Verse 29. The city iMch is called by my name] Jerusalem, which should be first given up to destruc-
Verse 32. Etui shall go forth from nation to nation] One nation after another shall fall before the Chaldeans.
Verse 33. From one end of the earth'] From one end of the land to the other. AU Palestine shall be desolated by it.
Ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.] As a fall will break and utterly ruin a precious vessel of crystal, agate, &c., so your overthrow will be to you irreparable ruin.
Verse 38. As the lion] Leaving the banks of Jordan when overflowed, and coming with ravening fierceness to the champaign country.
Jeremiah, by the command of God, goes mlo the court of the Lord's house; and foretells the destruction of the temple and city, if not prevented hy the speedy repentance of the people, 1-7. By this unwelcome prophecy Ins life was in great danger; although saved hy the influence of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, who makes a masterly defence for the prophet, 8-18. Urijah is condemned, but escapes to Egypt; whence he w brought back: by Jehoiakim, and slain, 20-23. Ahikam befriends Jeremiah, 24.
'b. a^eTo*' I^ t^^ beginning of the reign of 01. XLii. 3. Jehoiakim the son of Josiali
Tarquinii Prisci, king of Judah Came this word °'"^'' from the Lord, saying,
2 Thus saith the Lord; Stand in =" the court of the Lord's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord's house, '' all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; "^ diminish not a word:
3 '^ If so be they will hearken, and turn every man fiom his evil way, that I may ^repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them, because of the evil of their doings.
4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; ''If ye will not hearken to me to -walk in my law, which I have set before you,
5 To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, s whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;
6 Then will I make this house like '^ Shiloh, and will make this city ' a curse to all the nations of the earth.
7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord.
8 Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the
Verse 1. In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim] As this prophecy must have been delivered in the first or second year of the reign of Jehoiakim, it is totally out of its place here. Dr. Blayney puts it before chap, xxxvi.; and Dr. iJa/i/er immediately after chap. Lx., and before chap. xlvi.
Verse 4. If ye will not hearken] This and several of the following verses are nearly the same with those in chap. vii. 13, &c., where sec the notes.
Verse 8. And all the people] Thai were in company with the priesta and the prophets
9 Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the
10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's iiouse unto the house of the Lord, and sat down ^ in the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house.
1 1 Th'en spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, ' This man is worthy to die; ™ for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with yoiu- ears.
12 Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying. The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.
1 3 Therefore now " amend your wavs and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will " repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.
14 As for me, behold, p I am in your hand: do with me i as secmeth good and meet unto
Verse 19. The Lord sent me to prophesy] My commission is from hun, and my words are his own. I sought not this painful office. I did not nm before I was sent.
Verse 13. Therefore now amend your icays] If ye wish to escape the judgment which I liave predicted, turn to God, and iniquity shall not be your ruin.
Verse 14. As for me, behold,, I am in your hand] I am the messenger of God; voa may do with me
15 But know ye for certain, I he had pronounced against them? that if ye put me to death, ye shall I == Thus might we procure great
surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a tmth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.
16 Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.
1 7 ' Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying,
1 S " Micah tlic Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiali king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; ' Zion shall be ploughed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.
19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? ^ did he not fear the Lord, and besought '' the Lord, and the Lord "^ repented him of the evil which
what you please; but if you slay me, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves.
Verse 17. Certain of the elders] This is really a fine defence, and the argument was perfectly conclusive. Some think that it was Ahikam who undertook the prophet's defence.
Verse 18. Micah the Morasthite] The same as stands among the prophets. Now all these prophesied as hard things against the land as Jeremiah has done; yet they were not put to death, for the people Eaw that they were sent of God.
Verse 20. Urijah — who prophesied] The process against Jeremiah is finished at the nineteenth verse; and the case of Urijah is next brought on, for he was also to be tried for his life; but hearing of it he fled to Egypt. He was however condemned in his ab-
20 And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the Lord, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjalh-jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah:
21 And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard liis words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt;
22 And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Eg)'pt,?iamely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt.
23 And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the y common
24 Nevertheless ^ the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.
thence and slew him, and caused him to have an igno minious burial, ver. 21-23.
Verse 24. The hand of Ahikam — was with Jeremiah] And it was probably by his influence that Jeremiah did not share the same fate with Urijah. The Ahikam mentioned here was probably the father of Gedaliah, who, after the capture of Jerusalem, was appointed governor of the country by Nebuchadnezzar, chap. xl. 5. Of the Prophet Urijah, whether he was true or false, we know nothing but what we learn from this place.
That they shoidd not gii'e him into the hand of the people] Though acquitted in the supreme court, he was not out of danger; there was a popular prejudice against him, and it is likely that Ahikam was obliged to conceal him, that they might not put him to death. The genuine ministers of God have no favour to expect from those who are his
Ambassadors being come from several neighbouring nations to solicit the king of Judah to join m a conjede racy against the king of Babylon, Jeremiah is commanded to put bands and yokes upon his neck, (the emblems of subjection and slavery,) and to send them aftenoards by those ambassadors to their respective princes; intimating by this significant type that God had decreed their subjection to the Babylonian empire, and that it was their icudom to submit. It is farther declared that all the conquered nations.■shall remain %n subjection to the Chaldeans during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, and those of his son and grandson, even till the arrival of that period in which the Babylonians shall have filled tip the measure of their iniquities; and that then the mighty Chaldean monarchy itself, for a certain period the paramount power of the habitable globe, shall be visited with a dreadful storm of Divine wrath, through the violence of which it shall be dashed to pieces like a patterns vessel, the fragments falling into the hands of many nations and great kings, 1-11. Zedekiah, particularly, is admonished not to join in the revolt against Nebuchadnezzar, and teamed against trusting to the suggestions of false prophets, 11-18. The chapter coneludes with foretelling that what still remained of the sacred vessels of the temple should be carried to Babylon, and not restored till after the destruction of the Chaldean empire, 19-32.
TN the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah " king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the Lord,
2 Thus •> saith the Lord to me; Make tliee bonds and yokes, "^ and put them upon thy neck,
3 And send them to tlie king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tjtus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;
4 And command them '^ to say unto their masters, Tims saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters;
5 ' I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and *^have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.
Verse 1. In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim] It is most evident that this prophecy was delivered about the fourth year of Zedekiah, and not Jehoiakim, as in the text. See chap, xxviii. 1. Three of Kennicotics MSS. (one in the text, a second in the margin, and the third upon a rasure) have Zedekiah; so likewise have the Syriac and the Arabic. Houbigant, Lowth, Blayney, Dahler, and others declare for this reading against that in the present text. And it is clear from the third and twelfth verses, where Zedekiah is expressly mentioned, that this is the true reading.
Verse 2. Make thee bonds and yokes'] Probably yokes with straps, by which they were attached to the neck. This was a symbolical action, to show that the several kings mentioned below should be brought under the dominion of the Chaldeans.
Verse 5. / have made the earth] I am the Creator and Governor of all things, and I dispose of the several kingdoms of the world as seemeth best to me.
6 ^And now have I given all ^^Q^^f these lands into tlie hand of Nebu- 01. XLVi. 2. chadnezzar, the king of Babylon, Tarquinii Prisci, ''my servant; and ' the beasts of R- Roman., 22. the field have I given him also to serve him.
7 '' And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, 'until the very time of liis land come: " and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.
8 And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine,' and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.
9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your " dreamers, nor to your enclianters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:
Verse 9. Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets] Who pretend to have a revelation from heaven.
Nor to your diviners] DD'DDp kosemeychem, from DDp kasam, to presage or prognosticate. Persons who guessed at futurity by certain signs in the animate or inanimate creation.
Nor to your dreamers] D^'HoSn chalomotheychem, from dSpi chalam, to break in pieces; hence Dl'7n chalom, a dream, because it consists of broken fragments. Dream-interpreters, who, from these broken shreds, patch up a meaning by their own interpolations.
Nor to your sorcerer.^] UySV!2 ra.'ihshnpheychem, from ^2 kashaph, to discover; the discoverers, the are at my sovereign disposal; and at present, for the finders out of hidden things, stolen goods, &c. Perpunishment of their rulers and people, I shall give I sons also who use incantations, and either by spells or
1 1 But the nations that bring their neck under the A^oke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the Lord; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
12 I spake also to i Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying. Bring yoiu- necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.
1.3 ■■ Why will ye die, thou and thy people, \>y the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
14 Therefore hearken not xmto the words of the propliets that speak unto you, saying. Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy " a lie unto you.
15 For I have not sent them, saith the Lord, yet they prophesy ' a lie in my name; that I may drive vou out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.
1 6 Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying. Thus saith the Lord; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying. Behold, " the vessels
drugs pretend to find out mysteries, or produce supernatural effects. Every nation in the world had persons who pretended to find out hidden things, or fijretell future events; and such were gladly encouraged by the ignorant multitude; and many of them were mere apes of the prophets of God. Man knows that he is short-sighted, feels pain at the uncertainty of futurity, and wishes to have his doubts resolved by such persons as the above, to put an end to his uncertainty.
Verse 13. Why will ye die] If ye resist the king of Babylon, to whom I have given a commission against you, ye shall be destroyed by the sword and by famine; but if ye submit, ye shall escape all these evils.
Verse 16. The vessels of the Lord''s house] Which liad been carried away by Nebuchadnezzar under the reigns of Jehoiakim and Jeconiah, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 7-10.
Shall now shortly be brought again] This is a lie. They shall not be restored till I bring them up, ver. 22, shortly be brought again from 01. XLVi. 2. Babylon: for they prophesy a Tarquini'iPrisci.
17 Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?
1 8 But if they be prophets, and if the word of the Lord be with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon.
19 For thus saith the Lord of hosts 'con cerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in tliis city,
20 Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away "' captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;
21 Yea, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain i?i the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem;
22 They shall be =" carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I ^ visit tliem, saith the Lord; then ^ will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.
which was after the captivity, when they were sent back by C}Tus, the Lord inclining his heart to do it, Ezra i 7, and vii. 19.
Verse 19. Concerning the pillars] Two brazen columns placed by (Solomon in the pronaos or portico of the temple, eighteen cubits high, and twelve in circumference, 1 Kings vii. 15-22; Jer. Hi. 11.
The sea] The brazen sea, ten cubits in diameter, and thirty in circumference. It contained water for diflerent washings in the Divine worship, and was supported on tieelve brazen oxen. Perhaps these are what are called the bases here. See the parallel places in the margin, and the notes on them.
Verse 22. They shall be carried to Babylon] Far from those already taken being brought back, those which now remain shall be carried tliither, unless yf submit to the Chaldeans. They did not submit, and the prophecy was literally fulfilled; see chap. lit. 17-23: 2 Kings xxv. 13, and the other places in the margin.
One of those pretended prophets spoken of in the preceding chapter, having contradicted and opposed Jeremiah, receives an aioful declaration that, as a proof to the people of his having spoken without commission, he should die in the then current year; ivhich accordingly came to pass in the seventh month, 1-17.
tJie fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azur i and all that is carried awaj' captive, from
the prophet, which toas of Gibeon, spake unto me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of tlie priests and of all the people, saying,
2 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken '' the yoke of the king of Babylon.
3 ■= Within "^ two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the Lord's house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon:
4 And I will bring again to this place Jeconiali the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the "^ captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the Lord: for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the Lord,
6 Even the prophet Jeremiah said, ^Amen:
Verse 1. And it came to pass the same year — the fifth month] Wliich commenced with the first new moon of Augtist, according to our calendar. This verse gives the precise date of the prophecy in the preceding chapter; and proves that Zcdekiah, not Jehoiakim, is the name that should be read in t)xe first verse of that
Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet] One who called himself a prophet; who pretended to be in commerce with the Lord, and to receive revelations from him. He was probably a priest; for he was of Gibeon, a sacerdotal city in the tribe of Benjamin.
Verse 2. Thus speaketh the Lord] What awful impudence! when hn kn,ew in his conscience that God had given hmi no such commission.
Verse 3. Within two full years] Time sufficient for (he Chaldeans to destroy the city, and carry away i the rest of tlie sacred vessels; but he did not live to see the end of this short period.
Verse 6. Amen; the Lord do so] O that it might be according to thy word! May the people find this to be true!
7 Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people;
8 The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.
9 sThe prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him.
10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the '' yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it.
1 1 And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying. Thus saith the Lord; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ' from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.
Verse 8. The prophets that have been before me] Namely, Joel, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Zephaniah. Nahum, Hab,ikkuk, and others; all of whom denounced similar evils against a corrupt people.
Verse 9. When the word of the prophet shall come to pas.^] Here is the criterion. He is a true prophet who specifies things that he says shall happen, and also fi.xes the time of the event; and the things do happen, and in that time.
You say that Nebuchadnezzar shall not overtlirow this city; and that in two years from this time, not only the sacred vessels already taken away shall be restored, but also that Jeconiah and all the Jewish captives shall be restored, and the Bahylonish yoke broken, see verses 2, 3, 4. Now / say that Nebuchadnezzar will come this year, and destroy this city, and lead away the rest of the people into captivity, and the rest of the sacred vessels; and that there will be no restoration of any kind till seventy years from this time.
Verse 10. Then Hananiah — look the yoke — and brake il.] He endeavoured by this symbolical act to persuade them of the truth of his prediction.
Taiqiiini^Prisci, (after that Hananiah the prophet R.Roman., 23. j^^j broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah,) saying,
13 Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron.
14 For thus saith the Lord of liosts, the God of Israel; '^ I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon;
Verse 13. Yokes of iron.'] Instead of Nebuchadnezzar's yoke being broken, this captivity shall be more severe than the preceding. AU these nations sliall have a yoke of iron on their neck. He shall subdue them, and take all their property, even the beasts of the field.
Verse 15. Hear now, Hananiah; the Lord hath not nent thee] This was a bold speech in the presence of those priests and people who were prejudiced in favour of this false prophet, who prophesied to them smooth things. In such cases men wish to be deceived.
Verse 16. This year thou shalt die] By this shall the people know who is the tnte prophet. Thou hast
and they shall serve him: and ' I have given him the beasts of the field also.
1 5 Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet. Hear novv^, Hananiah; The Lord hath not sent thee; but ™ tliou makest this people to trust in a lie.
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will cast tliec from off the face of the earth • this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught " rebellion " against the Lord.
17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
taught rebellion against the Lord, and God will cut thee off; and this shall take place, not within seventy years, or tivo years, but in this very year, and within ttvo months from this time.
Verse 17. So Hananiah — died the same year in the seventh month.] The prophecy was delivered in the fifth month, (ver. 1,) and Hananiah died in the seventh month. And thus God, in mercy, gave him about tico months, in which he might prepare to meet his Judge. Here, then, the true prophet was demonstrated, and the false prophet detected. The death of Hananiah, thus predicted, was God's seal to the words of liis prophet; and must have gained his other predictions great credit among the people.
This chapter contains the substance of two letters sent by the prophet to the captives in Babylon. In the first he recommends to them patience and composure under their prcseyit circumstances, which were to endure for seventy years, 1—14; in which, hoivever, they should fare better than their brethren who remained behind, 15—19. But, finding little credit given to this message, on account of the suggestions of the false prophets, Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah, the son of Maaseiah, who flattered them with the hopes of a speedy end to their captivity, he sends a second, in which he denounces heavy judgments against those false prophets that deceived them, 20-23; as he did aftenvards against Shemaiah the Nehelamite, who had sent a letter of complaint against Jeremiah, in consequence of his message, 24—32.
'B.C. tr.str' N^W these are the words of oi. cir. XLV. 4. the letter that Jeremiah the
were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people
Verse 1. Now these are the words of the letter] This transaction took place in the first or secmid year of Zedekiah. It appears that the prophet had been informed that the lews who had already been carried into captivitv had, through the instigations of false prophets, been led to believe that they were to be brought out of their captivity speedily. Jeremiah, fearing that this delusion might induce them to take some hasty steps, iU comporting with their present state, ivrote a letter to them, which he entrusted to an embassy which Zedekiah had sent on some political concerns to Nehu-
R. Roman., 3 By the hand oi LlasaJi the dr. annum 20. ^^^ ^f Shaphaii, and Gcmariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedckiah king of Tudah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,
4 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, imto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
5 ^ Build ye houses, and dwell m thetn, and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, ' and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
8 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, s deceive you, neither hearken to your
chadnezzar. The letter was directed to the elders, priests, prophets, and people who had been carried away captives to Babylon.
Verse 4. Thus saith the Lord of hosts] This was the commencement of the letter.
Verse 5. Build ye houses] Prepare for a long continuance in your present captivity. Provide yourselves with the necessaries of life, and multiply in the land, that ye may become a powerful people.
Verse 7. Seek the peace of the city] Endeavour to promote, as far as you can, ihe prosperity of the places in which ye sojourn. Let no disaffection appear in word or act. Nothing can be more reasonable than this. Wherever a man Lives and has his nourishment and support, that is his country as long as he resides in it. If things go well with that country, his interest is promoted by the general prosperity, he lives at comparative ease, and has the necessaries of life cheaper; and unless he is in a state of cruel servitude, which does not appear to have been the case with those Israelites to whom the prophet writes, (those of the first captivity,) they must be nearly, if not altogether, in as good a state as if they had been in the country that gave them birth. And in this case they were much better off than their brethren now in Judea, who had to contend with faniine and war, and scarcely any thing before them but God's curse and extermination.
9 '' For they prophesy ' falsely r. RomanT'' unto you in my name: I have '='''■ ''°"""' ^"- not sent them, saith the Lord.
10 For thus saith the Lord, That after ''seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this
1 1 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an * expect ed end.
12 Then shall ye ™ call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
1 3 And " ye shall seek me, and find 7ne, when ye shall search for me " with all your heart.
14 And P I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and 1 1 will gather you from all the nations, and froiA all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
Verse 8. Neither hearken to your dreain.s] Rather, dreamers; for it appears there was a class of such persons, who not only had acquired a facility of dreaming themselves, but who undertook to interpret the dreams of others.
Verse 10. For thtis saith the Lord] It has been supposed that a very serious transposition of verses has taken place here; and it has been proposed to read after ver. 9 the sixteenth to the nineteenth inclusive; then the tenth, and on to the fourteenth inclusive; then the twentieth, the fifteenth, the twenty-first, and the rest regularly to the end.
That after seventy years he accomplished] nxSrD ''s'? lephi meloth, " at the mouth of the accomplishment," or " fill to the mouth." Seventy years is the measure which must be filled; — fill this to the brim; — complete this measure, and then you shall be visited and released. The wliole seventy must be completed; expect no enlargement before that time.
Verse 11. Thoughts of peace] Here God gives them to understand, 1. That his love was moved towards them. 2. That he woidd perform his good word, his promises often repeated, to them. 3. That for the fulfilment of these they must pray, seek, and search. 4. That he would hearken, and they should fitid him; provided, 5. They sought him with their u-hole heart, ver. 10-13.
01. cir. XLV. 4. LoRD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; 16 Kiioiv that thus saitii the Lord of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, a7\d of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;
17 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the ■■ sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like ^vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
IS And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and ' will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, " to be ^ a curse, and an astonisliment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them:
19 Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the Lord, which "" I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and se.nding them; but ye would not hear, saith the Lord.
20 Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord, all ye of the captivity, whom I have
Verse 15. Because ye have said] The Septuagint very properly insert this verse between the twentieth and the tiventy-Jirst, and thus the connexion here is not disturbed, and the connexion below completed.
Verse 17. Behold, I will send upon them the sword] Do not envy the state of Zedekiah who sits on the throne of David, nor that of the people who are now in the land whence ye have been carried captive, (ver. 16.) for "I will send the sword, the pestilence, and the famine upon them;" and afterwards shall cause them to be carried into a miserable captivity in all nations, (ver. 18;) but ye see the worst of your own case, and you have God's promise of enlargement when the proper time is come. The reader will not forget that the prophet is addressing the captives in
Verse 20. Hear yc thcri-forc the word] Dr. Blayney thinks tliere were two letters written by the prophet to the captives in Babylon, and that the first ends with this verse. That having heard, on the return of the embassy, (Elasah and Gemariah, whom Zedekiah had sent to Babylon, and to whom the prophet entrusted the above letter, ver. 3,) that the captives had not received his advices favourably, because they were deceived by false prophets among them, who promised them a speedier deliverance, he therefore wrote a second
21 Thus saith the Lord of Rl'iTomanT'' hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab "■•• """"-n g"- the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes;
22 ^And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The Lord make thee like Zedekiah, and like Ahab, >' whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;
23 Because '^they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultei-j' with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a Witness, saith
24 Tims shalt thou also speak to Shenraiah the ° Nehelamite, saying,
25 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying. Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, ^ and to Zephaniah the son
letter, beginning with ihe fifteenth verse, and going on vriththe twenty-first, &c., in which he denounces God's judgments on three of the chief of those, Ahab, Zedekiah, and Shemaiah
Verse 21. He shall slay them leforc your eyes.] Nebucliadnezzar would be led by political reasons to punish these pretended prophets, as their predictions tended to make his Israelitish subjects uneasy and disaffected, and might excite them to rebellion. He therefore slew them; two of them, it appears, he burnt alive, viz., Ahab and Zedekiah, who are supposed by the rabbins to be the two ciders who endeavoured to seduce Susanna, see ver. 23. Burning alive was a Chaldean punishment, Dan. iii. 6, and Amos ii. 1 From them other nations borrowed it.
Verse 23. Have committed adultery with their neighbours'' ivives] This is supposed to refer to the case of Susanna. See above.
Verse 24. Speak to Shemaiah] Zephaniah -Has the second priest, sagan, or chief priest's deputy, and Seraiah, high priest, when Jerusalem was taken. See chap. Iii. 24. Shemaiah directs his letter to the former, and tells him that God had appointed him to supply the place of the high priest, who was probably then absent. His name was either Azariah or Seraiah his son, but called Jehoia,da from the remarkable zeal and courage of that pontiff. See the passages in the mapgin. — Dodd. After the taking of Jerusalem, Zepha
priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be "^ officers in the house of the Loud, for cverj' man that is '^ mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that tliou shouldest " put him in prison, and in the stocks.
27 Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you?
28 For therefore he sent unto us i7i Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: ' build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
29 And Zephaniah the priest read this letter
niah was put to death by Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah; see chap, xxxvii. 3. The history of Jehoiada may be seen 2 Kings xi. 3, &c.
Verse 26. For every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet] Mad, J'Jiyo meshugga, in ecstatic rapture; such as appeared in the prophets, whether true or false, when under the influence, the one of God, the other of a demon. See 2 Kings ix. 11; Hos. ix. 7.
30 1 hen came the word oi the r. Roman., Lord unto Jeremiah, saying, cir. annum 20.
31 Send to all them of the captivity, sayirg. Thus saitli the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, s and I sent him not, and he caused you to tnist in a lie:
32 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people: neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the Lord; '^ because he hath taught ' rebellion against the Lord.
have no posterity to succeed him. 2. His family, i. e., relations, &c., shall not be found among those whom I shall bring back from captivity. 3. Nor shall he himself see the good that I shall do for my people. And all this shall come upon him and his because he hath taught rebellion against the Lord. He excited the people to reject Jeremiah, and to receive the lying words of the false prophets; and these led them to rebel.
This and the following chapter must relate to a still future restoration of the posterity of Jacob from their several dispersions, as no deliverance hitherto afforded them comes up to the terms of it; for, after the return from Babylon, they were again enslaved by the Gree/:s and Romans, contrary to the prediction in the eighth verse; in every papistical country they have laboured under great civil disabilities, and in some of them have been horribly persecuted; upon the ancient people has this mystic Babylon very heavily laid her yoke; and in no place in the world are they at present their own masters; so that this prophecy remains to be fulfilled in the reign of David, i. e., the Messiah; the type, according to the general structure of the prophetical writings, being put for the antitype. The prophecy opens by an easy transition from the temporal deliverance spoken of before, and describes the mighty revolutions that shall precede the restoration of the descendants of Israel, 1—9, who are encouraged to trust in the promises uf God, 10, II. They are, however, to expect corrections; which shall have a happy issue in a future period, 12—17. The great blessings of Messiah's reign are enumerated, 18-22; and the wicked and impenitent declared to have no share in them, 23, 24.
'T^HE word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying. Write thee all
Verse 1. The word that -ame to Jeremiah from the Lord] Tills prophecy was delivered about a year after the taking of Jerusalem; so Daliler. Dr. Blayney supposes it and the following chapter to refer to the
the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.
3 For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that " I will bring again
future restoration of both Jews and Israelites in the times of the Gospel; though also touching at the restoration from the Babylonish captivity, at the end of seventy years. Supposing these two chapters to be penned after the taking of Jerusalem, which appears
R. Roman., I wul cause them to return to cir. annum 30. jj^g Y^nd that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
4 And these are the words that tlie Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.
5 For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, <= of fear, and not of peace.
6 Ask ye now, and see whether ^ a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, " as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?
7 ^ Alas! for that day is gi-eat, ^ so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and
the most natural, they will refer to the same events, one captivity shadowing forth another, and one restoration being the type or pledge of the second.
Verse 2. Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto ihce in a iooX.] The t/ook here recommended I believe to be the thirtieth and thirty-first chapters; for among the Hebrews any portion of writing, in which the subject was finished, however small, was termed 130 sepher, a book, a treatise or discourse.
Verse 3. The days cornel First, After the conclusion of the seventy years. Secondly, Under the yiessiah.
That I will bring again the captivity of Israel] The ten tribes, led captive by the king of Assyria, and dispersed among the nations.
And Judah] The people carried into Babylon at two different times; first, under Jeconiah, and, secondly, under Zedekiah, by Nebuchadnezzar.
Verse 5. We have heard a voice of trembling'] This may refer to the state and feelings of the people during the war which Cyrus carried on against the Babylonians. Trembling and terror would no doubt affect them, and put an end to peace and all prosperity; as they could not tell what would be the issue of the struggle, and whether their state would be better or worse should their present masters fall in the conflict. This is well described in the next verse, where men are represented as being, through pain and anguish, like ivomen in travail. See the same comparison Isa. xiii. 6-8.
Verse 7. Alas! fur that day is great] When the Medes and Persians, with all their forces shall come on the Chaldeans, it will be the day of Jacob's trouble — trial, dismay, and uncertainty; but he shall be delivered out of it — the Chaldean empire shall iall, but
9 But they shall serve the Lord R^^RoInan!',"' their God, and ^ David then- King, "'■ ^"""'"aowhom I will » raise up unto them.
1 0 Therefore '' fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed,
0 Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed ' fi-om the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.
11 For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: " thougli I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, ° yet will
1 not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee " in measure, and will not leave thet altogether unpunished.
1 2 For thus saith the Lord, p Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous.
the Jews shall be delivered by Cvrus. Jerusalem shall be destroyed by the Romans, but the Israel of God shall be delivered from its ruin. Not one that had embraced Christianity perished in the sackage of that city.
Verse 9. But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their King] This must refer to the times of the Messiah; and hence the Chaldee has, " They shall obey the Lord their God, nn 13 nn'B'o'? |1ND T\W"\ veyishta meun limshicha bar David, and they shall obey the Messiah, the Son of David."' This is a very remarkable version; and shows that it was a version, not according to the letter, but according to their doctrine and their expectation. David was long since dead; and none of his descendants ever reigned over them after the Babylonish captivity, nor have they since been a regal nation. Zerubbabel, under the Persians, and the Asmoneans, can be no exception to this. They have been no nation since; they are no nation now; and it is only in the latter days that they can expect to be a nation, and that must be a Chri':- tian nation.
Verse H. Though I make a full end nf all ncitio)is\ Though the Persians destroy the nations «hom they vanquish, yet they shall not destroy thee.
Verse 12. Thy bruise is incurable^ jyUX anu.sh, de.iperate, not incurable; for the cure is promised in ver. 17, / ivitl restore health unto thee, and I will ieal thee of thy wounds.
^M.cir. 3W. 13 There is none to plead thy oi. XLv'lii. 2. cause, ■• that thou mayest be
14 'All thy lovers have forgotlen thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded tliee with the wound ' of an enemy, with the cliastiseinent " of a cniel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; "because thy sins were increased.
15 Why " criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.
1 6 Therefore all they that devour thee ' shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.
1 7 y For I will restore health inito thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; because they called thee.an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seekcth after.
1 S Thus saith the Lord; Behold, ^ I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and " have mercy on his dwelling-places; and the city shall be builded upon her own ''heap, and
Verse 13. There is none to plead thy cause] All thy friends and allies have forsaken thee.
Verse 16. They that devour thee] The Chaldeans,
All that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.] The Assyrians were destroyed by the Babylonians; the Babylonians, by the Medes and Persians; the Egyptians and Persians were destroyed by the Greeks, under Alexander. All these nations are now extinct; but the Jews, as a distinct people, still exist.
Verse 18. The city shall he builded upon her oton heap] Be re-edified from its own ruins. See the book of Nehemiah, passim.
And the palace shall remain] Meaning, the /ting's house shall be restored; or, more probably, the temple shall be rebuilt; which was true, for after the Babylonish captivity it was rebuilt by Nehemiah, &o. By the tents, distinguished from the dwelling-places of Jacob, we may understand all the minor dispersions of the Jews, as well as those numerous synagogues found in large cities.
Verse 19. I will multiply them] They shall be very numerous; even where at present they have but tents.
19 And " out of them shall pro- ^S^Roman^,'^'' ceed thanksgiving and the voice "■- """»"■ ^Oof them that make merry: '' and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I vi'\\\ also glorify them, and they shall not be small.
20 Their children also shaU be " as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them.
21 And their nobles shall be of themselves, ' and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them: and I will ^ cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto mc? saith the Lord.
22 And ye shall be '' my people, and I will be your God.
23 Behold, the ' whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury, a '' continuing whirlwind: it shall ' fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.
24 The, fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: ■" in the latter days ye shall consider it.
I toill also glorify them] I wUl put honour upon them every where, so that they shall be no longer contemptible. This will be a very great change; for they are now despised all over the earth.
Verse 20. Their children also] They shall have the education of their own children as formerly.
Shall he established] Being, in the latter days, in corporated with those " who serve the Lord their God, and worship the Messiah, the son of David. "
Verse 21. Their nobles shall be of themselves] Strangers shall not rule over them; and —
Their governor shall proceed from, the midst of them] Both Nehemiah and Zertibbahcl, their nobles and governors after the return from Babylon, were Jews.
Shall fall ivith pain upon the head of the icicked.] On Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans.
Verse 24. In the latter days ye shall consider it.] By the latter days the Gospel dispensation is generally meant; and that restoration which is the principal topic in this and the succeeding chapter refers to this time. Had the Jews properly considered this subject, thoy would long ere this have been brought into the liberty of the Gospel, and saved from the maledictions under which they now groan. Why do not the Jews read their own prophets more conscientiously \
Tnix chapter continues the subject of the preceding in a beautiful vision represented at a distant period. God is introduced expressing his continual regard for Israel, and promising to restore them to their land and liberty, 1-5. Immediately heralds appear, proclaiming on Mount Ephraim the arrival of the great year of jubilee, and summoning the people to gather unto Zion, 6. Upon which God resumes the speech; and makes such gracious promises both of leading them tenderly by the way, and making them happy in their own land, that all the nations of the world are called upon to consider with deep attention this great salvation, 7-14. The scene is then diversified by a very happy invention. Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, is represented as risen from her tomb, in a city of Benjamin near Jerusalem, looking about for her children, and bitterly lamenting their fate, as none of them are to be seen in the land of their fathers, 15. But she is consoled loith the assurance that they are not lost, and that they shall in due time be restored, 16, 17. To this another tender and beautiful scene immediately succeeds. Ephraim, (often put for the ten tribes,) comes in view. He laments his past errors, and expresses the most earnest desires of reconciliation; upon which God, as a tender parent, immediately forgives him, 18—20. The virgin oj Israel is then directed to prepare for returning home, 21, 32; and the vision closes with a promise of abundant peace and security to Israel and Judah in the latter days, 23-26. The blessed condition of Israel under the MessiaWs reign is then benuttfully contrasted with their afflicted state during the general dispersion, 27, 28. In the remaining part of the chapter the promises to the posterity of Jacob of the impartial administration of justice, increasing peace and prosperity, the universal diffusion of righteousness, and stability in their own land after a general restoration in Gospel times, are repeated, enlarged on, ana illustrated by a variety of beautiful figures, 29—40.
AT'' the same lime, saith the Loud, "° will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.
XLVIII.
Dr. Blayncy has introduced this and the preceding chapter with the following excellent observations: —
" There are many prophecies," says he, " in various parts of the Old Te.stament, which announce the future restoration of Israel to their own land, and the complete re-establishment of both their civil and religious constitution in the latter days, meaning the times of the Gospel dispensation. These two chapters contain a prophecy of this kind; v/hich must necessarily be referred to these times, because it points out circumstances which certainly were not fulfilled at the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, nor have hitherto had their completion. For the people who re- "urned from Babylon were the people of Judah only, who had been carried away captive by Nebuchadnezzar; but here it is foretold, that not only should the captivit)' of Judah be restored, but the captivity of Israel also, meaning those ten tribes which were carried away before, by Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and who stUl remain in their several dispersions, having never returnsd, in a national capacity at least, to their own land, whatever some few individuals have done. But the terms of the prophecy entitle us to expect, not an obscure and paitial, but a complete and universal, restoration; when God wUl manifest himself, as formerly, the God and Patron of all the families of Israel, and not of a few only. Again it is promised 3'J4
people which were left of oi. XLViii. 2.
the sword found grace in R^^Romanr
that, after this restoration, they should no more fall under the dominion of foreigners, but be governed by princes and magistrates of their own nation, independently of any but God, and David their king. But this was not the case with the Jews who returned from Babylon. They then indeed had a leader, Zerubbabel, one of their ow'n nation, and also of the family of David; but both the nation and their leader continued still in a state of vassalage, and the most servile dependence upon the Persian monarchy. And when the Grecian monarchy succeeded, they changed their masters only, but not their condition; till at length under the Asmonean princes they had for a while an independent government of their own, but without any title to the name of David. At last they fell under the Roman yoke; since which time their situation has been such as not to afford the least ground to pretend that the promised restoration has yet taken place. It remains therefore to be brought about in future under the reign of the Messiah, emphatically distinguished by the name of David; when every particular circumstance predicted concerning it will no doubt be verified by a distinct and unequivocal accomplishment. There is no particular date annexed to this prophecy, whereby to ascertain the precise time of its delivery. But it may not unreasonably be presumed to have followed immediately after the preceding one, in which the restoration of the people from their Babylonish captivity is in
of Israel promised.
R. Roman., 3 1 he LoRD hath appeared
direct terms foretold. From hence the transition is natural and easy to the more glorious and general restoration which was to take place in a more distant period, and was designed for the ultimate object of the iiitional hopes and expectations. Both events are frequently thus connected together in the prophetic WTitings; and perhaps with tliis design, that when that which was nearest at hand should be accomplished, it might afford the clearest, and strongest, and most satisfactory kind of evidence that the latter, how remote soever its period, would in like manner be brought about by the interposition of Providence in its due season. But though this prophecy relates wholly to one single subject, it seems naturally to divide itself into three distinct parts. The first part, after a short preface, in which the prophet is required to commit to writing the matters revealed to him, commences with representing, in a style of awe and energy, the consternation and distress which, in some future day of visitation, should fall upon all nations, preparatory to the scene of Jacob's deliverance, ver. 5-9. Israel is encouraged to confide in the Divine assurance of restoration and protection, ver. 10, 11. He is prepared previously to expect a severe chastisement for the multitude of his sins; but consoled with the prospect of a happy termination, ver. 12-17. This is foUowed by an enumeration- at large of the blessings and privileges to which the Jews should be restored upon their re-admission into God's favour, ver. 18-22. Again, however, it is declared that the anger of Jehovah would not subside till his purposed vengeance against the wicked should have been fully executed; and then, but not till then, an entire reconciliation would take place between him and all the families of Israel, ver. 33, chap. xxxi. 1. The second part of this prophecy begins chap. xxxi. 2, and is marked by a sudden transition to a distant period of time, represented in a vision, and embellished with a variety of beautiful scenes and images. God announces the renewal of his ancient love for Israel; and promises, ill consequence thereof, a speedy restoration of their former privileges and happiness, ver. 2—5. Already the heralds have proclaimed on Mount Ephraim the arrival of the joyful day; they summon the people to reassemble once more in Zion; and promulge by special command the glad tidings of salvation which God had accomplished for them. God himself declares his readiness to conduct home the remnant of Israel from all parts of their dispersion, to compassionate and relieve their infirmities, and to -provide them with all necessary accommodations by the way, ver. 6—9. The news is carried into distant lands; and the nations are summoned to attend to the display of G od's power and goodness in rescuing his people from their stronger enemies, and in supplying them after their retm-n with aU manner of good things to the full extent of their wants and desires, ver. 10-11. Here the scene changes;
• I liave loved thee with everlasting love
and two new personages are successively introduced, in order to diversify the same subject, and to impress it more strongly. Rachel first; who is represented as just risen from the grave, and bitterly bewailing the loss of her cliildren; for whom she anxiously looks about, but none are to be seen. Her tears are dried up; and she is consoled with the assurance that they are not lost for ever, but shall in time be brought back to their ancient borders, ver. 15—17. Ephraim comes next. He laments his past undutifulness with great contrition and penitence, and professes an earnest desire of amendment. These symptoms of returning duty are no sooner discerned in him, than God acknowledges him once more as a darling child, and resolves with mercy to receive him, ver. 18-20. The virgin of Israel is then earnestly exhorted to hasten the preparations for their return; and encouraged with having the prospect of a signal miracle wrought in her favour, ver. 21, 22. And the vision closes at last with a promise that the Divine blessing should again rest upon the land of (■Judah; and that the men of Judah should once more dwell there, cultivating it according to the simplicity of ancient institutions, and fully discharged from every want, ver. 23-26. In the third part, by way of appendix to the vision, the following gracious promises are specifically annexed: That God would in time to come supply all the deficiencies of Israel and Judah; and would be as diligent to restore as he had ever been to destroy them; and would not any more vi.sit the offences of the fathers upon the chddren, ver. 27-30. That he would make with them a better covenant than he had made with their forefathers, ver. 31—34. That they should continue his people by an ordinance as firm and as lasting as that of the heavens, ver. 35-37. And that Jerusalem should again be built, enlarged in its extent, and secure from future desolation, ver. 38-40."
Verse 1. At the same time] This discourse was delivered at the same time with the former; and, with that, constitutes the Book which God ordered the prophet to write.
Will I be the God of all the families of Israel] I shall bring back the ten tribes, as well as their brethren the Jews. The restoration of the Israelites is the principal subject of this chapter.
Verse 2. The people which were left of the su-ortl] Those of the ten tribes that had escaped death by the sword of the Assyrians.
Found grace in the wilderness] The place of their exile; a wilderness, compared to their own land. — Dahler. See Isa. xl. 3.
Verse 3. / have lored thee with an everlasting love] yn^nK Un]! n^nxi veahabath olam ahabtich, " and with the old love I have loved thee." " Also, with a love of long standing have I loved thee." — Blayney. " But I love thee always." — Dahler. I still bear to
01. XLViii. 2 thou shall be built, O virgin oi r'' Roman.!"^'' Israel: thou shall again be
cir. annum 30. adorned with thy ''tabrets, ' and shall go forth in the dances of them that make merry.
5 "Thou shall yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall " eat t}ie7n as common things.
6 For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Epliraim shall cry, ° Arise ye, and let us go ujj to Zion unto the Lord our God.
7 For thus sailh the Lord; p Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O
8 Behold, I will bring them "Rl^RomanT' ifrom the north country, and "■■■ """"■" 3o. ' gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that Iravaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.
9 " They shall come with weeping, and witli ' supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk " by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my ^ first-born.
10 Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and
the Jewish people that love which I sliowed to their fathers in Egypt, in the wilderne.ss, and in the promised land. Can it be supposed, by any person seriously considering the context, that these words are spoken of God^s decree of election in behalf of the Jews. Those who make it such, act most injudiciously on their own principle; for, how few of the Jews have ever given evidence that they were the children of God, from their restoration from Babylon to the present day! The words refer simply to their state as a people, most wondrously preserved by the providence and mercy of God, as a standing proof of the Divine authority of the Scriptures, and as an evidence of God's displeasure against sin.
Therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.] ■' Therefore have I lengthened out mercy to thee." — Blayney.
The exiles, who had not for a long time received any proofs of the Divine protection, are represented as deploring their state; but God answers, that though this may seem to be the case, he has always loved them; and this continued love he wiU show by bringing them out of their captivity. However creeds may fare, this is the sense of the passage; aU the context proves this.
Verse 4. Ovirgin of Israel] Israelites in general; now called virgin, because restored to their ancient purity.
With thy tabrets] Women in general played on these; they w-ere used in times of rejoicing, and accompanied with dancing. To these customs, still preserved, the prophet alludes.
Verse 5. Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria] This was the regal city of the Israelites, as Jerusalem was of the Jews.
Shall eat them as common things.] By the law of Moses no man was permitted to cat of the fruit of his vineyard till the fifth vear after planting. For the first three years it was considered uncii'cumcised, unclean, not fit to be eaten; in the fourth year it was holy to the Lord, the fruit belonged to Him; in the ffth year he might use it for himself, Lev. xix. 23—25. But in the time here mentioned the fruit should be considered common — lawiul at all times to be eaten.
Verse 6. For there shall be a dinj] Literally, _/br this is the day, or the day is come. The ivatchmen — the prophets.
Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion] Let both Israel ites and Jews join together in the worship of the Lord.
Verse 7. The chief of the nations] The same as Jacob or Israel; for most certainly this people was once the most honourable on the face of the earth.
O Lord, save thy people] Let the Jews earnestly intercede in behalf of their Israeliti.sh brethren; or let them rejoice and praise the Lord, who hath saved the remnant of Israel. So Dr. Blayney thinks the clause should be understood.
Verse 8. / loill bring them from the north country] From Babylon.
From the coasts of the earth] The ten tribes were carried away partly into Assyria by Tiglath-pileser, and pai'tly into Mesopotamia and Media by Shalmaneser, 2 Kings XV. 29; xvii. 6. As.syria and Media, being ver}' distant from Palestine, might have been called, in prophetic language, the coasts of the earth.
The blind and the lajne] I will so effectually remove all difficulties out of the way, so provide for them on the journey, so supernaturally support their bodies and minds, that the veriest invalids shall safely proceed to, and happily arrive at, the end of their journey.
Verse 9. They shall come with weeping] Duly peneti-ated with a sense of their sins, they shall deeply deplore them; and, while weeping for them, earnestly supplicate God to have mercy upon them.
By the rivers of waters] I will so guide and provide for them in the arid deserts, that they shall find streams of water whenever necessar)'. Every one
cir. annum 30. jj For Hhe LoRD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him >from the hand of him that was stronger ihau he.
12 Therefore tliey shall come and sing in ^ the height of Zion, and shall flow together to ^ the goodness of llie Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of »he flock and of tlic herd: and tlieir soul shall be as a ■" watered garden; ■= and tiiey shall noi sorrow any more at all.
1 3 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the diTice, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfoit them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord.
15 Thus saith the Lord; ■* A voice was heard in " Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weep-
Ephraim is my first-bom.] Epliraim, being the most considerable, is often put for the whole of the ten tribes.
Verse 12. And shall flow together] Perhaps this may refer to their assembling at the three great national feasts, the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles.
Their soul shall he as a watered garden] Full of the hght, life, and power of God; so that they shall rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in every thing.
Verse 14. And I icill satiate the soul of the priests] The worship of God being restored, they shall have their proper share of the victims brought to the temple.
Verse 15. A voice was heard in Ramah] The Ramah mentioned here, (for there were several towns of this name.) was situated in the tribe of Benjamin, about six or seven miles from Jerusalem. Near this place Rachel was buried; who is here, in a beautiful figure of poetry, represented as coming out of her grave, and lamenting bitterly for the loss of her children, none of whom presented themselves to her view, all being slain or gone into exile. St. Matthew, who is ever fond of accommodation, applies these words, chap. ii. 17, 18, to the massacre of the children at Bethlehem. That is, they were suitable to that occasion, and therefore he so applied them; but they are not a prediction of that event.
Verse 16. They shall come again from the land of the enemy,] This could not be said of the murdered innocents at Bethlehem; they never came again; but
16 Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord, and 'they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.
18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: ^ turn thou me, and I shall be tiuned; for thou art the Lord my God.
19 Siu-ely 'after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
the Jews, who had gone into captivity, did come again from the land of their enemy to their men border.
A''erse 18. 7 have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself] The exiled Israelites are in a state of deep repentance.
Thozt hast chastised me, and I was chastised] I was at first like an unbroken and untoward steer, the more I was chastised the more I rebelled; but now I have benefited by thy correction.
Turn thou me] I am now willing to take thy yoke upon me, but I have no power. I can only will and pray. Take the matter into thy own hand, and fully convert my soul.
I repented] To conviction of sin, I now added contrition for sin. Conviction, in this sense of the word, must precede contrition or repentance. As soon as a man sees himself lost and undone, he is convicted of sin; when convicted, he begins to mourn. Thus contrition follows conviction.
I smote upon my thigh] My sorrow grew deeper and deeper; I smote upon my tliigh through the extremity of my distress. This was a usual sign of deep affliction. See Ezek. xxi. 13. It was the same among the ancient Greeks. So Homer: —
R Roman., Spake agamst him, i do earcir. annum 30. ^estly remember him still: 'therefore my bowels ^ are troubled for him; ™ I will surely have mercy upon him, saith
21 Set ihcc up waymarks, make thee high heaps: ° set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, 0 virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.
daughter! lor the Lord hath r. Roman., created a new thing in the earth, "^- ■"^"'"° ^°- A woman shall compass a man.
23 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; 1 The Lord bless thee, 0 habitation of justice, and ' mountain of holiness.
Verse 20. Is Ephraim my dear son?] It is impossible to conceive any thing more tenderly affectionate than this. Let us consider the whole account. The ten tribes, called here Ephraim, for the reason before alleged, are represented as acknowledging their sins. I have heard Ephraim bemoaning himself; and in his lamentation he says, 1. Thou hast chastised me. 2. Though he at first rebelled against the chastisement, yet at last he submitted and acknowdedged his offences..3. He tm'ned from all his offences; he was converted. 4. After his conversion, ("DTO" shubi,) he repented; after conviction came contrition, as before stated. 5. Being in a state of godly sorrow, he was instructed, "jnin hivvadei, he got a thorough knowledge of the desperate wickedness of his heart and life. 6. Having received this instruction, he was filled with excessive grief; which is signified here by smiting on his thigh. See above. 7. He finds that from his youth up he had been sinning against God; and although his youthful sins had long passed from his memory, yet the light ijf God brought them back, and he was ashamed and confounded at the sight of them. 8. In this state of confusion and distress God sees him; and, commiserating his state, thus speaks: —
1. Is Ephraim my dear son? Bad as he is in his own sight, and in the sight of my justice, he is now a penitent, and to me is precious. 2. However loathsome and disfigured he may be with sin and sorrow, he is to me a pleasant child — a child of delights; one in whose conversion I delight, and my angels rejoice. 3. I did speak against him; U "i^T 'in "JD ii middey ■'abberi bo, for " from the abundance of my speaking in him;" accusing, threatening, promising, exhorting, encouraging; " I do still earnestly remember him." God has taken much pains with him, and is unwilling to give him up; but now that he repents, he has not received the grace of God utterly in vain. 4. God feels a yearning desire towards him; 'h y^ IDH hamu meal lo, " my bowels are agitated for him." I feel nothing towards him but pity and love, ^\^len a sinner turns to God, God ceases to be angry witn him. 5. God expresses his determination to save him; UOniN Dm rachem arachamenmi, " I will be affectionately merciful to him, with tender mercy, saith the Lord." He shall find that I treat liim as ^father does a returning prodigal son. So every penitent is sure to find mercy at the hand of God.
Averse 21. Set thee up u-aymarhs] Alluding lo stones, or heaps of stones, which travellers in the desert set up to ascertain the way, that they may know how to return. Mark the way to Babylon: thither ye shall certainly go; but from it ye shall as certainly return.
Verse 22. A %voman shall compass a man\ H-p' yi\ 33"iDr\ nehebah tesobeh gaber, "A weak woman shall compass or circtmivent a strong man." This place has given much trouble to Biblical critics. By many Christian writers it is considered a prophecy of the miraculous conception of the holy tnrgin; but as I am sure no such meaning is in the words, nor in the context, so I am satisfied no such meaning can be fairly brought out of them. Houbigant thinks there is a small error in the text, i. e., 3::iiyn teshobeb, shall return, and not ^Dion tesoheh, shall compass. This reading is found in tico of KennicotVs MSS., and he contends that the passage should be read, " The wife shall return to her husband;" alluding to the conversion of the Jewish people, called above a hachsliding daughter. This makes a good sense; but I do not see why this should be called a new thing in the earth. After all, I think it likely that the Jews in their present distressed circumstances are represented under the similitude of a iceak defenceless female, H-pJ nehebah; and the Chaldeans under that of a fierce strong man, ~\2i gaber, who had prevailed over and oppressed this weah woman. But, notwithstanding the disparity between them, God would cause the woman — the weak defenceless Jews, to compass — to overcome, the strong man — the powerful Babylonians. And this the prophet says would be a new thing in the land; for in such a case the lame would take the prey. The context favours both these meanings. Dr. Blayney gives a sense very near to this: " A weak woman shall repulse a strong or mighty man." It is most likely a proverbial expression.
Verse 23. The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice] After their return they shall be remarkably
^B.'c.cir.M?" 24 And there shall dwell in 01. XLviii. 2. Judah itself, and ■= in all the cities
25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.
26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.
27 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that ' I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah, with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.
28 And it shall come to pass, that like as I have "watched over them, ^to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, "'to build, and to plant, saith the Lord.
29 '^ In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.
30 y But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.
31 Behold, the ^ days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
prosperous. Piely and industry shall go hand in hand; they shall have their husbandmen, their shepherds, and neatherds, ver. 21. And Jerusalem shall become a righteous city, and the temple shall be a place of holiness; so the weary there shall have rest, and the sorrowful shall be abundantly comforted, ver. 24, 25.
Verse 26. Upon this J atcaied] It appears that the prophecy, conunencing with chap. xxx. 2 and ending with ver. 25 of this chapter, was delivered to the prophet in a dream. Dahler supposes it to be a %oish; that the prophet, though he could not hope to live to that time, might be permitted to awake up from his tomb; and, having seen this prosperity, would be content to return to his grave.
A'erse 27. / loill sow — udth the seed of man and with the seed of beast.] I will multiply both men and cattle.
A''erse 29. The fathers have eaten a sour grape] A I)roverbial expression for, 'i The children suffer for the offences of their parents." This is explained in the next verse: " Every one shall die for his own iniquity." No child shall suffer Divine punition for the sin of his father; only so far as he acts in the same way can he be said to bear the sins of his parents.
nant that I made with theur fa- 01. XLViii. 2. thers, in the day that - 1 took '^TZ^f' them by the hand, to bring them '•'''■ °""""' ^'"- out of the land of Egj'pt; which my covenant they brake, ''although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord.
33 " But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, ■' I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; * and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for ^ they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, sailh the Lord: for e I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
35 Thus saith the Lord; ^ which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the mogn and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth ' the sea when the waves thereof roar; ''The Lord of hosts is his name:
Verse 33. After those days] When vision and prophecy shall be sealed up, and Jesus have assumed that body ivhich ivas prepared for hi?n, and have laid down his life for the redemption of a lost world, and, having ascended on high, shall have obtained the gift of the Holy Spirit to purify the heart; then God's law shall,
' by it, be put in their inivard parts, and written on their hearts; so that all within and all unthout shall be ho-
I received and acknowledged as their portion, and the sole object of their devotion; and they shall be his people, filled with holiness, and made partakers of the j Divine nature, so that they shall perfectly love him and worthily magnify his name.
j a time of universal light and hnou'ledge; all shall /.now God in Christ, from the least to the greatest; the children shall be taught to read the Neiv Covenant, and to understand the terms o{ their salvation.
' I tvill forgive their iniquity] It shall be a time of GENER.\L p.iRDON; muHitudes shall be daily in the Christian Church receiving the witness of God's Spirit, and in their life and conversation witnessing a good confession. How wonderfully is this prophecy fulfilled in the age of Bibles, Sunday schools, and village preaching!
01. XLViii. 2. from before me, saith the Lord, R'?"Koman.r'' then the seed of Israel also.shall cir. annum 30. ggggg fj-gm being a nation before me for ever.
37 Thus saith the Lord; " If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord.
38 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to the Lord, " from
Averse 36. If those ordinances] As sure as the sun shall give light to the day, and the moon to the night, so surely shall the Jews continue to be a distinct people. The same thing is expressed in other words in the next verse. Hitherto this prophecy has been literally fulfilled; the Jews are still a distinct people from all the dwellers upon earth. Every attempt that has been made in any country to naturalize and unite them with the people of that country, has proved abortive. The well-circumstanced attempt made this year (1830) in England, when the strongest interest was excited in their behalf, has also utterly failed. And why? Because of Goi's jiurposc expressed in chap. xxxi. 35-37 of the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah.
Averse 38. The city shall be built to the Lord] This cannot mean the city built after the return from Babylon, for two reasons: 1. This is to be much greater in extent; 3. It is to be permanent, never to be throion down, ver. 40. It mu.st therefore mean, if taken literally at all, the city that is to be built by them when they are brought in with the fulness of the Gentiles.
The tower of Hananecl] This stood in the northeast part of the city; from thence the wall proceeded
39 And ° the measuring line r. Roman., shall yet go forth over against "'■ """""^ ^"^ it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goatli.
40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, p unto the corner of the horse-gate toward the east, 1 shall he holy unto the Lord; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.
to the comer gate, (probably the same as the old gate,) thus named from its running out into an ayigle in that part.
Verse 39. Upon the hill Gareb] Gareh and Goath are out of the limits of this city. The latter is supposed to be Golgotha; that is, the heap of Gotha, which, being the place where our Lord was crucified, was without the city These hills were a little to the north-west of the old city walls; but are destined to be within the new city. See Dr. Blayney on all these verses.
Verse 40. The whole valley of the dead bodies] The valley of the son of Hinnom.
And all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto thi. corner of the horse-gate totvard the east] All thesfc places, the fuller's field, &c., shall be consecrated to the Lord, and become a part of this new city; so that tliis will appear to be a city much more extensive than the city of Jerusalem ever was; and to be suited to that time, when the people shall have the law wTitten in their hearts, and God shall have filled the land with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. Talia saecla currite! " Make speed, ye happy times!"
Jeremiah, now confined for his faithful admonitions, foretells the fate of the king and city, 1-5. According to the direction of God, he buys of his cousin Hanameel afield in Anathoth; the contract, or deed of sale leing subscribed, sealed, and witnessed, and delivered to Bartich, together with a duplicate not sealed, who is commanded to put them into an earthen vessel that they may remain there for many days, 6—14. This transaction of the prophet, which is entered and subscnbed in the public register, God constitutes a sign or pledge of the Jews' return from the Babylonish captivity, and of their again possessing houses, fields, and vineyards, in their own land, and by their own right, according to their tribes and families, 15. Jeremiah's prayer, in which he recounts God's marvellous acts towards the children of Israel, and deeply deplores the lamentable state of the country, and the numerous provocations tvhich have led to it, 16-25. After which God is introduced declaring his purpose of giving up his people into the hands of their enemies, 26-35; promising, however, to restore them in due time to their ancient possessions, and to mai^ with them an everlasting covenant 36—44.
2 For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was slmt up ** in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house.
3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had sliut him up, saying. Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord, ° Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;
4 And Zedekiah king of Judah ^ shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;
5 And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be " until I visit him, saith
6 And Jeremiah said, The R- R"-"^"- ^- word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
7 Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the K right of redemption is thine to buy it.
8 So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord, and said unto me. Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I know that this was the word of the Lord.
9 And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and ^ weighed him the money, even ' seventeen shekels of silver.
Veree 1. The toord thai came] This prophecy bears its owTi date: it was delivered in the tenth year of Zedekiah, which answered to the eighteenth of Nebuchadnezzar. It appears from 2 Kings xxv. 8, that the eleventh year of Zedclciah was the nineteenth of Nebuchadnezzar; and consequently, that the eighteenth of that monarch must have been the tenth of the Jewish king.
Verse 2. Then the king of Babylon'' s army besieged Jerusalem] The siege had commenced the year before, and continued a year after, ending in the fifth month of the following year; consequently, the siege must have lasted about eighteen months and twentyseven days. See 2 Kings xxv. 18.
Verse 4. And shall speak with him mouth to mouth] He shall be reduced to a state of the most abject servitude. The slave was obliged to fix his eyes on every motion of the master whilst giving his orders, who often condescended to give them only by dumb signs.
Verse 7. The right of redemption is thine] The law had established that the estates of a family should never be alienated. If, therefore, a man through poverty was oldiged to sell his patrimony, the nearest '■elatwe had a right to purchase it before all others, and even to redeem it, if it had been sold to another. This is what is called the right of goel, or kinsman. Lev. xxv. 25. And in the year of jubilee the whole reverted to its ancient ma.ster, Lev. xxv. 13.
Verse 8. This was the word of the Lord.] It was 6y his appointment that I was to make this purchase. The whole was designed as a symbolical act, to show the people that there would be a return from Babylon, that each family shoiUd re-enter on its former possessions, and that a man might safely purchase on the cer tainty of this event.
Verse 9. Weighed him the money] It does not appear that there was any coined or stamped money among the Jews before the captivity; the Scripture, therefore, never speaks of counting money, but of weighing it.
Seventeen shekels of silver.] The shekel at this time must have been a nominal coin; it was a thing of a certain weight, or a certain worth. Seventeen shekels was the iveight of the silver paid: but it might have been in one ingot, or piece. The shekel has been valued at from two shillings and threepence to two shillings and sixpence, and even at three shillings; taking the purchase-money at a medium of the value of the shekel, it would amount only to about tivo pounds two shillings and sixpence. But as estates bore value only in proportion to the number of years before the jubilee, and the field in question was then in the hands of the Chaldeans, and this cousin of Jeremiah was not likely to come back to enjoy it after seventy years, (nor could he then have it, as a jubilee would intervene and restore it to the original family-.) and money must now be very scarce and high in its value, the seventeen shekels might have been a sufficient sum for a field in those circumstances, and one probably not large in its dimensions.
Verse 10. I subscribed the evidence] We have here all the circumstances of this legal act: 1. An offer is made of the reversion of the ground, till the jubilee, to him who would then of right come into possession. 2. The price is agreed on, and the silver weighed in the balances. 3. A contract or deed of sale is dravm
A M. 3U5. sealed it, and took witnesses, and 01.XLVII.4. weighed him the money in the
R. Roman., 28. n So I took the cvidcnce of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open:
1 2 And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto ' Barucli the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the "" witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.
14 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.
15 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards " shall be possessed again in this land.
16 Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the Lord, saying,
17 Ah Lord God! behold, "thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched-out arm, and p there is nothing 1 too hard for thee:
up; to which both parties agreeing, 4. Witnesses are brought forward to see it signed and sealed; for the contract was both subscribed and sealed. 5. A duplicate of the deed was drawn, which was not to be scaled, but to lie open for the inspection of those concerned, in some public place where it might be safe, and always to be seen. 6. The original, which was sealed up, was put in an earthen pitcher, in order to be preserved from accidents. 7. This was delivered by the purchaser into the hands of a third party, to be preserved for the use of the purchaser, and icitnesses were called to attest this delivery. 8. They subscribed the book of the purchase, perhaps a town look, or register, where such purchases were entered. Baruch was a scribe by profession; and the deeds were delivered into his hands, before witnesses, to be preserved as above. Perhaps the lam, in this case, required that the instrument should be thus lodged. But, in the present case, both the deeds, the original and the duplicate, were put into the earthen pitcher, because the city was about to be burnt; and, if lodged as usual, they would be destroyed in the general conflagration. See ver. 14.
18 Thou showest ■• loving-kind- '\,'^- ^il?" ness unto thousands, and recom- 01. XLVii.4. pensestthe iniquity of the fathers Tarquinii Prisci, into the bosom oi" their children R- R""-^"-. as.' after them: the Great, = the Mighty God, ' the Lord of hosts, is his name,
19" Great in counsel, and mighty in ' work: for thine " eyes ore open upon all the ways of the sons of men: ^ to give everj' one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:
20 Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and hast made thee y a name, as at this day;
21 And ^ hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched-out arm, and with great terror;
22 And hast given them this land, which thou didst svi^ear to their fathers to give them, ^ a land flowing with milk and honey;
23 And they came in, and jjossessed it; but '' they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon tiiem:
24 Behold the " mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city '' is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against
Verse 15. Houses and fields — shall be possessed again] That is, this is an evidence that the captivity shall not last long: houses, &c., shall here be possessed again, either by their present owners or immediate descendants. The young might return; at least, all under ten years of age: there was no natural impossibility that they should not live till they should be fourscore.
Verse 16. I prayed unto the Lord] And what a prayer! What weight of matter, sublimity of expression, profound veneration, just conception. Divine unction, powerftd pleading, and strength of faith! Historical, without flatness; condensed, without obscurity; confessing the greatest of crimes against the most righteous of Beings, without despairing of his mercy, or presuming on his goodness: a confession that, in fact, acknowledges that God's justice should smite and destroy, had not his infinite goodness said, I will pardon and spare.
Verse 19. Thine eyes are ope}i upon all the ways of — men] Thou art omniscient, and knowest all things; thou art omnipresent, and seest all things.
*B 'c 589^^ '^' because of ' the sword, and 01. XLVI1.4 of the famine, and of the pesti- Tarmiinii Prisci, lence: and what thou hast spo-
25 And thou hast said unto me, 0 Lord God, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; ^ for s the city is given into the hand of tlic Chaldeans.
26 Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying,
27 Behold, I am the Lord, the ''God of all flesh: ' is there any thing too hard for me 1
28 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, ^ I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it:
29 And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come, and ' set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, ™ upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink-offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger.
30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah "have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the Lord.
3 1 For this city hath been to me as ° a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; 'that I should remove it from before my face.
32 Because of all the evil of the children of Israel, and of the children of Judah, which
raised up to plant their engines on, that they might throw darts, stones, &c., into the city.
Because of the sivord, and of the famine, and of the pestilence] The city was now reduced to extreme necessity; and from the siege continuing nearly a year longer, we may conclude that the besieged made a noble defence.
Verse 29. With the hon.ies, upon whose roofs] As it is mast probal)le that Baal was the sun, they might have chosen the tops of the houses, which were always flat, with battlements around, to offer incense and sacrifice to him at his rising, and while he was in sight above the horizon.
Verse 30. for the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil] They have all been transgressors from their earliest history.
33 And they have turned unto me the "'back,' and not tiie face: though I taught them, ' rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.
34 But they " set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it.
35 And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to ^ cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto ■" Molech; ''which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
36 And now therefore thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, >' It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by •'the famine, and by the pestilence;
37 Behold, I will ^ gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them '^ to dwell safely:
38 And they shall ^ be my people, and I will be their God:
39 And I will " give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me ■'for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:
Have only provoked me to anger with the icor/c of their hands] They have been sinners beyond all others, being excessive idolaters. Their hands have formed the objects of their ivorship.
Verse 33. Though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them] From the frequent reference to this, we may naturally conclude that morning preaching prevailed much in Judea.
Averse 37. Behold, I will gather them out of all counlrie.i] A promise often repeated. See chap. xxi.\. 14, and the notes on chap. xxxi. 8, &c.
And one leay] And that a holy and safe one: and to have this clean heart, and to wal/c in this good way,
40 And °I will make an ever-
iPrisci, I will not turn away ' from them, '°' ^^- to do them good; but ^ I will put
my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
4 1 Yea, ^ I will rejoice over them to do them good, and ' I will plant them in this land ^ assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.
42 For thus saith the Lord; ^ Like as I liave brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.
wilt be for the good of them and their children after then. God"s blessing is a profitable inheritance. They sliall have but one object of worship, and one ivay of salvation; and being saved from sin, idolatry, and destruction, they must necessarily be happy within and happy without.
Verse 41. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good] Nothing can please God better than our coming to him to receive the good which, ivith his ivhole heart and his whole soul, he is ready to impart. How exceedingly condescending are these words of God!
Verse 42. Will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised] God's word cannot fail. The Jews
44 Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in ° the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for p I will cause their captivity to return, saith
have never yet received the good that God has promised. Nothing like the fulfilment of these promises took place after their return from Babylon; therefore there remaineth yet a rest for these ancient people of God; and it is under the Christian dispensation that they are to have it.
Verse 44. Men shall buy fields for money] This is a reference to the symbolical purchase mentioned at the beginning of the chapter; that may be considered by them as a sure sign of their restoration, not only to the same land, but to their respective inheritances in that land. This the power of God could alone perform.
In this chapter the prophet predicts a restoration of Israel and Judah to the favour of God, attended with such glorious circumstances as shall astonish all the world, 1—9. Their prosperity from that period is then described by a beautiful enumeration of circumstances, 10-13. This leads to the promise of the Messiah, the grand subject of the prophetical writings, and the happiness and stability vjhich the children nf Israel shall enjoy under his government; promises tohich, in so far as they respect the great body of the Jews, remain still to befulflled, 14—26.
]y[OREOVER the word of the yet ^ shut up in the court of the
Verse 1. Moreover the ivord of the Lord] This was in the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah, Jeremiah being still shut up in prison; but he was now in the court of the prison, where the elders and the king's officers, &c., might consult him vvith the greater ease; for they contuiued to inquire, foolishly thinking, that if he would but prophesy good things, that these must come; or that he had sufficient power with God to induce him to alter his mind, — destroy the Chaldeans, and deliver the city.
2 Thus saith the Lord the
3 " Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and
Verse 2. Thus saith the Lord the Maker thereof] rTkVi' osah, the doer of it. That is, he who is to perform that which he is now about to promise. Thus translated by Dahhr: — Voici ce que dit I'Eternel, qui fail ee qu'il a dit. — "Thus saith the Lord, who doth that which he hath said." The word Jehovah, not Lffrd, should be used in all such places as this.
Verse 3. Call unto me, and I ivill answer thee] To me alone it belongs to reveal what is future; and the stupendous things which are now coming are known onlv to myself. These idolaters go to their gods to
*B*c 588^ show thee great and *' mighty 01. XLViii. 1. things which thou knowesl not. TarquiniiPrisci, 4 For thus saith the Lord, the R. ftoman., 29. Q^j ^f lsv3.c\. Concerning the houses of tliis city, and concernuig the liouses of the kings of Judah, whicli are throwii down by ff the mounts, and by the sword;
5 *" They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but it is to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, and for all wliose wickedness I have liid my face from this city.
6 Behold, ' I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.
7 And "^ I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, ' as at the first.
8 And I will ™ cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will " pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.
9 ° And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honoiur before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall >> fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.
get information relative to the issue of the present commotions; but there is no light in them. Ask thou, 0 Jeremiah, and I will teU thee the great and mighty things which even thou knowest not.
Verse 4. Thus saith the Lord] This is a new confirmation of what has already been said, viz., The city shall faU, a number of the inhabitants shall perisli, the rest shall be carried into captivity; but the nation shall be preserved, and the people return from their captivity.
Verse 6. Behold I will bring it health and cure] riDIS aruchah, an citensive plaister; or, as we phrase it, a plaister as large as the sore. I will repair the losses of families by numerous births, and bless the land with fertility.
Verse 7. Tlie captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel] This must respect the latter times, for the ten tribes did not return with the Jews at the termination of the seventy years.
Verse 8. / will cleanse them] These promises of pardon and holiness must be referred to their state under the Gospel, when they shall have received Jesus as the promised Messiah.
10 Thus saith the Lord; Again A^'^- 34^"- there shall be heard in this place, 01. XLViii. i. 1 which ye say shall he desolate Tarauinii Prisci, without man and without beast, R- Koniap.. 29. even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that arc desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast,