Exposition of the Whole Bible

famine, that is, their little ones, male look into this matter, try this caufe, bring. it an iffue, and pafs coo on them; which is follows: the young men fhall die by the fwordy by the fword of the Chaldeans, in the field going in battel againft them; or rather when is eens was taken and plundered, fince they were the fons of priefts: heir fons and their daughters foal die by fo that the famine it feems was not onl alfo: no mention is made of the parent felves. ee PR ¥.23. And there foall be no. remnant of then &c.] And thus the meafure they meted -out te the prophet was meafured to them; they de fed to deftroy him root and. branch, the tree with its fruit; and now none fhall be left of them; fuch who efcaped the fword and the famine, fhould be carried captive, as they were; for tho’ there were none left in Anathoth, there were fome preferved alive, and were removed into Babylon; & at the return from thence, the men of Anathoth werean hundred twenty and eight, Neb. vii..27: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their vifitation; or, in the year: of their vifitation *; that is, of the vifitation of their fins, as the Targum, which was the year of the deftruétion of the city and temple of ‘feru/alem, and was in the nineteenth of Nebuchadnezzar, ch. lii, 12. and y¥.22. Therefore thus faith the Lord of hos, behold, I will punifhb them, &c.] Or, vifit them™ this was not a chance-matter, but what was fixed ‘and determined by the Lord. |

T HIS chaptet contains the prophet’s complaint of the profperity of the wicked, and the Lord’s anfwer to it; an account of the deplorable and miferable eftate of the Fewi/h nation; and a threatning to the neighbouring nations.that had ufed them ill; with a promife of deliverance of the ¥ews from them, and fettlement among God’s people, in cafe of obedience. The prophet’s complaint is in ¥. 1, 2. in which he afferts the juftice of God, yet feems at a lofs to reconcile it with the profperity of the wicked,; and the rather, becaute of their hypocrify; and appeals to the Lord. for his own fincerity and uprightnefs, ¥. 3. and prays for the deftruction of the wicked, and that the time might haften, for whofe wickednefs the land was defolate, and herbs, beafts and birds confumedy x. 3, 4. the Lord’s, anfwer, in which he reproves him for his pufillanimity, feeing he ‘had greater ‘trials than thofe to. encounter with 5 and inftruéts him how to behave towards his treacherous friends, is in ¥. 5, 6. the account of the miferable condition of the Fewi/h nation is from y. 7. to 14..under the fimile of an houfe and heritage left by the Lord, given up to enemies, and compared to.a lion, and a fpeckled bird, hateful to God, and hated by thofe about it, ¥. 7, 8, 9, and of a vineyard deftroyed and. trodden down’ by fhepherds, and made defolate; ¥. 10, 11.-even as a wildernefs thro’ the ravage of the fword; fo that 12,13.

what is fown upon it comes to nothing, ¥.

then follows a threatning to thofe who had car-! ried the people of Jrael captive, with a promife to talk with thee of thy judgments; c. 7 vances, { deliver the Yews out of their hands, and bring them into their own land, and fettle them among the Lord’s people, in cafe they ufe diligence to learn their ways, ¥. 14, 15, 16. but in cafe of difobedience, are threatened to be plucked up and utterly deftroyed, ¥. 17.

¥.1. Righteous art.thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee, &cc.] The fix firft verfes of this chapter properly belong to.the preceding,’ being of the fame argument, and in ftri& connexion with the latter part of it. Jeremy appears tobe under the fame temptation, on account of the profperity of the wicked, as 4/apb was, Py. Ixxiii, only he feems to have been more upon his. guard, and /lefs liable to fall by it; he fets out with this asa firft principle, an undoubted truth, that God was. righteous, and could do nothing wrong and amifs, however unaccountable his” providences ee end men: he did not mean, by entering, him, or by litigating this point, to. cha him with any unrighteoutnefs:_ this he took forigranted and was well fatisfied of,, that the Lord was ous, tho’, fays he, I plead with thee* fo fon

**.[ fhould contend before thy wi ftatutes, word and ordinances, fometim

» as ie ‘but rather of his providences, which are always difpenfed with equity and juftice, tho’ not always manifeft; they are fometimes unfearchable and paft finding out, and will bear a fober and modeft enquiry into them, and debate concerning them; ‘the people of God may take the liberty of afking queftions concerning them, when they are at a lofs to account for them. So the Zargum, ‘* but I «¢ will afk a queftion of judgments before thee.” "The words may be rendered, but J will {peak judgments with thee»; things that are right; that are agreeable to the word of God and found reafon; things that are confiftent with the perfections of God, particularly his juftice and holinefs; which are founded upon equity and truth; I will produce fuch reafons and arguments, as feem to be reafonable and juft. Wherefore doth the way of the wicked profper? or they profper in all their ways? whatever they take in hand fucceeds; they enjoy a large fhare of health of body; their families increafe, their trade flourifhes, their flocks and herds grow large and numerous, and they have great plenty of all outward bleffings; and yet they are wicked men, without the fear of God, regard not him, nor his worfhip and ways; but walk in their own ways which they have chofen, and delight in their abominations. Some underftand this, as Farchi, of Nebuchadnezzar, to whom God had given greatnefs and profperity, to deftroy the houfe of God; but by what follows in the latter part of the next verfe, it appears that God’s profeffing people, the Fews, are meant, and moft likely the priefts at 4nathoth. Wherefore are all they happy; eafy, quiet, fecure, live in peace and plenty: that deal very treacheroufly? with God and men, in religious and civil affairs. ¥. 2. Thou haft planted them, &c.] In the land of Canaan, fixed the bounds of their habitation, given them a firm and comfortable fettlement; for all the good things, even of the wicked, come from God: yea, they bave taken root; as every thing _ that is planted does not; but thefe did, tho’ it was downwards in the earth, on which their hearts were fet, and fo were f{trengthened and eftablifhed in their worldly circumftances: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit, but to themfelves, not toGod; not fruits of righteoufnefs or good works; they grow, not in grace and holinefs, but in their worldly fubftance; and they brought forth fruit, not fuch as were meet for repentance, but they had great riches, and numerous families; and fo the Septuagint and Arabic verfions,’ they produce children, and bring forth fruit. The Targum is, “* they become rich, ** yea, they pofiefs fubftance.” Zhou art near in their mouth; they often made ufe of the name of God, either in fwearing by it, or praying to him in an external manner; they called themfelves the Lord’s people, and boafted of being his priefts, and employed in his fervice; they took his covenant, and the words of his law, into their mouths, and taught them the people, and yet had no fincere regard for thefe things: and far from their reins, from the affections of their hearts, and the defires of their fouls; they had no true love for God, nor fear of him, nor faith in him. The Targum is, “* near are the words of thy law in *« their mouth, and far is thy fear from their <6 ¥etins

¥. 3. But thou, O Lord, knowe/t me, &c.] The Lord knew him before he was born, ch. i. 5. he knew what he defigned him for, and what ufe he would make of him;. and he knew him now, and loved him, and cared for him, as his prophet; he knew his fincerity and faithfulnefs, and took notice of it, with what integrity he performed his office, and difcharged his duty; and he knew that all his enemies faid of him were fcandal and reproach, lies and calumnies. Thou hajt feen me; his infide, his heart, and allin it; for all things are naked and open to the eyes of an omnifcient God: and tried mine beart towards thee; he had tried him by various afflictive providences, and his heart was found towards God; the affections and defires of his foul were towards him, and he remained faithful and upright before him, and not like the wicked before-mentioned. Pull them out like fheep for the flaughter, either out of the fold, or from a fat pafture; fo fat fheep are plucked from the reft, in order to be killed: this fhows that their riches, affluence, and plenty, ferved but to ripen them for ruin and deftruction, and were like the fattening of fheep for flaughter; which the prophet, by this imprecation, fuggefts and foretells would be their café, as a righteous judgment upon them; fee Fam. v.5. Prepare them for the day of flaughter; or, fanétify them™, fet them apart for it: this, doubtlefs, refers to the time of Yerufalem’s deftruction by the Chaldeans.

¥. 4. How long fhall the land mourn, &c.] The land of Fudea, being defolate, and bringing forth no fruit, through the long drought that had been upon it: and the herbs of every field wither, for want of rain to come upon it: for the wickednefs of them that dwell therein? this opens the caufe, the reafon of this dearth; it was the wickednefs of the inhabitants of it: as the whole earth was originally curfed for the fins of men, fo particular countries have had the marks of God’s difpleafure upon them, becaufe of the fins of thofe that dwell in them. This claufe, according to the accents, belongs to what follows, and may be read in connexion with the next claufe; either thus, the herbs of every field wither, I fay, becaufe of the wickednes of the inhabitants of it, which confumes the beafts and the birds *; that is, which wickednefs is the caufe not only of the withering of the grafs and herbs, but of the confumption of birds and beatts: or elfe, by repeating the interrogation in the preceding claufe, how long fhall the earth mourn, &c. how long, for the malice of them that dwell in it, are the beajts and the birds confumed ¥? the one having no grafs to eat; and the other no fruit to pick, or feeds to live upon; the barrennefs being fo very great and general. Becaufe they faid; the Fews, the inhabitants of the land, the wicked part of them, and which was the greater: be /hall not fee our laft end; either the prophet Jeremy, who had foretold it; but they did not believe him, that fuch would: be their end, and that he fhould live to fee it; or fuch was their atheifm and infidelity, that they faid God himfelf fhould not fee it; and fo the Septuagint and Arabic verfions read, God fhall not fee.

¥. 5. If thou baft run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, &c.] ‘The Targum introduces the words thus, ‘** this is the anfwer which was

“ made to Jeremiah the prophet, concerning his ‘* queftion; a prophet thou art, like to a man that ‘“‘ runs with footmen, and is weary.” Then how pany to be fhunned; nor was he fafe in their ~ houfes; nor was it fafe for him to be with them, to eat with them, or converfe with them.

canft thou contend with borfes? or with men on horfes: the fenfe is, either as Kimchi gives it, thou art among men like thyfelf, and thou art not able to find out their fecrets and their defigns againift thee (fee ch. xi. 18, 19.) how fhouldft thou know my fecrets in the government of the world, as to the profperity of the wicked, and the afflictions of the righteous? be filent, and don’t trouble thyfelf about thefe things: or rather, as thou haft had a conflict with the men of Auathoth, and they have been too many for thee; they have grieved and diftrefled thee, and have made thee weary of my work and fervice; and thou haft been ready to give out, and declare that thou wilt be no longer concerned therein; what wilt thou do, when thou comeft to be exercifed with greater and forer trials, and fhalt have to do with the king of ‘/udab and his court, with his princes and nobles, the Sanhedrim at ‘ferufalem, and the priefts and inhabitants thereof? The Yargum interprets the footmen of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and of the good things done to him; and the horfes of the righteous fathers of the ews, who run like horfes to do good works, and of the much greater good referved for them; but very improperly: much better might it be applied, as it is by fome, to the Moadites, dmmonites, and Edomites, who gave the Fews much trouble; and therefore what would they do with the Chaldean army, confifting of a large cavalry, and which would come upon them like an impetuous ftream, and overflow, as the {welling of Yordan, as follows? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou truftedft, they wearied thee, if in his own native country, where he promifed himfelf much peace, fafety, and fecurity, he met with that which rufHed and difturbed him: then how wilt thou do in the fwelling of Jordan? when it overflowed its bank, Fofa. iii. 15, and may denote the pride and haughtinefs of the king and princes of Fudea, and of the inhabitants of Feru/alem, and the difficulties that would attend the prophet’s difcharge of his duty among them; and the fame thing is fignified by this proverbial expreffion as the former.

¥. 6. For even thy brethren, and the houfe of thy father, &c.] The men of Anathoth: even they have dealt treacheroufly with thee, by laying fchemes, and confulting methods, to take away his life privately, his enemies were thofe of his own houfe; which is oftentimes the cafe of good men, and efpecially of fuch that are in public office: yea, they have called a multitude after thee; a multitude of men, which they gathered together, and inftigated to call after him in a clamorous and reproachful way: or, they called after thee with a full voice, as the Vulgate Latin * verfion renders it; and which De Diew approves of; they not only gathered a mob about him, and drew men after him, but they hooted him as he went along, and called aloud after him, giving him the moft reproachful names they could think of: delieve them not, though they /peak fair words to thee; this muft be underftood of fome of them, who did not appear fo openly againft him as to call after him, or gather a mob about him; but of fuch who pretended to be his friends, and to have refpeét for him, and yet had evil defigns again{t him, and therefore were not to be trufted; their words were not to be believed; their com- ple, where the Lord took up his refidence, and vouchfafed his prefence to his people; this was fulfilled in the firft temple, when it was deftroyed by the Chaldeans; and more fully in the fecond, when Chrift took his leave of it, Matt. xxiii. 38. and when that voice was heard in it, a little before the deftruction of Ferufalem, as Fofephus * relates, ‘* let us go hence.” So the Targum, “ IT ‘* have forfaken the houfe of my fanctuary.” J have left mine heritage, the people whom he had chofen for his inheritance, whom he prized and valued, took care of, and protected as fuch; fee Deut. xxxii. 9. Ihave given the dearly beloved of my foul, whom he heartily loved and delighted in, and who were as dear to him as the apple of his eye: into the hands of her enemies, the Chaldeans. This prophecy reprefents the thing as if it was already done, becaufe of the certainty of it, and to awaken the Fews out of their lethargy and ftupidity; and by the characters which the Lord gives of them it appears, what ingratitude they had been guilty of, and that their ruin was owing to themfelves and their fins,

X. 8. Mine heritage is unto me as a@ lion in the foreft, 8cc.| Which roars, and terrifies paflengers from going that way; and which rends and tears in pieces all it meets with. ‘This expreffés the clamours of thefe people againft God and his providences, and their rage, fiercenefs, and cruelty againft his prophets, {ent in his name. IJ¢ crieth out againft me, this is to be underftood not of the cry of the oppreffed thro’ violence, for this is a cry to God, and not againft him; or of idolaters to idols, as Baal’s prophets to him, in the time of their fervice; which fenfes are mentioned by Kimchi: but either of their charging God with inequality and injuftice, in the ways of his providence; or their blafpheming his name, and fpeaking ill of his minifters. Therefore have I bated it; which he fhowed by leaving his houfe, forfaking his heritage, and delivering his people into the hands of their enemies; the reafon of which was not in himfelf, but them; the fault was not his, but theirs; this is all to be underftood of the change in the difpenfation of the divine providence towards them; otherwife the love of God to his chofen in Chrift is unchangeable; it is never turned into hatred, but remains invariably the fame, as it did to. thofe, among thefe people, who belonged to the election of grace; for as the love before exprefiéd to this people in general, only refpects external favours and privileges, which they were indulged with — above all people; fo this hatred of them fignifies — the taking away of fuch favours, and leaving to become a prey, to their enemies. f

¥. 9. Mine heritage is unto me as a fpeckled bird, &cc.] Or, is not mine heritage unto me as a peckled bird»? as a bird of various colours, delig to look at, as the peacock, fo erom interprets it here; it was fo formerly, but not fo now; OF as a bird of divers colours, and unufual, which other birds get about, look on, hate, and peck at. Some think this refers to the motly party- coloured religion the ews had embraced, confifting of various rites and ceremonies of the heathens; on which account they thought they looked oe i ful and comely, when they were hated and rejected ot God for them; but the word fignifies rather to be dipped or ftained, as with blood, and fo denotes a bird of prey that is ftained with the blood of others; a fit emblem of the cruelty of the Fews, in fhedding the blood of the prophets. - Some, becaufe a word near a-kin to this fignifies a finger, render it a fingered bird“, that is, a bird with talons or claws, like fingers, a ravenous bird, and it comes to the fame fenfe as before. But the Septuagint take it to be not a bird, but a beaft, and render it by the Hyena; and which Bochart ¢ approves of, fince the word in the Arabic language fignifies fuch a creature; and Schindler obferves, that yoy, with the radians, is the name of a creature between a wolf and a middling dog, which agrees with the Hyava. The word here ufed, in the Talmudic * language fignifies a fhe-leopard or panther, fo called from its variety of fpots; and is the fame, as Maimonides {ays ‘, which in the Arabic language is called yards; with the Zargumifis it is ufed for a kind of ferpents or vipers. So the valley of Zzeboim is rendered, in the Zargum, the valley of vipers, 1 Sam. xiii. 18. And it is faid *, yiny, the werd in the text, ‘‘ this is “© from a white drop (or feed) and yet it has three ** hundred and fixty-five kinds of colours, ac- *< cording to the number of the days of a folar “ year,” The birds round about are againft her; or, are not the birds round about againft her? the birds of prey? they are; meaning the neighbouring nations, that under Nebuchadnezzar came up againft Ferujalem to take and deftroy it. Come ye, affemble all ye beafts of the field, come to devour; this is an invitation to the enemies of the people of the ews, comparable for their fiercenefs and favagenefs to the beafts of the field, to come and deftroy them; and fhows, that their deftruction was by divine permiffion, and according to the will of God.. Compare with this Rev. xix. 17, 18. The Targum interprets it cf thofe that kill with the fword; kings of the earth, and their armies.

¥. 10. Many paftors have deftroyed my vineyard, &c.] This is a metaphor which is often ufed of the people of J/rael and Fudab; fee Pj. \xxx. 8. If. v. 1—7. and xxvii, 2. the paftors that deftroyed them are not their own governors, civil or religious, but heathen princes, Nebuchadnezzar and his generals. So the Zargum paraphrafes it, ‘‘ many ** kings flay my people;” fo Kimchi and Ben Melech. They have trodden my portion under foot; the people of the Fews, that were his portion, and before called his heritage; whom the Chaldeans fubdued, and reduced to extreme fervitude and bondage, and were as the dirt under their feet, greatly opprefied and defpifed. They have made my pleafant portion a defolate wildernefs; by pulling down ftately edifices, unwalling of towers, and deftroying men; fo that there were none to manure the fields, to drefs the vineyards, and keep gardens and orchards in good cafe; but all were come to ruin, and what before was a delightful paradife, was now like an heath or defert.

y. 11. They have made it defolate, &c.] Which is repeated to denote the certainty of it, aftonifhment at it, and that it might be obferved: and being defolate it mourneth unto me; not the inhabitants of it for their fins, the caufe of this defolation; but the land itfelf, becaufe of the calamities upon it; it crying to God, in its way, for a reftoration to its former beauty and glory. The whole land is made defolate; it was not only the cafe of Ferujalem, and the parts adjacent, but even of the whole land of Fudea: becauje no man layeth it to beart, took any notice of the judgment threatened, foretold by the prophets; nor repented of their fins, for which they were threatened with fuch a detolation; nor even were properly affected with the deftruction itfelf, the earth feemed more fenfible of it than they were; this expreflés the great {tupidity of this people.: ¥. 12. The fpoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderne/s, &c.] Of Fudea; or which lay between Chaldea and fudea, thro’ which the Chaldean army came; called here the /poilers, becaufe they fpoiled and plundered all places where they came; nor could the high, {trong and fortified places withftand them, or efcape their ravage and fury. De Dieu renders it, upon all the plains in the wilderne/s; where was pafture, land tor cattle, as Kimchi obferves; which were trodden down and fpoiled by the foldiers, and made forage of: or the fwod of the Lord fhall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land; the fword of the Chaldeans is called the fword of the Lord, becaufe it was drawn by his order and appointment, and was fucceeded by him to do execution; and the calamity which it brought upon the land, reached from one end of it to the other, fo general and extenfive it was. No flefh fhall have peace; no inhabitant of Fudea fhall be in fafety, but be expofed to the fword, or to captivity. ¥. 13. They have fown wheat, but hall reap thorns, &c.] Which may be underftood literally, the land of udea being curfed for their fins, and become barren and unfruitful, as the earth originally was for the fin of the firft man, Geu. iii. 19. or rather figuratively, which fome interpret of the prophets, as Kimchi, fowing the good {feed of the word among the Yews; but it did not take place in them, and bring forth fruit; inftead thereof thorns fprung up, or evil works were done by them, comparable thereunto: but it feems better to underftand it of the people; not, as Farchi, of their prayers, which were not accepted, becaufe unattended with repentance and good works; but of their fchemes, which they thought were prudently laid, in forming an alliance with Egypt, and fending thither for help againft the Chaldeans, but all in vain; thefe proved in the iffue like thorns, grievous and vexatious to them. The Septuagint verfion reads imperatively, fow ye; and Farchi makes mention of a copy, in which the word was pointed as to be fo read, as in Hof. x. 12. and may be underftood ironically. The Targum is, *¢ be ye not like thofe who fow wheat in untilled ‘¢ Jand, and can gather nothing but thorns.” They have put themfelves to pain, but foall not profit; were at a great deal of pains and trouble to make Egyp¢ their ally, and fend thither for aififtance, and all to no purpofe. Kimchi’s father interprets this of their uneafinefs and grief at parting with fo much money to the king of Egypt, without having any advantage by it; which is to be preferred to the fenfe archi gives, of the people crying to God, and rieving becaufe not regarded by him. Some rena the words, ¢hey have got an inheritance, as the Vulgate Latin; the land of Canaan, but they’ll not be be able to ‘keep it; it fhall no longer be theirs, or any advantage to them. And they foall be afoamed of your revenues, not the prophets of the evil works of the people, but rather the people of their own evil works; and particularly of their f{chemes, counfels, and preparations, to fecure themfelves againft the enemy; of their alliances with other nations, and of vain confidences; the fuccefs not anfwering to the pains and expence they had been at; but thefe failing and difappointing them, would fill them with fhame and contufion. Becauje of the fierce anger of the Lord; againft which there was no ftanding; this being infinitely more powerful than the Chaldean army, by the means of which it came upon them, and from which no fchemes and alliances could proteét them.

y. 14. Thus faith the Lord againft all mine evil neighbours, &c.] Or, concerning’ them; the Egyptians, Philiftines, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomttes, Tyre and Sidon; whom the Lord calls his meighbours, becaufe they were near the land of Canaan, where his people dwelt, to whom he vouchfafed his prefence, and where the temple was in which he took up his refidence; and his evé/ neighbours, becaufe they often diftreffed and afflicted his people. Ihat touch the inheritance which I have caufed my people Irael to inherit, meaning not only that they bordered on the land of Canaan, and fo might be faid to touch it, but that they did hurt unto it; in which fenfe the word ¢ouch is ufed, Pf cv. 15. the land of Canaan was an inheritance which was diftributed by lot to the children of J/rael, who were a people dear unto the Lord, as this fhows; and therefore they that touched them, or their inheritance, as to do them any harm, touched the apple of his eye, and which he refented greatly, Zech, ii. 8. “Bebold, I will pluck them out of their land; caufe them to be carried captive into other lands, or be deftroyed in their own; fee ch. xlvi. xlvii. xlviii. xlix: and pluck out the houfe of Ffudab from among them; fauch of the Fews they had formerly carried captive, or who had fled to them upon the Chaldean invafion; thefe the Lord would caufe to come forth from among them, and return them to their own land.

¥. 15. And it fhall come to pafs after that I have plucked them. out, &c.] Not the ews only, but more efpecially their neighbouring nations; after they have been plucked up and carried captive, and been in captivity fome time: J will return, and have compaffion on them, or, have compaffo: them again‘, by returning their captivity, as is — promifed, ch, xlviii. 47. and xlix. 6, 39: and Iwill bring them again, every man to bis heritage, and every man to bis land; this feems to refpeét the con- — verfion of the Gentiles in the latter day, when the fulnefs of them fhall be brought in; as the latter part of the preceding verfe may more cecil 7 regard the converfion of the Yews at the rnc, when they fhall be gathered out of ‘all nati where they are, and return to their own land.

¥. 16. And it. fhall come to pafs, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, &c.] Not their evil ways of fin or fuperftition, they fometi ftray into; but the ways which God has prefcribed to them, and has directed them to walk in, and in which they do walk; and which are to be learned of the Lord, by a diligent attendance with his people on his word and ordinances; fee a. i, 3° to fwear by my name, the Lord liveth; that is, to worfhip and ferve the living God, a felf-exiftent being, who has life in himfelf, and of himfelf, and not another; and is the fountain, author, and giver of natural life to all creatures, and fpiritual and eternal life to his true worfhippers: fwearing is here put for the whole of religious worfhip, as in Deut. vi. 13: (as they taught my people to fwear by Baal); to worfhip him, and other idols: ¢hen /hall they be built in the midft of my people, become part of the fpiritual building the church; being laid upon the fame foundation of the apoftles and prophets, and built up an holy temple, a fpiritual houfe for the Lord to dwell in; partaking of the fame privileges and ordinances as the people of God; being fellow-heirs, and of the fame body, and partakers of the promife in Chrift by the gofpel, Eph. ii. 20, 21.’and iii. 6. it denotes the fettlement and eftablifhment of the Genéi/es with the Fews in a gofpel-church-ftate. So the Targum, *« and they fhall be eftablifhed in the midft of my “¢ people.”.

y. 17. But if they will not obey, &c.] Or hear *; the word of the Lord, and hearken to the minifters of the gofpel, and be fubject to the ordinances of it; or as the Targum, “* will not re- ° “¢ ceive inftruction:” J will utterly pluck up and deftroy that nation, faith the Lord; root it up from being a nation, ftrip it of all its privileges and enjoyments, and deftroy it with an everlafting de- {truction; fee Zech. xiv. 16, 47, 18. '

N this chapter, under the fimilies of a girdle and bottles of wine, the deftruction of the ews is fet forth. Some exhortations are given them to repent and humble themfelves, even men of all ranks and degrees among them; and their fins, the fource of their calamities, are pointed out to them. An order is given to the prophet to get him a linnen girdle, with inftruétions what to do ~ with it, and which he obferved, y. 1, 2. a frefh order to take it and hide it in the hole “of a rock by the river Euphrates, which he accordingly did, ¥. 3, 4, 5. and he is bid a third time to go and take it from thence, which he did; when he found it fpoiled, and good for nothing, ¥. 6, 7. then fol- lows the application of this fimile, or the fignification of this fign; that in like manner the pride of Judah and Ferufalem fhould be marred, and for for nothing, like that girdle; whereas they to have cleaved to the Lord, as a girdle ¢ man’s loins, and to have been an hono ple to him, ¥. 8, 9, 10, 11. By the fim tles filled with wine, is fignified, that bitants of the land, king, priefts, pro) common people, fhould be like drunk fhould dafh one againft another, an ~ other, which the mercy of God woul vent,

SHON rurlus mifereat me i * Ww” auc people in general, to be humble, and confefs their ‘ fins, and give glory to God, before it was too late; which are enforced by the prophet’s affectionate concern for them, y¥. 15, 16, 17. and to the king and queen in particular, fince their crown and kingdom were about to be taken from them; the cities, in the fouthern parts, going to be fhut up, and not opened; and even the whole land of Fudea, and all its inhabitants, in a little time would be carried captive, ¥. 18, 19. and to certify them _ of the truth of thefe things, they are bid to look to the north, from whence the enemy was coming to carry them captive, even the beautiful flock committed to their care, ¥. 20. and to confider what they could fay for themfelves, when their punifhment fhould come upon them fuddenly, as the forrows of a woman in travail, ¥. 21. and fhould they afk the reafon of this, it was owing to the multitude of their iniquities, and to their habit and. cuftom of finning, which made their cafe defperate, ¥. 22, 23. wherefore a refolution is taken to difperfe them among the nations, and that this fhould be their lot and portion, becaufe of their many abominations, and yet not without fome concern, that they might be purged from their iniquities, ¥. 24, 25,,26, 27.

¥. 3. And the word of the Lord, &c.| The Targum is, “ the word of prophecy from before the ** Lord:” came unto me the fecond time, faying; what diftance of time there was between this order and the former, is not known. ¥. 4. Take the girdle which thou baft got, which is upon thy loins, &c.] Either he is bid to take it off his loins, on which it was; or to go with it on them; feeing the taking it off does not feem abfolutely neceffary; and go with it to the place directed to, in the following words: aad arife, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock; by the river-fide, where the waters, coming and going, would reach and wet it, and it drying again, would rot the fooner. This fignifies the carrying of the ews captive to Babylon, by which city the river Euphrates ran, and the obfcure ftate and condition they would be in there; and where all their pride and glory would be marred, as afterwards declared. ¥. 5. So I went and bid it by Euphrates, &c.] Or, iv° it; in a hole of the rock, upon the banks of it: as the Lord commanded me; all this feems to be done not really, but vifionally; it can hardly be thought that Feremy fhould be fent on two fuch long journeys, on fuch an account, which would take up a confiderable time to perfotm it in; but rather, that he went and came in like manner as Ezekiel did, in the vifions of God, from Chaldea to Ferufalem, and trom thence to Chaldea again, Ezek. viii. 3. and xi. 24. and fo Maimonides? was of opinion, as Kimchi on the place obferves, that all this was done in a vifion of prophecy. ¥. 6. And it came to pafs after many days, &c.] When the girdle had lain long in the hole, by the fide of Euphrates: this denotes the length of the - Babylonifh captivity, which was feventy years. And the Lord faid unto me, arife, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there; which may denote the return of thefe people from captivity, according to the prophecy of Feremiah, fee ch. xxv. 11, 12. tho’ this feems to be vifionally done, in order to exprefs the wretched ftate and condition thefe people were in; either before the captivity, which was the caufe of it; or at their return from it, when they were no better for it. ¥. 7. Then I went to Euphrates, &c.] Ina vifion; this is the fecond journey, of which fee the note on ¥. 5: and digged; the hole, in procefs of time, being ftopped up with foil or fand, that were thrown up over it; this digging was in a vifionary way; fee Ezek. viii. 8: and took the girdle from the place where I bad hid it; which he knew again by fome token or another: and behold, the girdle was marred, or corrupted 2; it was become rotten, by the wafhing of the water over it, and its long continuance in fuch a place: i was profitable for nothing; it could not be put upon a man’s loins, or be wore any more; nor was it fit for any other ufe, it was fo fadly fpoiled, and fo thoroughly rotten. It is in the Hebrew text, # Jhall not profper to all" things; that is, not fo any thing *, as many render it. y. 8. Then the word of the Lord came unto me, faying,| Or the word of prophecy from before the. é Lord, Le ome ws ted i linorum, Montanus. m 2 $99) fed per aquam non duces eam, Schmidt. 2 =a eg | aoe creda Cocceius, PAs ms? agate Fr endian V.L. Pagninus, Montanus, Calvin. P More Nevochim, par. 2. c. 46. p. 323. @ [\Mv') corruptum erat, Munfter, Montanus, Schmidt; computruerat, Pagninus. i bys mdy? nS) non proficiet omnibus, Vatablus. * Non profperabitur caiquam, Montanus; ad ullam rem, Junius & Tremellius, Pifcator.

y. 1. Thus faith the Lord unto me, &c.| Ina vifion, and by the’fpirit of prophecy: when. this’ was faid is not certain, very likely in the reign of Fehoiakim, the prophet gives an account of what had been done, the prefent tenfe is put for the patft. Go and get thee a linen girdle, or, a girdle of linens‘ a girdle made of flax or fine linen, which the prophet had not ufed to wear; and having none, is bid to go, perhaps from Axnaihoth to Fe- _ rufalem, to get one, or buy one: this girdle reprefents the people of the ews in their more pure and lefs corrupted f{tate, when they were a people near unto the Lord, and greatly regarded by him, and had a fhare in his affections; when they cleaved unto him, and ferved him, and were to his praife and glory: and put it upon thy loins; near the reins, the feat of affection and defire, and that it might be vifible and ornamental; denoting what has been before obferved: and or but put it not in water, or, bring it not thro it ™; meaning either before he put it on his loins; and the fenfe is, that he was not to wafhit, and whiten it, but to wear it juft as it was wrought; fignifying that thofe people were originally taken by the Lord of his own mercy, and without any merits of theirs, rough, unwafhed, and unpolifhed as they were: or elfe, after he had wore it, as Farchi, when it was foiled with fweat; yet ‘not to be wafhed, that it might rot the fooner; and fo may defign the corrupt and filthy ftate of this people, and the ruin brought thereby upon them, which was not to be prevented.

¥. 2. So I got a girdle, &c.|] Or, bought * one; a linen one, as directed: according to the word of the Lord; his exprefs order and command; the prophet was not difobedient to the heavenly vifion: and I put it on my loins; without wafhing it before or after, and wore it publickly for fome time.

Lord, as the Targum; and now follows the application of this fign to the thing fignified, and the whole intention of it is opened.

¥.9. Thus faith the Lord, after this manner, &c.] As this girdle has been hid in Euphrates, and has been marred and rendered ufelefs; fo in like manner, and by fuch like means, will I mar the pride of Fudab, and the great pride of Ferufalem; or their glory, or excellency‘; that which they gloried in, and were proud of; their city which was burnt, and their temple which was deftroyed by the Chaldeans, their king, princes and nobles, who were carried captive into Badylon by the river

Euphrates, and ftripped of all their grandeur, ho-/ nour and glory; and fo the Targum, “ fo will I “* corrupt the ftrength of the men of Fudah, and

“the ftrength of the inhabitants of ‘eru/alem, | “¢ which is much;” and to which agrees the Syriac’

verfion, which renders it, ‘‘ the proud or haughty «« men of Judah, and the many haughty men of “ Ferufalem.”

turned a deaf ear; and tho’ they prefled them, and importunately defired them to give them a hearing, they refufed it; and this fhowed them to be a bad people, very degenerate and wicked; and which further appears by what follows: which walk in the imagination of their heart; which was evil, ftubborn and rebellious; fee ch. vii. 24. and ix. 14: and walk after other gods to ferve them, and to worrip them; went to Egypt and Afpria to pay their adoration to thofe who were not by nature gods; and this was the caufe of their ruin and deftruction: foail even be as this girdle which is good for nothing; as they were corrupt in their practices, and were become ufelefs and unferviceable to God; fo they would be carried captive into a foreign country, where they would be inglorious and unprofitable, uncomfortable in themfelves, and of no ufe to one another.

y. 11. For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, &c.] Being girt tight unto him: /o have I caufed to cleave unto me the whole houfe of Lfrael, and the whole boufe of Fudab; whom he chofe above all people, and caufed to approach unto him, and dwell in his courts; whom he favoured with his prefence, and encouraged them to follow after him, and cleave to him in faith and affection, and with full purpofe of heart; fo that they were a people near unto him as a man’s girdle is to his loins: and the end of this was, and would have been, had they continued fo, that they might be unto me for a people, his own people, a {pecial and peculiar people above all others, peculiarly favoured and blefied by him, and continue fo, and in the enjoyment of all good things: and for a name, and for a praife, and for a glory, for a famous and renowned people, that fhould be to the praife and glory of God, and an honour to him, and an ornament to the profeffion of him; whereas they were the reverfe: but they would not hear; the words of the Lord, nor obey his voice; but ferved other gods, departed from the Lord, to whom they fhould have cleaved, and fo became like this rotten. girdle.

¥.12. Therefore thou fhalt {peak unto them this word, &c.] The following parable: rhus faith the Lord God of Ifrael, what was to be faid is pre- faced with thefe words, to fhew that it was not a trifling matter, but of moment and importance; ~~ and not to be flighted and defpifed as it was: every. bottle fhall be filled with wine; meaning every inhabitant of Fudea and Ferufalem, comparable to bottles or earthen vefféls, as the Yecwifh writers interpret it, for their being empty of all that is good, and for their frailty and brittlenefs, being liable to be broke to pieces, and to utter ruin pi os tion; thefe are threatened to be filled with wine; not literally taken, fuch as they loved; tho’ there may be an allufion to their intemperance, and fo this is a juft retaliation for their fins;, but figuratively, with the wine of divine wrath; and their being filled with it denotes the greatnefs of the calamities which fhould come upon them, and be around them on all fides: and they fhall fay unte thee; upon hearing the above, and by way of reply to it: do we not certainly know; or, knowing do we not know“, can we be thought to be igno-

{rant of this, that. every bottle fhall be filled with ¥. 10. This evil people, which refufe to hear my | words, &c.] Sent by the prophets, to whom they ' wine? every child knows this; what elfe are bot~ tlés made for? is this the errand thou art fent on by the Lord? and is this all the knowledge and information that we are to have by thy prophefying? or what doit thou mean by telling us that which we and every body know? what is defigned by this? furely thou muft have another meaning in it, than what the words exprefs.

¥.13. Then fhalt thou fay unto them, 8c.) Explaining the above words: hus faith the Lord, bebold, 1 will fill all the inhabitants of this land; this ~ is the application of the parable, and fhews that by every bottle is meant every inhabitant of Fudea: even the kings that fit upon David's throne; or, that

Sit for David on bis throne”; that fucceed him one - after another; more kings may be meant than one, as Fehoiakim and Zedekiah, or the prefent reigning king, and the princes of the blood are defigned; who, tho’ of David’s family, and on his throne, yet this could not fecure them from the calamity threatened: and the priefts; who miniftred in holy things; their facred office and fun¢tion would not preferve them from ruin; and the prophets; the falfe prophets, as the Targum, that prophefied fmooth things, and promifed them peace and fafety, thefe fhould be involved in the common deftruction: and all the inhabitants of Ferufalem with drunkenne/s; with tribulation, as the Jergum inter-. prets it; and adds, ‘* and fhall be like.a drunken ‘© man;” giddy, ftupid, unable to help. themfelves, or to advife one another. bo Mab ay ¥.14. And I will dafo them one againft another, &c.] As drunken men fall foul on. one another, and quarrel and fight; or in allufion to bottles and. earthen vefiels they are before compared to;and may _ denote the inteftine broils and contentions, among, themfelves, thar inftead of affifting each othersin their diftrefs, they would be deftroying. one, another; which was notorious in the laft fiege of Ferufalem: even the fathers and the fons tage faith the Lord; no relation, nor even age nor | being regarded: { will not pity, nor. Spare, nor mercy, but deftroy them, the Lordis har L we all this; every thing was by his, permifiion according to his will; he would: not pre yen enemy’s invading, befieging and taking ther hinder themfelves from deftroying one E