Exposition of the Whole Bible

N this chapter is fore-fhewed, reprefented and I confirmed, the deftruction of Yerujalem, by the breaking of a potter’s vefiel the prophet had in his hand; and by the place where he was bid to do this, and did it. ‘The order for it, and the witnefies of it, and the place where it was done, are declared in ¥. 1, 2. the proclamation there of Ferufalem’s ruin is made, y¥. 3. the caufe of it, their apoftacy, idolatry and fhedding of innocent blood, ¥. 4, 5. the great flaughter of them by the fword and famine, y¥. 6, 7, 8,9. and how eafy, and irrefiftible, and irrecoverable their deftruction would be, are fignified by the breaking of the bottle, ¥. 10,11. when Ferufalem for its idolatry would become as defiled a place as Zophet, where the prophet was, ¥. 12, 13. from whence he came to the temple, and there repeated the proclamation of the evil that fhould come upon that city, and all the towns around it, ¥. 14, 15.

¥.1. Thus faith the Lord, go and get a potter's earthen bottle, &c.] From the potter’s houfe, where he had lately been; and where he had been fhown, in an emblematic way, what God would do in a fhort time with the Yews; and which is here further illuftrated by this emblem: or, go and get, or buy, a bottle of the potter, an earthen one*; fo Kimchi; called in Hebrew, Bakbuk, from the gugling of the liquor poured into it, or out of it, or drank out of it, which makes a found like this word '; and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priefls; the word take is rightly fupplied by our tranflators, as it is by the Targum, the Septuagint, Syriac and Arabic verfions; for thefe words are not to be connected with the former, as in the Vulgate Latin verfion; as ifthe prophet was

to get or buy the earthen bottle of the elders of the people, and of the priefts; but thofe who were the greateft and principal men of the city, and of which the Fewi/h Sanbedrim confifted, were to be taken by the prophet to be witneflés of what were faid and done, to fee the bottle broke, and hear what eremy from the Lord had to fay; who, from their years, it might be reafonably thought would ferioufly attend to thofe things, and would report them to the people to great advantage; and the Lord who fent the prophet to them, ro doubt inclined their hearts to go along with him who, otherwife, in all probability, would have refufed; and perhaps would have charged him with impertinence and boldnefs, and would have rejeéted his motion with contempt, as foolifh or mad, ¥.2. And go forth into the valley of the fon of Hinnom, &c.) To whom it formerly belonged, and fo it was called as early as Yo/bua’s time, Fo.

xv. 8. from the filth and abomination of the place, and the fhocking torments here exercifed, hell, from hence, in the New Teftament, is called Gehenna: here the prophet with the elders were to go, for reafons after-mentioned; becaufe here their cruel idolatries were committed, and Ferufelem was to be made like unto it for pollution and bloodfhed: which is by the entry of the eaft-gate; the way to it out of Yerufalem lay through the eattgate of the city.. The Targum calls it, the dunggate; through which the filth of the city was carried out, and laid near it, and where lay the potters fherds; hence fome render it, the oaiiherdgate”; or.rather it fhould be, the potter’s-gate; for that reafon, becaufe the potter’s field and houfe lay near it, from whence. the pi t had his earthen bottle; others call it, the /um-gate";:. > becaute becaufe it lay to the fun-rifing; but feeing the valley of Hinnom was to the fouth of Ferufalem, this feems rather to be the fouth-gate; and a proper fituation this was for the potters to dry and harden their pots. The Septuagint, Syriac and Arabic verfions leave it untranflated, and cal] it the gate Harfith or Hadfith: and proclaim there the words that I fhall tell thee; for as yet it was not made known to him what he fhould do with his bottle, or fay to the elders, until he came td the place he was ordered to.

¥. 3. And fay, hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, &c.| ‘The king and his queen; or the king and his fons; or the king and his princes, and nobles; for there was but one king reigning at a time in Fudah, and the prefent king was Zedekich, fee ch. xxi. 1: and inhabitants of Ferufalem, the elders of which, and of the priefts were now before him; to whom he faid the following things, that they might tell them to the perfons mentioned: ‘hus faith the Lord of hofts, the God of Ifrael; who is able to do whatfoevér he pleafes in the armies of the heavens, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and will do fo among his own people, notwithftanding his being the God of I/rael: I will bring evil upon this place; the evil of punifhment for the evil of fin; fuch as the fword, famine and captivity; meaning not on that fpot of ground where the prophet with the elders were, but upon the city of Yerufalem, and on all the Jand of Fudea: the which whofoever heareth, bis ears fall tingle; it fhall be aftonifhing and furprifing to him; it fhall even ftun him; he fhall ftand as one thunder-ftruck; or be fo affected with it, as a man is at a violent clap of thunder, or at fome exceeding vehement found, which leaves fuch an impreffion upon him, and continues with him, that he cannot get rid of it; but it feems to be continually founding in his ears, and they even eccho and ring with it; fee 1 Sam. iii,11. The phrafe denotes the greatnefs of the calamity, and the furprife which the bare report of it would bring with it.

¥. 4. Becaufe they have forfaken me, &c.] My worthip, as the Targum; they had apoftatifed from God, relinquifhed his fervice, negiected and defpifed his word and ordinances, and lett the religion they had.been brought up in, and was agreeable to the will of God. This, with what follows, contain reaions of the Lord’s threatning them to bring evil upon them, as before: and have eftranged this place; or made a ftrange place of it, fo that it could fearcely be known to be the fame, nor would the Lord own it as his; meaning either the city of Ferufalem, to which the prophet was near, and could point to it; or the temple which was in fight, and which they had ftrangely abufed, by offering ftrange facrifices to ftrange gods; or the valley of Hinnom, the fpot he was upon, and which they had alienated from its original ufe: and have burnt incenfe in it unto other gods; to ftrange gods, the gods of the Genjiles,; and this they did both in the city of Ferufalem, and in the temple, and very probably in the valley of Hinnom, where they facrificed their children: gods whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Fudah; of whofe wildom, power and goodnefs, neither they nor their fathers before them, nor any of their kings had had any inftance; and whofe help and affiftance, in times of danger and difficulty, they had had no experience of; and tll now, neither they nor their anceftors had ever owned them, or acknowledged them; nor fcarcé~ had heard of their names; nor any of their pious kings, as David, Afa, Fehofhapbat, Hezekiah and Toyah: and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; young children that were facrificed here to idols, as they weré in the valley of Hinnom, which feems to be the place principally intended; fo that they were not only guilty of idolatry, but of murder; and of the murder of innocent creatures, and even of their own babes 3 which was fhocking and unheard-of cruelty!

¥.5. They have aljo built the high places of Baal, &c.] Or, they have even built, &c. and fo the words explain what is before fuggefted of their idolatry; thefe were the temples in which they placed his imagé, and the altars on which they facrificed to him; as follows: to burn their fons with fire, for burnt-offerings unto Baal; the fame idol that is fometimes called Moloch, the names being much of the fame fignification; the one fignifying a lord or majfter; the other a king; ahd to the idol under each name they burned their children with fire, and offered them as burnt-offerings unto it; which was a moft cruel and barbarous way of facrificing. Some think they only caufed them to pafs thro’ two fires; but the text is exprefs for it, that they butnt them with fire, and made burntofferings of them, as they did with fain beatfts. It feems very likely that they did both: which I commanded not; in my law, as thé Targum adds; and which was intimation enough to avoid it; tho’ this was not all, he exprefsly forbad it, Lev. xx. 2, 3,4,5: nor fpake it, neither came it into my mind; and it is marvellous it fhould ever enter into the heart of man; hone but fatan himfelf could ever have devifed fuch a way of worfhip:

y.6. Therefore, bebold, the days come, faith thé Lord, &c.} Or, are coming °., a little while and it will come to pafs, what follows; to which a dehold is prefixed, as calling for attention and admiration, as well as to affure of the certain performance of it: that this place fha!l no more be called Tophet; as it had been from the beating of drums in it, that the cries and fhrieks of injants burnt in the fire might not be heard by their parents: ‘nor the valley of the fon of Hinnom; which was its {name in the times of Yo/oua, and long before it was called Jophet; but now it fhould have neither ‘names: but the valley of flaughter; or, of the flain, as the Zargum, from the multitude of thofe that fhould be killed here, at the fiege and taking of Ferufalem; or that fhould be brought hither to be buried; fee ¥. 11. and the note on ch. vii. 32.

¥. 7. And I will make void the counfel of Fudab and Ferufalem in this place, &c.] The counfel which they took in this place and agreed to, in offering their fons and daughters to idols; and which they took with thefe idols and their priefts, from whom they expected affiftance and relief; and all their fchemes and projects for their deliverance; thefe were all made to appear to be mere empty things, as empty as the earthen bottle he had in his hand, to which there is an allufion; there being an elegant paronomafia between the word? here ufed and that: and I will caufe them to fall by the fword before their enemies; fach as fallied out from. the city, or attempted to make their efcape: and by the hands of them that feek their lives, and fo would not fpare them, when they fell into them: and their carcafes wil] I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beafts of the earth, fignifying that they fhould have no ‘burial, but their (lain bodies fhould lie upon the earth, and be fed upon by fowls and beatts.

‘¥.8. And I will make this city defolate, and an biffing, &c.] An hiffing to its enemies; an hiffing becaufe defolate; when its walls fhould be broken down, its houfes burnt with fire, and its inhabitants put to the fword, or carried captive: every one that paffeth thereby Jhall be aftonifhed, and hifs, furprifed to fee the defolations of it; that a city once fo famous and flourifhing, fhould be reduced to fuch a miferable condition; and yet hifs by way of deteftation and abhorrence of it, and for joy at its ruin: becaufe of all the plagues thereof; by which it was brought to defolation, as the fword, famine, burning and captivity.

¥.9. Aud I will caufe them to eat the fefa of their fons, and the fleh of their daughters, &c.] For want of food; the famine fhould be fo great and prefling. -Yeremy that foretells this, was a witnefs of it, and has left it on record, Lam. iv. 10: and they fhall eat every one the flefh of his friend. ‘The Targum interprets it, the goods or fubftance of his neighbour; which is fometimes the fenfe of eating the flefh of another; but as it is to be taken in a literal fenfe, in the preceding claufe, fo in this: fo it fhould be, iz the fiege and ftraitue/s, wherewith their enemies, and they that feek their lives foall firaiten them, the fiege of Feru/alem thould be fo clofe, that. no provifion could be got in to the relief of the inhabitants; which obliged them to take the fhocking methods before-mentioned. erom obferves, that tho’ this was fulfilled at the Babylonifo captivity, yet more fully when Feru/alem was befieged by Vefpafian and Titus, and ip. the times of “Hadrian. ‘Fofephus* gives us a moft fhocking relation of a woman eating her own fon.

_y¥. 10. Then fhalt thou break the botile in the fight of the men that go with thee.| The earthen bottle he was bid to get of the potter, ¥.1. this he is ordered to break in pieces before the eyes of the ancients of the people, and of the priefts that went with him out of Ferujalem to Topbet, as an emblem of the eafy, fure and utter deftruction of Ferufalem; for nothing is more eafily broken than an earthen veflel; and fo eafily was Feru/alem deftroyed by the Chaldean army; nor can an earthen pot refift any force that is ufed againft it; nor could the inhabitants of Feru/alem withftand the force of Webuchadnezzar’s army; and an earthen veffel once broken, cannot be put together again; a new ene muft be made; which was the cafe both of the city and temple; and which, upon the re- | turn from the captivity, were not repaired, but rebuilt.

y.11. And fhalt fay unto them, thus faith the Lord of bofts, &c.] Of armies above and below; and fo able to execute what he here threatens: even fo will I break this people, and this city, the people, the inhabitants of this city, and that itfelf, by the fword, famine, burning and captivity: 4s one breaketh a potter's velfel that cannat be made whole again; or bealed*, a potter’s veffél upon the wheel, fuch 2n one as the prophet had feen, and to which the ews are compared, ch. xviii. 394. being marred, may be reftored and put into another form and fhape; but one that is dried and hardened, when

When he -had broke his earthen fel of gold, filver and brafs, when broke may be made whole again; but an earthen veffel never can; a fit emblem therefore this to reprefent utter and irrecoverable ruin; fee Jf, xxx. 14. erom here again obferves, that this is clearly fpoken, not of the Babylonifb, but of the Roman captivity; after the former the city was rebuilt, and the people returned to Judea, and reftored to former plenty; but fince the latter, under Ve/pafian, Titus and Hadrian, the ruins of Yerufalem remain, and will. till the converfion of the ews: and they foal bury them in Zopbet, till there be uo place to bury; where there fhould be fuch great numbers flain; or whither fuch multitudes of the flain fhould be brought out of the city to be buried there, that at length there would not be room enough to receive the dead into it; or, as the Syrigc verfion renders it, and in Tophet they fall bury, for want of a place to bury in; in fuch a filthy, abominable and accurfed place fhall their carcafes lie, where they were guilty of idolatry, and facrified their innocent babes, there being no other place to inter them in: an emblem this of their fouls fuffering in hell the vengeance of eternal fire. Re

¥.12. Thus will I do unto this place, faith the Lord, and to the inhabitants thereof, &c.| To the city of Yeru/alem and its inhabitants, as was done to the earthen botttle, and as before threatened: and even, or alfo, make this city as Tophet; as full of flaughtered men and women, as that had been of the blood of innocent children; and as filthy, abominable and execrable a place as that; and to lofe its name, as that is foretold it fhould, ¥. 6. and as Yeru/alem did, after the defolation of it by Hadrian, as Ferom obferves; for what was built upon the {pot afterwards, was by the emperor called Zilia, after his own name.

¥.13. Aud the houfes of Ferufalem, &c.| Where the common people dwelt: and the boufes of the kings of Judah; the palaces of the king, princes and nobles of ‘fudah, one as well as another: fal? be defiled as Topbet; as that was defiled with the bodies and bones of the flain, and with the filth of the city brought unto it; fo the houfes of great and fmall, high and low, fhould be defiled with i. 5: and have poured out drink-o god y. 14. Then came Feremiah fe and priefts: or, from that I Catt

prophefied, according to his command; but now returned from thence, it being no doubt fignified to him, in fome manner or other, that it was the will of God he fhould. And he food in the court of the Lord’s houfe, and faid to all the people, this was the court of the temple, called the outward court, or the court of the J/raelites, where all the people met; for into other courts they might not enter; here the prophet placed himfelf, on purpofe to deliver his prophecy to all the people; even the fame as he had delivered at Topbet to the ancients of the people and the priefts; but left they fhould not faithfully reprefent it to the people, and that they might not be without it, he delivers it openly and publickly to them all, in the following words; which both declare their punifhment, and the caufe of it,

¥. 15. Thus faith the Lord of bofts, the God of | Tfrael, &c.] See the note on ¥. 3: debold, Iwill; bring upon this city, and upon all ber towns; the, it, even all the cities and towns in Judea: of which Yerufalem was the metropolis, and therefore called hers: all the evil that I have pronounced againft it, or decreed againft it, as the Targum; all that he had purpofed, and all that hé had threatned, or fpoke of by the prophet Zeremy, or any other of his prophets; for whatever he has {aid he*ll do, and whatfoever he has refolyed upon and declared he will do, he affuredly brings to pafs: becaufe they have hardened their necks, that they might not bear my words; they turned their backs upon him, pulled away the fhoulder, ftopped their ears that they might not hear what was faid by the prophets from the Lord’; they neither inclined their ears to hearken to, nor bowed their necks to receive the yoke of his precepts; but, on the contrary, were, as was their general character, a ftiffnecked people, and uncircumcifed in heart and ears, obftinate and difobedient; and this was the caufe of their ruin, by which it appeared to be juft and city of Ferufalem, and all the cities and towns near righteous.

HIS chapter gives an account of the ufage that Feremiab met with from many for his prophecies, and the effect it had upon him. He was fmitten and put in the ftocks by Pa/bur the prieft, who releafed him the next day, y. 1, 2, 3. upon which he prophefies again of the delivery of the city of Feru/falem, with all its riches, and of the whole land, to the Chaldeans; and particularly that Pafbur fhould be a terror to himfelf and all his friends; and that both he and they fhould be carried captive into Babylon, and die, and be buried there, ¥. 4, 5, 6. and then he complains -of his being mocked at by the people for the word of the Lord; which he therefore determined to make no more mention of, but was obliged to it; and of the defamations of him, and {nares that were laid for him, y¥. 7, 8, 9, 10. under which he is fupported with the confideration of the Lord’s being with him, and that his enemies fhould not prevail, but be confounded; and appeals to him, and calls for vengeance from him on them; and in the view of deliverance, not only praifes the Lord himfelf, but calls upon others to join with him in it, ¥. 11, 12, 13. and yet after all, the chapter is concluded with his curfing the day of his birth, and the man that brought his father the news of it, ¥. 14, 15, 16, 17, i8.

y. 1. Now Pafbur the fon of Immer the prieft, &c.] Not the immediate fon of Jmmer, but one that defcended from him after many generations; for Jmmer was a prieft in David’s time, to whom the fixteenth courfe of the priefts fell by lot, 1 Chron. xxiv. 14: who was alfo chief governor in the houje of the Lord, the temple; not the high- rieft, fince he was of the courfe of Jmmer; perfins he was the head of the courfe to which he belonged, the chief of the priefts of that courfe. The Targum calls him, the fagan of the priefts. There was fuch an officer, who was called the /agan or deputy to the high-prieft, who upon certain occafions a¢ted for him; and fome think that this man was in the fame office; tho’ others take him to be the fame with the captain of the temple,

As iv. 1. Who beard that Feremiah prophefied thefe things; {ome that heard him in the court of the temple prophefying of the evil that fhould come upon the city, and places adjacent to it, went and told the chief governor of it. Though the words may be rendered, now Pajfbur beard »—eremiah prophefying thefe things; he heard him himfelf; either he was one of the ancients of the priefts that went with him to Yophet, and heard him there; or, however, when he came from thence, and {tood and prophefied in the court of the temple, he heard him.

y. 2. Then Pafhur fmote Feremiah the prophet, &c.] Either with his fift, or with a rod, whilft he was prophefying, to {top his mouth, and hinder him from going on, and to fhow his refentment, and influence the people not to believe him; or he ordered him to be {mitten and fcourged by fome inferior officer. This was very ill treatment of a prophet, a prophet of the Lord, and one that wag a prieft too, of the fame order with himfelf. And put him in the flocks; or ordered him to be put there; but whether it was fuch an engine or inftrument as we call /focks, in which the feet of prifoners are put, is not certain. Kimcbi’s father fays, it was an inftrument made of two pieces of wood, in which the necks of prifoners were put; and fome fay, it had befides two holes for the two hands to be put in; and fo the fame with our pi/lory. The Septuagint render it a cafaraé, a ditch or dungeon, archi interprets it a prifon; and fo our tranflators render the word in ch. xxix. 26. however, it was a place of confinement, if not of torture and pain, That were in the high gate of Benjamin, here were thefe ftocks, pillory or prifon; which was either a gate of the city of Ferufalem, fo called, becaufe it looked towards, and led out to the tribe of Benjamin, ch. Xxxvii. 13. and xxxviii. 7. or a gate of the temple, which ftood on that fide of it that belonged to the tribe of Benjamin; both the city and temple being partly in the tribe of Fudeb, and partly in the tribe of Benjamin, and it feems by this, that there was an upper and lower gate of this name; and the following claufe feems to in- cline to this fenfe: which was by the houfe of the Lord; or, in the houfe of the Lord», the temple.

¥. 3. And it came to pas on the morrow, &c.] After the prophet was put into the ftocks; fo that he was there all night: shat Pafbur brought forth Feremiah out of the frocks, either to bring him before the priefts, or the Sanhedrim, to be examined; of in order to difmifs him, being either admonifhed by his friends, or convicted in his own confcience that he had done a wrong thing. Then faid feremiak unto him; when he had brought him out, not being at all intimidated by him, and having a word from the Lord for him: the Lord hath not called thy name Pafhur, which, according to 7erom, fignifies blackne/s of mouth, and according to others, diffufing palenefs; one that terrified others, and made their faces look pale; but now it fhould be otherwife, and he himfelf fhould be filled with terror, and have palenefs of face: but, according to a late etymologift, it fignifies one abounding or increafed in liberty *, who in a little time would become a captive; for it is not fuggefted hereby, that he fhould no more be called by this name, but that he fhould be in a condition which would not anfwer to it, but to another, as follows: Jdut Magor-Miffabib, or, fear round about, fignifying, that terrors fhould be all around him, and he in the utmoft fright and confternation. The Septuagint verfion render it, one removing, changing from place to place; that is, going into captivity; a ftranger and wanderer, as the Syriac verfion. ‘The Targum is, ** but there fhall be gathered together *¢ acainft thee, thofe that kill with the fword round “ about;” meaning the Chaldeans, which would make him a Magor-Miffabib,

¥. 4. For thus faith the Lord, behold, I will make thee a terror to tkyfelf, and to all thy friends, 8cc.

This is an interpretation of the name given, Aagor- Miffabib; and fhows,- that it was not a mere name he had, but that he fhould be in fact what that fignifies; his confcience fhould be filled with terror, at the judgments of God coming upon him for his fins; and which could not be concealed in his own breaft from others, but he fhould be feized with fuch tremblings and fhakings, and be fuch a fpectacle of horror, that his own familiar friends, inftead of delighting in his company, would fhun it, and run away from him: unlefs this terror is to be underftood of the Chaldean army, which fhould not only terrify him, but his friends, in whom he placed his confidence; thefe would be thrown into fuch a confternation, as not to be able to help him or themfelves; to which the following words agree: and they fhall fall by the fword of their enemies, and thine eyes fhall bebold it; which would be an ageravation of the calamity, that not only he fhould be deprived of their affiftance, but that they fhould fall into and by the hands of the Badylonians, and in his fight alfo: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, the whole land, and the inhabitants of it: and be fhall carry them captive into Babylon, and fhall flay them with the fword; being in his hands, he fhall do as he pleafes with them, either carry them ¢aptive, or flay them; and fome he’ll difpofe of one way, and fome another..

¥. 5: Moreover, I will deliver all the Strength of

ONTET liberum fonat, Hiller. Domine, fi ego fim fedu@usstuies qui me feduxit, tu decepifti me, fi deceptus fim;

perfuaded me, and I was perfuaded *, fo the wo e ‘ein at _— WEL A FT Xx: vga ‘ ‘?. as the Syriac verfion 5 the riches of it, as the Tare Be gum; all its magazines and ftores, in which its ftrenoth lay: and all the labours thereof, all the fruit of their labours; all their wealth and riches got by labour; all their goods in trade; all their manufactures and merchandife: and all the precious things theréof; all their plate and jewels, the rich furniture of their houfes, and whatigevet was laid up in their treafures as rare and valuable: and all the treafures of the kings of Fu will I give into the hand of their enemies; which they in fucceffive reigns had been laying up in itore years together; fee Jf xxxix. 6: which foall fpei them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon; make a prey of them, feize them as their property, and carry them away with them. a pene

¥. 6. And thou Pafbur, and all that dwéll in thine houfe, fall go into captivity, &cc.] Particularly he and his family fhould ‘not efcape, whoever did: and thou fbalt come to Babylon; being brought there, tho’ fore againft his will: and there thou foalt die, and fhalt be buried there; even in a defiled land, as all other countries were reckoned by the Fews; and to be buried in fuch a land, Kimchi obferves, was a curfe; and fo it is here threatened as fuch: thou and all thy friends; that is, fuch. as fhould efcape the fword, y¥. 4: to whom thou hajft prophefied lies; this fhows the caufe of all this threatned deftruction to him and his friends; not only be+ caufe he had fo ill ufed Feremiah, a true prophet of the Lord; but becaufe he was a falfe prophet, and his friends had hearkened to his,lies, and difbelieved thofe prophecies that came from the Lord himfelf.) 7

¥. 7. O Lord, thou haft deceived me, and I was deceived, &c.] What follows from hence to the end of the chapter, is thought to have been faid by the prophet, when in the ftocks, or in prifon, and fhow a mixture of grace and corruption in him; a ftruggle between flefh and fpirit, and the force of a temptation under which he laboured, arifing from difficulties and difcouragements in his work; and he not.only complains to God, but of him; that he had deceived him, when he frit called him to be a prophet, by telling him that he fhould be fet over nations and kingdoms, to pull them down, ch. i. 10. which he underftood of foreign nations, but now found his own people were meant, fo Ferom; or in not immediately executing the threatnings he fent him with, as was the cafe of Yonah, or by giving him reafon to expect honour and eafe, whereas he met with nothing but difrefpect and trouble; and that he fhould have di- Vine protection and fuccefs againft his oppofers,. y. 18, 19. whereas he was now delivered into their hands, and ufed in the moft reproachful manner 5 but be it fo, this was all a miftake of the prophet, and no deception of God. Calvin takes it to be ironically fpoken, expreffing the fenfe of his enemies, who charging him with a deception, charged God with being the author of it. Others, to foften the expreffion, render the words, éf thou hajt deceived me, I am deceived; or, thou haft deceived m if I aim deceived. But it feems beft of all to tranf late them, as they will bear it, O Lord, thou baft ufed of God in Gen. ix. 27. God foall enlarge or here it is

_ out and complained of the injurious treatment he rendered, allure and tlien the fenfe is, thou haft’ perfuaded me to take upon me the prophetical office againft my will, and againft remonftrances made by me; and I was perfuaded by thy words and promifes, and by thy Spifit and grace, to enter-upon it; to which fenfe the following words incline: thou art fironger than I, and baft prevailed; fo ftrong were the arguments, motives, and inducements the Lord made ufe of; fo preffing his injunctions and commands, fo forcible the conftraints of his Spirit; that the prophet was obliged to yield unto them, and was made willing in the day of his power to comply, tho’ firft it was fore againft his will; but he could not withftand the divine call, and therefore might have hoped, fince it was fo manifeft that he was fent of God, and did not run of himfelf, that he fhould have met with a better reception, and more fuccefs; but fo it was not: J am in derifion daily, every one mocketh mes; he was the laughing ftock of every one of the people of Jfrael, from the higheft to the loweft; princes, priefts, and people, all derided him and his prophefies, and that continually, every day, and all the day long, and efpecially when he was in the ftocks; tho’ it was not only his perfon they mocked, but the word of the Lord by him, as appears from the next verfe. ‘

¥. 8. For fince I fpeak, I cried out, &c.] Or, when I peak, I-cry*, whenfoever I fpeak in the name of the Lord, and deliver a mefiage from him to the people, I lift up my voice and cry aloud, that all may hear and underftand; and as fhewing zeal, fervour, and diligence: or, J cry with grief and trouble at the ufage I meet with, and the contempt that is caft upon the word; or becaufe of what I am obliged to declare to them, as follows. The Targum takes in both fenfes of the word thus, “ for at the time that I prophefy, I lift up my “<< voice, weeping and-crying.” TJ cried violence, and fpoil; or, proclaimed it *, for a different word is here ufed; that is, he publickly declared the rapine and opprefiion they were guilty of; inveighed againft it, and reproved them for it 5 and foretold the violence of the enemy, and the fpoil that he fhould. make of them, when he fhould come upon them, even,the king of Badylon; as well as cried he had from him, fince i¢ was to rio putpofe: A temptation that oftentimes befets a minifter of the word, becaufe of the ill ufage he meets with, the ill fuccefs of his miniftry; and is but 4 temptation, as fuch fee it to be fooner or later, a8 Feremy did. Bat his word was’ in mine heart as a burning Sire fout up in my bones s which wanted vent; and muft have it, and which only could be’ quenched by being divulged; and which, until it was done, he was in the utmoft pain, as if he had been all on fire; his confcience accufed him; his heart {mote and condemned him; a woe was to him; fee 1 Cor. ix. 16: or, there was in mine heart as a burning fire *, 8c. a principle of love to God, and to the fouls of men; a zeal for his glory, and the good of his countrymen; which made him uneafy, and conftrained him to break his former refolution:' for the phrafe, Ais word, is not in the original text; tho’ it is in like manner fupplied by the Targum, ** and his words became in mine heart ** as fire burning and overflowing my bones;” and fo Kimchi, <* and the word of the Lord was in my ‘¢ heart as’ fire burning; and alfo Farchi; the prophecy was as fire, to which it is compared, ch. xxii. 29. And I was weary with forbearing; to {peak 5 weary to hold it in: and I could not ftay; or I could not hold it in any longer; I was obliged to fpeak ‘in the name of the Lord ‘again, and deliver whatever meflage he was pleafed to fend me on.

¥. 10. For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every fide, &c.] It was brought to the prophet’s ears by fome of his* friends, how he was defamed by many, and thefe great and mighty ones, as the word alfo fignifies; how his character was afperfed; his good name taken away; and falfe and feandalous reports were raifed of him from all quarters; which filled him with fear all around, fo that he might quickly expec frefh trouble from one fide or another; fee P/ xxxi. 13. and this was a reafon of his entering into the above refolution to leave off prophefying: tho’ fome underftand it as an additional reafon to the former for going on with it; being not only inwardly preffed to it im fpirit, but outwardly provoked by the ufage of his enemies. Some retain the words Magor-Miffabib, untranflated, and render the whole thus, for f heard the defaming of many Magor-Mifjabibs; of many fuch as Pafbur, fo called, ¥. 3. but neither the accents nor the fyntax will admit of it; fince there ‘is an accent on many, which makes a ftop, and Magor-Miffabib is in the fingular number. Rather it may be rendered, J have heard the defaming of many, even of Magor-Mifjabib, that is, of Pa/bur and his affociates. Report, fay they, and we will repori it, thefe are the words of the defamers, whether Pa/bur and his. accomplices, or the great ones, the princes and nobles, the priefts and falfe prophets, that more efpecially bore a grudge to Feremy; addreffing themfelves to the common people, and fuch who wete moft acquainted with the prophet, and his manner of life; faying, tell us what you can of him, right or wrong, true or falfe, that may be any ways improved again{t him, and we'll tell it to the king, or to the Sanbedrim, the himfelf met with from them. + Becaufe the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derifion daily; which is a reafon either why he cried with grief and forrow; or why he cried violence and fpoil, ruin and deftruction: or, tho’ the word of ihe Lord was +, &c. yet he went on publifhing and proclaiming it: or, /wrely the word of the Lord was made a reproach *, &c. either becaufe of the matter of it, it not being believed; or the manner in which it was delivered; or becaufe it was not immediately fulfilled.

¥. 9. Ihen I faid, I will not make mention of him, nor {peak any more in his name, &c.} Not that he publickly faid this before his enemies, or privately to his friends, but he faid it in his heart; he thought, nay refolved, within himfelf, to prophefy no more; fince no credit was given to him, but contempt caft on him; he was difgraced, and God was difhonoured, and no good done; wherefore he concluded it was better to be filent, and not mention the name of God, and fay nothing of any meflage: court of judicature, and get him punifhed for it; or we'll take care to have it {pread about city and country, and fo blaft his character and credit with faftum eft in corde meo, Schmidt.

the. people, that phecies. Al] my familiars watched for my. halting, or, every man of my peace‘, who pretended to be at peace, and to be friendly with him, and wifhed well unto him, fpoke fair to his face, as if they, were cordial friends, and fond of the moft intimate acquaintance with him; perhaps the men of Anathoth, the birth-place of Yeremy, are here meant; whom the priefts at Ferufalem, or others, had engaged on their fide, narrowly to obferve what was {aid and done by him, of which any handle could be made againft him to the government; and accordingly they did, they watched his words, and obferved his actions, if they could catch. at any thing that was imprudently or inadvertently faid or done, or what could be mifconftrued to his difadvantage. Saying, peradventure he will be enticed; to fay or do fomething that may be laid hold on, and be produced againft him, to the ruin of him; he not being on his guard, and knowing of no defign againft him: aad we fhall prevail againft him, gain our point, get him accufed, condemned, and punifhed: and we fhall take our revenge on him, for inveighing fo feverely againft their fins, which they could not bear; and for threatening them with punifhments, that fhould be inflicted on them, which they liked not to hear.

y. 11. But the Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one, &c.] The Targum is, ‘‘. the word. of the <¢ Lord is for my help.” Mighty to fupport, uphold, defend, and deliver him; and ¢errible to his enemies. The prophet looks back to the promife the Lord had made him, of his gracious and powerful prefence, ch. i. 18, 19. which he now takes comfort from; and it would have been well if he had kept this always in view, and. had continued in the fame actings of faith and temper of mind: but this lafted not long, as fome following verfes fhew. Therefore my perfecutors foall fumble, and foall not prevail, tho’ they fhould very hotly and furioufly purfue him, yet they fhould ftumble “and fall by the way, and not be able to overtake him, and execute their defigns upon him; the Lord, who was with him, and on his fide, would throw fome things in their way, at which they fhould ftumble, and which fhould hinder them from proceeding. They fhall be greatly afbamed, for they fall not profper, when they fee their fchemes are difappointed, and they don’t fucceed, they fhall be filled with fhame and confufion: or, because they don’t deal prudently *, as the word is rendered, If, lit. 13. they don’t act a wife, but a foolith part, and therefore fhame will be the confequence of it. Their everlafting confufion fhall never be forgotten; neither by themfelves nor others; the memory of it will always continue, to their everlafting grief and reproach. A very learned man connects thefe words with the former, thus, ¢hey /hall be greatly afbamed, for they foall not profper, with an everlaftjug foame never to be forgotten", very rightly; fo another learned interpreter '.

y. 12. But, O Lord, that trieft the righteous, and fect the reins and the heart, &c.] ‘That tries the caufe of the righteous, and vindicates them, rights ‘their wrongs, and does them juftice; being the omnifcient God, the feer and fearcher of the hearts and reins; who knows the uprightnefs of their none will after regard his pro- hearts, ‘as well as tlieir ways, and the fincerity of: their affections: or that tries the faith and patience — of the righteous, their conftancy and integrity and upon trial finds that their affetions are real, and their fouls fincere. Lt me fee thy vengeance on them; his enemies and perfecutots » he does not feck. vengeance himfelf, but defires it of the Lord; he does not afk to fee his vengeance, bat the Lord’s vengeance on them, what he t t was juft and proper to inflict on them}; he knew that vengeance belonged to the Lord, and therefore left it with him, and prayed for it from ‘him! The Targum is, ‘ let me fee the vengeance of thy ** judgments on them.” « For unto thee have J opened my caufe; or revealed, or made it manifeff *s this he did in prayer, at this time, when he laid before the Lord his whole cafe, and appealed and applied to him for juftice, who judgeth righteous perfons, and judgeth righteoufly.

¥. 13. Sing unio the Lord, praife ye the Lord, &c.] The prophet, from prayer, proceeds to praife; and from expreffions of faith and confidence in the Lord, having committed his caufe to him, being affured of fucceis, rifes up to an holy triumph and joy; and calls upon his foul, and upon ‘others,’ to join with him in praifing, and: finging praifes to the Lord: this is faid, as Kimchi’ obiervés, With refpect to the faints in Feru/alem; for there were fome good people doubtlets there at this time, a remnant according to the election of grace; who had a regard for the prophet, and wifhed well to him, and were ready to join with him in aéts of devotion, prayer or praife. For he hath delivered the foul of the poor from the hand of evil doers;Or, the life of the poor; meaning himfelf, a poor deftitute perfon, few or none to ftand by him but the Lord, who had delivered him out of the hand of Pa/bur and his accomplices; and out of the’ hand of thofe that watched for his halting; and out of the hands. of all his perfecutors: or this may refpeét not pait deliverances, but what was to come; which the prophet had fuch a believing -view of, that he calls upon himfelf and others to praife God for before-hand.

y. 14. Curfed be the day wherein I was born, &c.] If this was faid immediately upen the foregoing, it was a moft ftrange and fudden change of frame indeed, that the prophet came into, from praifing God, to curfing the day of his birth; wherefore fome have thought it was delivered ar. another time, when in great anguifh of {pirit; very likely when fo ill ufed by Pafbur, as before ~ related; but here repeated to fhew in what diftrefs he had been, and what reafon there was for praife and thank{giving; for the words may be connected with the preceding thus, for he bath delivered from the hand of evil doers the foul of the poor, who faid', in the time of his diftrefs, curfed be the day, 8c. but whenever it was fpoke, it fhowed the impatience of the prophet, the weaknefs of his faith, and the greatnefs of his folly, to curfe a day, and his birth-day too, as ‘fob did, when under affliction, Fob iii. 1—16. Let not the day wherein my mother bare me, be bleed, to myfelf or others; let it be reckoned among the unhappy and unfortunate days; let it not be bleffed with the light of the fun, or with the light of joy ee i ott rauy CIN 45 omnis homo pacis mex, Montanus, Cocceius, Schmidt; omnes viri pacis mez, Munfler, Vatablus.