if there had been ten righteous persons found in it; Gen. xviii. 26.

Verse 2. The Lord liveth] Though they profess to hind themselves by Jehovah, as if they acknowledged him their God and only Lord, yet they swore falsely; for not believing in him, they took a false oath; one by which they did not believe themselves bound.

01. cir. XLii. 1. upon the truth? thou hast R/ Roman., ' *" Stricken them, but they have cir. annum 5. j^^j grieved; thou hast consumed them, hut ' the)'' have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; tliey liave refused to return.

4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foohsh: for '' they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their

5 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for ' they have known the ivay of the Lord, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether " broken the yoke, and biu-st the bonds.

6 Wherefore " a lion out of the forest shall slay tlicii), ° and a wolf of the p evenings shall spoil them, i a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: becftuse their transgressions are many, and their backslidings ' are increased.

7 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy

Verse 4. These axe poor] They are ignorant; they have no education; they know no better.

Verse 5. / will get me unto the great men] Those whose circumstances and rank in life gave them opportunities of information which the others could not have, for the reasons already given.

These have altogether brolien the yolte] These have cast aside all restraint, have acted above law, and have trampled all moral obligations under their feet; and into their vortex tlie lower classes of the people have been swept away. Solon said, " The laws are like cobwebs; they entangle the small fry, but the great ones go through them, and carry all away with them."

Verse 6. Wherefore a lion] Nebuchadnezzar, according to the general opinion; who is called here a lion for his courage and violence, a bear for his rapaciousness, and a leopard for his activity. Dahler supposes the Scythians to be intended, both here and in chap. iv. 7.

Verse 7. In the harlots^ liouses.] In places consecrated to idolatry. In the langiiage of the prophets, adultery generally signifies idolatry. This we have often seen.

Verse 8. After his neighbour's wife.] This may have been literally true, as the abominations of idolatry, in whicli they were so deeply practised, would necessarily produce such a state of things as that here mentioned.

' sworn by them ' that are no gods: oi. cir. XLii. i. " when I had fed them to the 'R'?"'Ro!n.m.,'^'' full, they then committed adul- '''^^ """""^ ^-

tery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses.

8 ^ They were as fed horses in the morning. every one '' neighed after his neighbour's wife.

9 '^ Shall I not visit for these thi7igs? saiili the Lord: J' and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

10 ^Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; * but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they a7-e not the Lord's.

1 1 For •" the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord.

12 "^They have belied the Lord, and said, ^ It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; ° neither shall we see sword nor famine:

13 And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto theip.

14 Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of

Verse 10. Go ye up upon her tcalls] This is the permission and authority given to the Chaldeans to pillage Jerusalem.

Ta/ce away her battlements] Some translate r\lE"OJ netishoih, branches; others, vines. Destroy the branches, cut down the stem; but do not damage the root. Leave so man}' of the people that the state may be regenerated. The Septnaginl, Syriac, and Arabic read, " Leave her foundations, for they are the Lord's;" and this agrees with " Destroy, but make not a full end."

Verse 12. They have belied the Lord] liyn^ kichashu. They have denied or disavowed the Lord.

It is not he] i\\T\ Nl"7 lo hu, he is not; there is no such being; therefore this evil shall not come upon us. On their premises, this conclusion was just. There is no judge; therefore there shall be no judgment. Thus they denied the Lord. They were atheists at

Verse 13. And the prophets shall become wind] A^Tiat are the prophets 1 Empty persons. Their words are wind; we hear the sound of their threatenings, but of the matter of the threatenings we shall hear no more.

Arid the word is not in them] There is no inspirer, but may their own predictions fall on their own heads! This seems the natural sense of this passage.

Verse 14. Because ye speak this word] Because ye thus treat my message, " I will make my words in

15 Lo, I will bring a s nation upon you '■ from flir, 0 house of Israel, saith the Lord: It is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowcst not, neither understandest what they say.

16 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.

17 And they shall eat up thine 'harvest, and th}'' bread, which thy sons and thy daugliters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.

18 Neveriheless in those days, saith the Lord, I '' will not make a full end with you.

19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, 'Wherefore doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them. Like as ye have "' forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so "shall ye

thy mouth fire." They have said thei/ are hut air; but I will make them_^re, and ajire too that shall devour them. And how tliis was to he done, and by whom, is mentioned in the next verse.

Verse 15. I will bring a nalioti] The Scu/hians, says Dahler; the Babylonians, whose antiquity was great, that empire being founded by Nimrod.

W/iosc language thou knowcst not'\ The Chaldee, which, though a dialect of the Hebrew, is so very different in its words and construction, that in hearing it spoken they could not possibly collect the meaning of what was said.

A' er.se 16. Their quiver is an open sepulchre] They are such exact archers as never to miss their mark; every arrow is sure to slay one man.

Verse 18. I will not make a full end] There are more evils in store for you. You shall not only be spoiled, and all your property destroyed, but ye shall be carried into captivity; and ye shall serve strangers in a land that is not yours, ver. 19.

Verse 22. Which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea] WhM can I not do, who confine the sea, that enormous mass of waters, and prevent it from overflowing the earth; not by immense mountains and rocks, but by the sand, no particle of which is in cohesion with another? The most tremendous waves cannot displace nor pass over this simple barrier.

serve strangers in a land that is not yours.

20 Declare this in the house of r Romany' Jacob, and publish it in Judah, "'■ '^"""'° ^-

2 1 Hear now this, 0 " foolish people, and without p understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:

22 "J Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand fo7- the ■■ bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?

23 But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.

24 Neither say they in their hcai-t, Let us now fear the Lord our God, * that giveth rain, both the ' former and the latter, in his season: " he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.

25 ''Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.

26 For among my people are found wicked

Verse 23. They are revolted and gone.] They have abandoned me, and are gone farther and farther into transgression. They are gone entirely away from truth and righteousness.

Verse 24. Giveth rain, both the former and the latter] See the note on chap. iii. 3.

The appointed iveeks of the harvest.] As the early rains fell in the northern parts of Judea about the enu of September, in the civil year of the Hebrews, so the latter rains fell before harvest, in the m.(mths of iV/urcA and April. The appointed weeks of the harvest were those which fell between the passover and pentecost. In the southern parts the harvest was earlier than in the northern. Dr. Blayney translates, " A sufficiency of the appointed things of harvest he secureth to us."

If the word Jli'^jy, tveeks, be read with a W sin instead of a C shin, it will signify fulness or sufficiency; and thus the Sepluagint and Vulgate have read it. I think the present reading is much to be preferred God appoints a harvest time, and in his good provi dence he generally gives harvest weather.

Verse 25. Yo^tr iniquities have turned away these things] When these appointed weeks of harvest do not come, should we not examine and see whether this be not in God's judgments T Have not our iniquities turned away these good things from us 1

"'■ °"""'" ^- 27 As a y cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich:

28 They are waxen ^ fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not * the cause, the cause of the fatherless, "^ yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.

A met.iphor taken tmra fowlers, who, having fi.xed tlieir nets, lie down and keep out of sight, tliat when birds come, they may be ready to draw and entangle them.

Verso 27. As a cage is full of birds] There is no doubt that the reference here is to a decoy or trapcage, as Dr. Blayney has rendered it; in these the fowlers put several tame birds, which when the wild ones see, they come and light on the cage, and fall into the snare.

Verse 28. They judge not the cause, yet they prosper] Perhaps we might be justified in translating, " And shall they prosper V

Verse 30. A xoonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land] Dahler translates: " Strange crimes and horrible trespasses have been committed in the land." These have been already detailed; but this may refer to what follows.

Verse 31. The prophets prophesy falsely] The false prophets predict favourable things, that they may please both the princes and the people.

30 "^ A wonderful and ° hoiTible thing is com milted in the land;

31 The prophets prophesy "^ falsely, and tlie priests s bear rule by their means; and my people '^ love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

prophets affording them all that their influence and power can procure, to enable them to keep their places, and feed on the riches of the Lord's house.

And my people love to have it so] Are perfectly satisfied with this state of things, because they are permitted to continue in their sins without reproof or restraint. The prophets and the priests united to deceive and ruin the people. The prophets gave out false predictions; by their means the priests got the government of the people into their own hands; and so infatuated were^the people that they willingly abandoned themselves to those blind guides, and would not liearken to the voice of any reformer. In my Old Bible the words stand thus: —.^itontmg antj mctbiiilijS beu inabc in tlje crtije, jtopljct^ propliecicbcn leasing; anb prc^'ti^S flavpibeit Vuit!) jopc toitlj tljer i)onbe;S, an6 inii peple lobib Sidje tljingi^. False prophets and worldly priests have been in all ages the bane of religion, and the ruin of many souls. When profligate people stand up on behalf of profligate priests, corruption must then be at its height.

Jeremiah, in the spirit of prophecy, seeing the Chaldeans on their march, bids his people set up the usual signals of distress, and spread the general alarm to betake themselves to flight, 1. Then, by a beautiful allusion to the custom of shepherds moving their flocks to the richest pastures, Jerusalem is singled out as a place devoted to be eaten up or trodden doion by the armies of the Chaldeans, ivho are called up against her, and lohose ardour and impatience are so great that the soldiers, when they arrive in the evening, regret they have no more day, and desire to begin the attack without wailing for the light of the morning, 2-5. God is then represented as animating and directing the besiegers against this guilty city, which sinned as incessantly as a fountain flows, fl, 7, although toarned of the fatal consequence, 8. He intimates also, by the gleaning of the grapes, that one invasion should carry away the remains of another, till their disobedience, hypocrisy, and other sins should end in their total overthrow, 9—15. And to show that God is elca? when he judgcth, he mentions his having in vain admonished and warned them, and calls upon the tvhole world to ti-ilncss the equity of his proceedings, IC— 18, in punishing this perverse and hypocritical people 19, 20, by the ministry of 'the cruel Chaldeans, 21— 23. Upon this a chorus of Jews is introduced express^ ing their fears and alarm, 24, 25; to which the prophet echoes a response full of.sympathy and tenderness, 26. The concluding verses, by metaphors taken from the process of refining gold and silver, represent all the methods hitherto used to amend them as wholly ineffectual, 27-30.

2 I have likened the daughter of Zion lo a "^ comely and delicate woman.

3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; '' they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.

4 " Prepare yc war against her; arise, and let us go up fat noon. Wo unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.

5 Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces.

6 For thus hath the Lord of hosts said. Hew ye down trees, and s cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.

7 ''As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: ' violence and

Verse 1. O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee] As the invading armies are fast approaching, the prophet calls on the inhabitants of Jerusalem to sound an alarm, and collect all the people to arm themselves and go against the invaders. They are called the children of Benjamin, because Jerusalem was in the tribe of Benjamin.

Belli-hacccrcm] Was the name of a small village situated on an eminence between Jerusalem and Tekoa. On this they were ordered to set up a beacon, or kindle a large fire, which might be seen at a distance, and give the people to understand that an enemy was entering the land.

Verse 3. The shepherds with their flocks] The chiefs and their battalions. The invading army is about to spoil and waste all the fertile fields round about the city, while engaged in the siege.

Verse 4. Prepare ye war against her] The words of the invaders exciting each other to the assault, and impatient lest any time should be lost; lest the besieged should have time to strengthen themselves, or get in supplies.

Verse 5. Arise, and let us go hy night] Since we have lost the day, let us not lose the night; but, taking

9 Thus saith the Lord of hosts. They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grape-gatherer into the baskets.

10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their " car is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, ° the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.

1 1 Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord; f I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out 1 upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.

12 And ''their houses shall be turned imto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord.

advantage of the darkness, let us make a powerful assault while they are under the impression of terror.

This is the city to be visited] We are sure of success, for their God will deliver it into our hands; for it is full of oppression, and he has consigned it to destruction.

Verse 7. As a fountain, casteth out her loatcrs] The inhabitants are incessant in their acts of iniquity; they do nothing but sin.

Verse 8. Be thou instructedi] Still there is respite: if they would even now return unto the Lord with all their heart, the advancing Chaldeans would be arrested on their march and turned back.

Verse 9. They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand] The Chaldeans are here exhorted to ttirn back and glean up the remnant of the inhabitants that were left after the capture of Jerusalem; for even that remnant did not profit by the Divine judgments that fell on the inhabitants at large.

Verse 10. The word of the Lord is unto them a reproach] It is an object of derision; they despise it.

Verse 11. I am full of the fury of the Lord] God has given me a dreadful revelation of the judgments he intends to inflict: my soul is burdened wilh this prophecy. I have endeavoured to suppress it; but I

13 For from the least of them

every one is given to ^ covetousness; and from tlie prophet even

14 They have 'healed also the " hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, ' saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

1 5 Were they " ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.

16 Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the -^ old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find ^ rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

17 Also I set ^watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said. We will not hearken.

19 "Hear, 0 earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even ^ the fruit of their

must pour it forth upon the children, on the young people, on husbands and wives, on the old and the superannuaied. All must partake in these judgments.

Verse 14. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly] Of the daughter is not in the te.xt, and is here improperly added: it is, however, in some MSS.

Peace, peace] Ye shall have prosperity — -when there was none; and when God had determined that there should be none. Here the jmiphets prophesied falsely; and the people continued in sin, being deceived by the priests and the prophets.

Averse 16. Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see] Let us observe the metaphor. A traveller is going to a particular city; he comes to a place where the road divides into several paths, he is afraid of going astray; lie stops short, — endeavours to find out the right path: he cannot fix his choice. At last he sees another traveller; he inquires of him, gets proper directions — proc'teeds on his journey — arrives at the desired place — and reposes after his fatigue. There is an excellent sermon on these words in the works of our first poet, Geoffry Chaucer; it is among the Canterbury Tales, and is called Chauccr''s Tale. The te.xt, I find, was read by him as it appears in my old MS. Bible: —.Stoiibitlj upon tociejS anh prccti), anb aiShctlj of tijc olbc jpatljcjS; ID^at i^s- tljc liearkened mito my words, nor to 01. c,r.XLir. 1. my law, but rejected it. T{'"Roman'.!"'

20 •= To what purpose cometh "'"■ """""■ '^- there to me incense ''from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? " your burntofferings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet vmto me.

21 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friends shall perish.

28 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, a people cometh from the ' north comitry, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the

23 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice s roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, 0 daughter of Zion.

24 We, have heard the fame thereof: om' hands wax feeble: ^ anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.

25 Go not forth into the field, nor walk bj^

goob tacit i anb gotlj in it, anb gee iScljul fpnben rc= fte^tlms to gour jSouIi^S. The soul needs rest; it can only find this by walking in the good way. The good way is that which has been trodden by the saints from the beginning: it is the old way, the way of faith and holiness. Believe, love, obey; be holy, and be happy. This is the way; let us inquire for it, and waUi in it. But these bad people said. We will not wal/i in it. Then they took another way, walked over the precipice, and fell into the bottomless pit; where, instead of rest, they find —

Verse 20. Incen.ie from Sheba] Sheba was in Ara bia, famous for the best incense. It was situated towards the southern extremity of the peninsula of Arabia; and was, in respect of Judea, a far country.

And the sweet cane from afar country] The calamus aromaticus, which, when dried and pulverized, yields a very fine aromatic smell; see on Isa. xliii. 24. This was employed in making the holy anointing oil. See Exod. xxx. 23.

Verse 23. They shall lay hold on bow arid spear] Still pointing out the Chaldeans; or, according to

wallow thyself in ashes: ^ make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. 27 I have set thee/o?" a tower and ™ a fortress.imong my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.

Dahler, the Scythians, who had before their invasion of Palestine overrun many parts of Asia, and had spread consternation wherever their name was heard.

Verse 27. / have set thee for a tower and a fortress] Dr. Blayney translates, / have appointed thee to make an assay among my people. Tlie words refer to the office of an assayer of silver and gold; and the manner of assaying here intended is by the cupel, a flat broad iron ring filled with the ashes of burnt bones. To separate the alloy from the silver they add a portion of lead; and when all is fused together, and brought into a state of ebullition, the cupel absorbs the lead, and with it the dross or alloy, and the silver is left pure and motionless on the top of the cupel. The people are here represented under the notion of alloyed silver. They are full of impurities; and they are put into the hands of the prophet, the assayer, to be purified. The lellows are placed, the fire is lighted up, but all to no purpose: so intensely commixed is the alloy with the silver, that it cannot be separated. The

29 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked

30 1 Reprobate "■ silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them.

nozzle of the belloivs is even melted with the intensity of the fire used to effect the refinement; and the lead is carried off by the action of the heat; and the assayer melteth in vain, for tlie aBoy stiU continues in union with the metal. The assayer gives up the pro cess, — -will not institute one more expensive or tedious — pronounces the mass unfit to be coined, and deno minates it reprohate silver, ver. 30. Thus, the evil habits and dispositions of the Israelites were so ingrained that they would not yield to either the ordinary or extraordinary means of salvation. God pronounces them reprohate silver, — not sterling,- — full of alloy; — having neither the image nor the superscription of the Great King either on their hearts or on their conduct. Thus he gave them up as incorrigible, and their adversaries prevailed against them. This should be a warning to other nations, and indeed to the Christian Church; for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare these.

Here begins another section of prophecy, ending toith the ninth chapter. It opens with exhorting to amendment of life, without ivhicli the coifidence of the Jews in their temple is declared vain, 1—11. God bids them take toarning from the fate of their brethren the Israelites, loho had been carried away captive on account of their sins without any regard to that sacred place, (Shiloh,) where the ark of God once resided, 12-15. The iniquities of Judah are so great in the sight of God that the prophet is commanded not to intercede for the people, 16; the more especially as they persisted in provoking God by their idolatrous practices, 17—20. The Jewish sacrifices, if not accompanied with obedience to the moral law, are of no avail, 21-24. Notwithstanding the numerous messages of mercy from the time of the exodus, the people revolted more and more; and have added to their other sins this horrible evil, the setting up of their abominations in the temple of Jehovah; or, in other words, they have encumbered the Mosaic economy, which shadowed forth the glorious truths of Christianity, with a heterogeneous admixture of the idolatrous, impure, and cruel rites of heathenism; consequently, the whole land shall be utterly desolated, 25-34.

Verse 1. The word that came to Jeremiah] This prophecy is supposed to have been delivered in the first year of the reign of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, "274

of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that 01.

who, far from following the example of his pious father, restored idolatry, maintained bad priests and worse prophets, and filled Jerusalem with abomination.s of all kinds.

R. Roman., ways and yoiuT douigs, and I will ''''•■^"■"""^- cause you to dwelfin this place.

4 "^ Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these.

5 For if ye thi-oughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye tliroughly ^ execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;

6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, ° neither walk after other gods to yoiu: hurt:

7 '' Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in « the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.

8 Behold, '^ ye trust in ' lying words, that cannot profit.

9 ^ Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and biu-n incense unto Baal, and ^ walk after other gods whom ye know not;

10 "And come and stand before me in this house, " which " is called by my name, and say. We are dehvered to do all these abominations '

Terse 2. Stand in the gate of the LorcCs house\ There was a show of public worship kept up. The temple was considered God's residence; the usual ceremonies of religion restored by Josiah were still observed; and the people were led to consider the temple and its services as sacred things, which would be preservatives to them in case of the threatened invasion.

Verse 4. The temple of the Lord] In the Chaldee the passage stands thus: — " Do not trust in the words of lying prophets, which say, before the temple of the Lord ye shall worship; before the temple of the Lord ye shall sacrifice; Before the temple of the Lord ye shall adore; thrice in the year ye shall appear before it." This the Targumist supposes to have been the reason why the words are here thrice repeated. They rather seem to express the conviction which the people had, that they should be safe while their temple service continued; for they supposed that God would not give it up into profane hands. But sacred places and sacred symbols are nothing in the sight of God when the heart is not right with him.

Verse 5. If ye throughly amend your ways] Literally, If in making good ye fully make good your ivavs. God wUl no longer admit of half-hearted work.

12 But go ye now unto 'my place wliich was in Shiloh, " where I set my name at the first, and see ' what I did to it for the wicked ness of my people Israel.

13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you, "rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I ' called you, but ye answered not;

14 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to)rou and to your fathers, as I have done to '" Shiloh.

1 5 And I will cast you out of my sight, '^ as I have cast out all your brethren, y even the whole seed of Ephraim.

16 Therefore ^ pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: " for I will not hear thee.

17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem ^

Semblances of piety cannot deceive him; he will not accept partial reformation; there must be a thorough amendment.

Verse 9. Will ye steal, murder] WiU you continue to commit such abominations, and pretend to worship nte; and thus defile the place that is called by my name; and so make my house a den of robbers? I have seen this, — and can you expect to escape condign punishment 1 Ye shall not escape.

Verse 12. But go ye noio unto my place ivhtch was in Shiloh] See what 1 did to my tabernacle and ark formerly: after a long residence at Shiloh, for the iniquity of the priests and the people, I suffered it to fall into the hands of the Philistines, and to be carried captive into their land, and to be set up in the house of their idols. And because of your iniquities, I will deal with you and this temple in the same way: for as I spared not Shiloh, though my ark was there, but made it a victim of my wrath, so will 1 do to Jerusalem and her temple.

Verse 15. The whole seed of Ephraim.] Taken here for all the ten tribes, that of Ephraim being the principal.

Verse 16. Therefore pray not thou for this people] They have filled up the measure of their iniquity, and r; Roman,, and the women knead their cir. annum 7. ^jo^gh^ ^q ^jgl^e cakes to the ' queen of heaven, and to ^ pour out drinkofferings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

19 "Do they provoke me to anger? saith the Lord: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?

20 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.

21 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; ^ Put your biu-nt-offerings unto yoiu: sacrifices, and eat flesh.

22 8 For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, '' concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices.

23 But this thing commanded I them, saying, ' Obey my voice, and '' I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk

they must become examples of my justice. How terrible must the state of that place be, where God refuses to pour out the spirit of supplication on his ministers and people in its behalf!

Averse IS. The children gather ivooi] Here is a description of a whole farnily gathered together, and acting unitedly in idolatrous worship. 1. The children go and collect wood, and bring it to the place of sacrifice. 2. The fathers lay it in order, and Idndle a fire. 3. The mother and her maids knead dough, make their batch, and out of it form cakes, and bake them for the honour of the queen of heaven; most probably the moon, though perhaps not exclusive- of the sun and planets, generally called the host of heaven. Family worship is a most amiable and becoming thing vi'hen performed according to truth. What a pity that so few families show such zeal for the worship of God as those apostate Israelites did for that of their idols!

Verse 21. Put your hiirnt-offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.] I will receive neither sacrifice nor oblation from you; therefore you may take the beasts intended for sacrifice, and slay and eat them for your common nourishment. See on ver. 29.

24 ifiut they hearkened not, "''■ annum 7. nor inclined their ear, but "walked in the counsels and in the "imagination of their evil heart, and ° went ^ backward, and not forward.

25 Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even i sent unto you all my servants the prophets; ''daily rising up earlv and sending them:

26 ^ Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but ' hardened their neck • '^ they did worse than their fathers.

27 Therefore ■" thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee.

28 But thou shalt say unto them. This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, '^ nor receiveth ^ correction: J" truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.