Exposition of the Whole Bible

clare unto us, and we will do it; they preffe to a faithful declaration of the will of God to them, and promifed ‘they would aét according to it. Now he had done all this; he had been with God, prayed unto him as they requefted, and had brought them his mind and will, and made a faithful relation of it, and yet they did not attend to it; fo that the deceit was not in him, but in them, as follows:

¥. 21. And now I have this day declared it unto you, &c.] The whole will of God, and had not kept back any thing from them: ut ye have not obeyed the veice of the Lord your Ged; or, ye will not obey*; the prophet knew they would not obey the command of the Lord, not to go into Egypt, either by his. converfation with them, during the ten days the anfwer of the Lord was deferred, by which he plainly faw they were determined to go into Egypt; or by their countenances and behaviour, while he was delivering the Lord’s meflage to them; by what he obferved in them, he knew what was faid was not agreeable to them, and that their mind was to go into Egypt: or he had this, as others think, by divine revelation; tho’ without that he knew the caft of this people, and what a rebellious and difobedient people they were, and had been, never obeying the voice of the Lord: nor any thing for which he hath fent me unto you; not any one particular thing refpecting this prefent affair; nor indeed any of his prophecies had they regarded, with which he had been fent to them before.

y. 22. Now therefore know certainly, 8c.) Or, in knowing know *; they might aflure themfelves of this, that it would certainly come to pafs, and moft juftly and defervedly; fince it was at their.

own requeft the prophet fought the mind of the Lord for them, and had faithfully related it to them, and they had promifed to obferve it; wherefore fhould they go into Egypt, as their inclination feemed to be entirely that way, they muft expect what follows: that ye fball die by the fword, by the famine, and by the peftilence, by one or other of thefe, or all of them; fome by one, and fome by another, as before threatened; evils they thought to efcape by going thither, but which fhould furely follow them, and overtake them: in the place whither ye defire to go and to fojourn; that is, in Eygpt, to which they had a {trong inclination, where they greatly defired to be, pleafed themfelves with the thoughts of, and which they chofe of their own will and pleafwre for their habitation. he

¥. 1, 2, 3, 4. and went into Egypt, and carried all with them, of every rank, age, and fex, and ev:

Baruch, and the prophet too, and came to Ta panbes, the feat of the kings of Egypt, ys 5, 6, 7 upon this a prophecy is delivered out, concerning: the deftruction of that country, which is fignifie by a. fymbol explained; the perfon, the | nf ment of it, is mentioned by name, Nebuchac zar king of Babylon, the devaftation he make, is exprefled by flaying with the fword x 4 vos, a thse aie £ Eon my ep ra Rae ee animas veftras, Pz 4

© comypw my et tamen non vu us. rr.

Carrying into captivity; by burning the temples of their gods, and breaking their images in pieces, ¥. 8—13.. Y "

¥. 1. And it came to pafs, that when Jeremiah had made an-end of peaking unto all the people, &c.1 The princes and the people, the whole body of them, who-had defired. the prophet to feek the Lord for them, and whom he called together to relate his anfwer, and declare his will; fee ch. xlii. 1, 8. they heard him out, and that was as much as they did; for as foon as he had done, they rofe up and contradicted him: however, he faithfully declared all the words of the Lord their God, for which the Lord their God fent him to them, even all the words, which are related in the preceding chapter, which were the words of the Lord, and fo ought to have been regarded; and the rather, as they were the words of. their God, whom they profefied, and which he had {ent his prophet to declare unto. them; and who-had kept back nothing, but had made known the whole; he had told the truth, and nothing but the truth, and all the truth. ¥. 2. Then fpake Azariah the fon of Hofpaiak, &c.] Perhaps the fame with Fezaniah, or a brother of his, ch. xlii. r. he is mentioned firft, it may be, becaute he was the contriver of this {cheme to go into Egypt, advifed unto it, and was moft hot upon it..The Septuagint and dradic verfions call him the fon of Maafeich. And Fobanan the fon of Kareah, and all the proud men; the great men among them, who are commonly proud of their greatnefs; of their defcent, family, and blood; of their wealth and riches, and pofts of honour; perhaps the captains of the forces are meant, who elfewhere are mentioned along with Fobanan, ch. xl. 13. and, xli. 11,13, 16..and xlii. 1, 8.’ thefe were men full of themfelves,, had an high opinion of ‘their own wifdom, and were prudent in their own eyes; and could not bear to be contradicted or advifed’ by the prophet, nor,-even by the Lord himfelf; -andvare juftly, by the Targum, called wieked men; and fo the Syriac verfion renders it; their pride was\ the caufe of their rebellion againtt God, and difobedience. to him, and of their ungenteel and infolent behaviour to the prophet: faxing, thou Jpeaketh falfy; or, a le*; it being contrary to their minds: fo the prophets. of the Lord, ‘the minifters of the word, and even the word of God itfelf, are charged with falthoods, when contrary to mens fentiments and lufts.. The Lord cur God hath not fent thee to fay, go not. into Egypt to fojourn there, they did not care to own it was the word of the Lord, whatever convictions of it they had in their minds; becaufe they would not openly. appear to be fighters againft God, whom they profeffed to be their God; but deny that the prophet was fent by him with any fuch meflage to them; when they had all the reafon to believe by former prophecies, which had had their fulfilment, that erewiah was a true prophet of the Lord, and that he had acted a very faithful art in the prefent affair: they themfelves had fent Fi vo te Lord to pray for them; he had done y, and the Lord had returned an anfwer by him; of which they had no reafon to-doubt, but their ‘pride would not allow them to receive it. ¥.3. But Baruch the free lee Ape? vai on againft us, &cc.|.Firft they.charge the prophet wah He! deny his miffion from the Lord; eiijuy OG oe *

‘and now, to leffen the Praptifpes crime they charged a him with, they lay the blame on Baruch, ‘as if he, out of ill-will to them, had inftigated the’ prophetto deliver fuch a meflage; which is not at all’ likely, that he fhould be prevailed upon by a younger per-’ fon, and his fecretary, to take fuch a ftep; nor can it be thought, that Baruch fhould have any iitereft to ferve by it; and befides, both he and the prophet were too good men, the one to inftigate and the other to be inftigated, to declare a falfhood in the name of the Lord, The end propofed, they fuggeft, was, for to deliver us*into the hand of thé Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon; either that-he or thé prophet might deliver them-into the hands of the Chaldeans, to be put to death by them, or be carried captive; which is not at all probable, it be» ing inconfiftent with that piety and humanity, which were conf{picuous in them both, and with their conduct, who chofe rather to abide in their own land, with this fmall and defpicable handful of people, than to go and live in the court of Ba+ éylon, where good care would have been taken of

¥. 4. So Fobanan the fon of Kareah, and all the captains of ibe forces, and all the people, 8cc. The generality of them, -at leaft, all agreed together, were of the fame mind, and'in the fame fentiment and practice; and fo obeyed not the voice of the Lord, to dwell in the land of Judah; it was the command of the Lord they fhould dwell there, and not go into Egypt; but they would not believe this was the voice of the Lord, only a fcheme. concerted between the prophet and Baruch; or which the for-~ mer was inftigated to. deliver as the word of the Lord by the latter, and therefore would not give, heed unto it;. tho’ the truth of the matter was, it was contrary to their inclination and refolution, and - therefore, tho’ they had reafon to believe it was the will ot God they fhould abide in their own land, yet they were determined they would not, but go into Egypt, as they did.

¥. 5 But Fobanan the fon of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, &c.|_. Who were; united in their refolution to go into Egypt, contrary to the declared will of God: took. all the remuant of Fudab, that were returned from all nations whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah; both fuch who were left in the land, when the reft were carried captive into Babylon, more particularly mentioned in the next verfe; and thofe, who upon the invafion of the land, and fiege of Ferufalem, had fled to other countries, but now were ° returned from thence, in order to fettle in it; haying heard that a governor from among the Fews was appointed over it; as from Moab, Ammon, thefe, fome of their own accord, others thro” perfuafion, and others by force, went along with, or were taken and carried by the above captains into

Egypt. y¥. 6. Even men, and women, and children, and the king’s daughters, &c.|] This, according to the fupplement of our verfion, explains who they were that were taken and had into Lgypt, perfons of every fex, age, and rank; tho’ rather thefe words defign and defcribe perfons diftinct from the former, that came out of other countries; fee ch. xli. 10: and every perfon that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the fon of Abikam, the fon of Shaphan, even the poor of the land: to to till if; and to whom he gave fields and vine- | yards, and committed them to the care and government of Gedaliab, when the reft were carried captive to Babylon, and now thefe, in fome fort, may be faid to be carried captive by their own brethren into Egypt: and Feremiah the prophet, and Baruch the fon of Neriah, whom they forced with them, partly to punifh them, and partly to give countenance to their conduct; but not without rhe will of God, who fo ordered it in his providence, that they might have the prophet with them, to reprove them for their fins, and warn them of their danger and ruin, and fo leave them inexcufable.

_¥. 7.50 they came into the land of Egypt, &c.] They fet out from the habitation of Chimbam, where they were, ch. xli. 17. and proceeded on their journey, till they entered the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord; to contimue in Fudea, and not to go into Egypt; and tho’ the prophet of the Lord, who was with them, might,.as they went along, advife them ‘to go back, they regarded him not, but {till went on: thus came they evento Tahpanhes;, the fame with Hanes, J. xxx. 4. and might be fo called, as here, from a guéen of Egypt of this name, 1 Kings x1. 19, 20. The Septiagint verfion, and others after that, call it Taphnas. It is thought to be the Daphuze Pelufie of Herodotus’, It was a feat of the king of Egypt, as appears from ¥. 9. and no lefs a place would thefé proud men ftop at, or take up with, but where the king’s palace was. Tyius ® calls it Tapium, and fays, it was in his time a very {mall town.

y. 8. Then came the word of the Lord to Feremiah at Tabpankes, &c.| Where he was with the reft, the captains carried thither with them; and as foon as he and they had got here, the word of the Lord came unto him, declaring the deftruction of this place, and of the whole land. Here erom fays the prophet was ftoned to death. Saying, as follows:

y¥. 9. Take great ftones in thine hand, &c.] In both his hands, as big as he could carry: and hide them in the clay in the brick-kiln, there was much clay in Egypt, thro’ the overflowing of the Nile, and particularly at this place Tabpanhes, which had its name of Pelufie from hence; and here was a brick-kiln, not a place where bricks were burnt, but where they were formed; and fo here was the clay of which they were made, and in which thefe ftones were to be hid: which is at the entry of Pharaoh's houfe in Tahpanhes, this brick-kiln ftood not directly at the entrance into the king’s palace, but at the door of a wall of a park or garden, which belonged to the palace, from whence there was. an open way to its here the ftones were to be laid. Since a‘ brick-kiln fo near a king’s palace feems not agreeable, Gufetius * thinks wp fignifies’ a pOplar-walk, from 3325 a poplar-tree, whofe fhade is very grateful, Hof iv. 13. to which the courtiers betook themfelves at certain times, and walked in for pleafure. In the fight of the men of ‘fudeh; not in the fight of the Egyptians, who would not underftand the defion of it, nor were they to be inftructed by it; but in the fight of the ews, who would at once imagine that fomethin was intended, being ufed to fuch fymbols, aid would enquire the meaning of it; and which ‘is explained in the next verfe.

¥. 10. And fay unto them, &c.] The men of Judah, now in Egypt: thus faith the Lord of bofts,’ the God of Ifrael, fee the note on ch. xlii. 15 + bebold, I will fend and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my fervant, as all men are by creation, and as he was in a very eminent fenfe, being an inftrament in his hand of executing his defiens, both on the Yews and other nations; him he would fend for, and take to perform his counfel; fecretly work upon and difpofe his mind to fuch an undertaking, and lay a train of providences, and by a concourfe of them, bring him to Egypt to do his will: and will fet bis throne upon thefe ftones that I have hid; which he had ordered the prophet to hide, and which he did by him; fignifying, that. the king of Babylon fhould come with his army againit this city, and fhould take it; and fet up his throne, and keep his court here: and he fhall [pread bis royal pavilion over them; his tent; he fhall place here his beautiful one, as the word ‘ fignifies; this fhould be fet up where thefe ftones were laid, as if they were defigned for the foundation of it, tho’ they were only a fymbol of it; and would be a token to the ews, when accomplifhed, of the certainty of the divine prefcience, and of prophecy, with refpect to future events, even thofe the moft minute and contingent.

¥. 11. And when be cometh, be foal] finite the land of Egypt, &c.] Here is a’various reading: the Cetzb, or textual writing, is, when it cometh, it foall fmite, which Kimch: rightly interprets of the camp or army of Nebuchadnezzar: and the Keri, or marginal reading, which we follow, is, when be cometh, be foall {mite; that is, the king of Babylon both are to be received: when Neduchadnezzar fhould come with his army to Tahpanhes, he would not only take that, but go through the land of Egypt, and fubdue and deftroy the inhabitants of it, all that dwelt in it, fojourners as well as natives; and fo the Yews that were come - hither to dwell, againft the exprefs command of God, to whom this prophecy was delivered, and to whom it has a particular refpect: and deliver Juch as are for death, to death; who are appointed to death, either by peftilence or famine; that is, he fhall oblige them to flee to, or block them up in, places, where they fhall perifh by one or other of thele: and fuch as are for captivity, to captivity; fuch as are defigned to be carried captive, thefe fhall be taken by him, and carried captive into Babylon, and the provinces of it: and fuch as are for the fword, to the fword; who are deftined to fall by the fword, thefe fhould be flain by the fword of Nebuchadnezzar, and his foldiers; fo that what by one way or another, a general deftruétion fhould be ‘made.

y.12. And I will kindle a fire in the boufes of the gods of Egypt, &c.] Not only, men fhould not be - {pared, but their gods alfo, and their temples fhould be burnt, as was ufually done when Cities were taken and deftroyed: this is afcribed to God. “i his wrath and vengeance; idolatry being a fi highly difpleafing to him; tho’ the Chaldeans wet the inftruments of it, yet it being di ob order, direction and providence of Gods} is rig attributed to him: and he fhall burn them, carry them away captives; that is, cb fhall do this; he fhall burn their te: ple, and carry away their idols ‘of gold and filver; fo Kimchi, who adds, or the fenfe is, he hall carry.

tive their worfhippers; but rather the meaning is, he fhall burn their idols, fuch as are made of wood, or any bafe matter, not worth faving; and he hall carry away with him their idols, fuch as are made of gold and filver, or any precious matter: and he fhall array himfelf with the land of Egypt, as a foepherd putteth on bis garment. The Targum is, ‘* he fhall fpoil the land of Egypt.” The meaning is, that he fhall load and cover himfelf and his army with the fpoil of the land of Egypt, as a fhepherd covers himfelf with his garment; and he fhall do it as eafily as a fhepherd puts on his coat; and as completely he fhall roll up all the fpoil, wealth and riches of the land, and carry it off, even as a fhepherd rolls up the covering of his tent; and as Kimcbi’s father obferves, as well as puts on his garment, and leaves nothing behind him, when he removes from place to place; and as he is unmindful of his clothes, or what he wears in the heat of the day; but at night, when he returns home from keeping his fheep, puts on his clothes, the beft he has; fo fhould the king of Babylon and his army return richly laden with the fpoil of Egypt, when he fhould leave it. Or the fenfe rather is, he fhall cover the land of Egypt with his forces, as a fhepherd is covered and wrapped up in his garment again{ft the inclemency of the weather; orelfe, as Bochart * fuggetts, the deftruction of Egypt may be compared.to an old worn-out garment, or fuch a mean and fordid garment as fhepherds wear: and be fhall go forth from thence in peace; there fhall be none to moleit and difturb him, to ftop him and take away the {poil from him, or hinder his return to his own country; whither he fhould go in fafety, and with great booty.

¥.13. He fball break alfo the images of Bethfoemelb, that is in the land of Egypt, &c.] Or, of Heliopolis, as the Septuagint; the city of the fun; and fo Beth-fheme/h here fignifies the houfe of the fun; either it defigns the temple of the fun, or the city where it was worfhipped; as Heliopolis was famous for the worfhip of the fun, and for a magnificent temple in it, built for that purpofe, and where abundance of perfons reforted on that account, as Herodotus‘ obferves; here were many images of the fun; and thefe now fhould be broke to pieces, when this city fhould become the city of deftruction, as is foretold it fhould by J/aiah, ch. xix. 18. where the Zargum exprefsly calls it, the city Beth-bemefh, that is to be deftroyed;. fee the note there. This is the fame city that was formerly called Oz, and had a pric in Fo/eph’s time, Gen. xli. 45: and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians fhall be burn with fire; which is repeated, that it might be taken notice of, and for the confirmation of it; tho’ the words may be rendered, fo as to remove the tautology, axd with the houfes of the gods of the Ezyptians foall be burn it with Jire™; that is, Beth-/hemefb, or the houfe of the fun, that fhall not efcape, being a principal temple. The gods they worfhipped were Mnevis and Apis, which were oxen confecrated to the fun and moon *, So fays Porphyry °, {peaking

of the Egyptians, ‘* they confecrate oxen to the “* fun and moon: that which is facred to’ the fun at Heliopolis, is called Mnevis, and is the gteateft of them: it is very black, becaufe much fun makes human bodies black; and the hairs of its tail, and of its whole body, contrary to other oxen, turn upwards, as the fun makes its courfe contrary to the pole; its tefticles are the largeft, becaufe by the heat of the fun venereal defires are excited; hence the fun is faid to make nature fruitful. To the moon they dedicate Tau+ rus (or the bull) which they call Apis, and is blacker than others, bearing the figns of the fun and moon, becaufe the light of the moon is from the fun; and the fign of the fun is the blacknefs of its body, and alfo the beetle that is under its tongue;” and thefe were the images

and gods of Beth-/beme/b or Heliopolis, that were to be deftroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Of his expedition into Egypt, whereby this prophecy was fulfilled, not only Fo/ephus makes mention, but fome heathen writers give plain hints of it. The Fewi/b hiftorian fays °, that Nebuchadnezzar, five years after the deftruction of Yerufalem, led his army into Ceilefyria, and took it; and made war with the Ammonites and Moabites; and having fubdued thefe nations, made a pufh into Egypt, in order to deftroy that, and flew the king of it: and Berofus fays %, that “* Nebuchadnezzar having fettled his ‘* affairs in Egypt, and other countries; and hav- ‘* ing committed to his friends the captives of the “¢ Fews, Phanicians, Syrians, and the nations about << Keypt, went to Babylon: and Megajthenes * relates, that ‘“‘ he conquered the greateft part of “ Lybia (or Africa) and Iberia;” or, as it is elfewhere * exprefied, “* he led his army into Lydia ‘“< and Iveria; and having fubdued thefe, carried ** colonies of them to the right of Poxtus.””

HIS chapter contains a fermon of eremiah’s to the Fews in Egypt, reproving them for their idolatry there; their anfwer to it, exprefling - their refolution to continue in their idolatrous practices; and a denunciation of judgments upon them, of which a fign is given. The fermon begins with obferying to them the deftruction of Feru/alem, and the caufes of it, idolatry and contempt of the pro- __ phets, ¥. 1—6. then follows an expoftulation with ie the prefent Zews for doing the fame things, and alt re SE ea; sa +6; Tate, a. Pe. 1.2. G: ° ‘ et 2 Flian te Animal. ib. ay te Mae pasts Ghge so Evangel. Lg. c. 41. p. 456. - We. Vourl. N°. 19. weemel Wa * _ * expofing themfelves and their pofterity to the fame punifhment, y. 7—10. upon which they are threatened with the fore judgments of God that fhould come upon them, and cut them off in general, y. 11—14. yet fuch were the impudence and obftinacy of this people, that they declared they would not hearken to the prophet, but perfift in their idolatry; it having been better with them when they practifed it, than when they left it, ¥. 15-19. to which the prophet replies by obferving, that =

the idolatry of their fathers their land was become a defolation and a curfe, as at this day, ¥. 20—23. and affures them, that deftruétion would come from the Lord upon them, which he had {wore to, yi. 24—28. and a fign of it is given; the delivery of the king of Egypt into the hand of the king of y. 1. The word which came to Jeremiah concerning all the Fews which dwell in the land of Egypt, &c.] Or, unto all the Fews'; the word came to him, that it might be delivered to them: or, againft all the Fews“; they having gone into Egypt contrary to the will of God, and committing idolatry; and the word or fermon is full of threatnings and judgments denounced upon them: which dwell at Migdol, and at Tabpanbes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, this prophecy was delivered after the Zews were come to Tahpanhes, or Daphne; fee ch. xliii. 7. and had divided themfelves, and were fettled in different parts of the kingdom: fome contintied at Tahpanhes, where were the king’s court and palace: others went to Migdol, a place near the Red-/ea, juft at the entrance into Egyp/, from the land of Canaan, Exod. xiv. 2. called by Herodotus, Magdolus”; and by Adrichomius * {aid to be diftant about a mile and a quarter from Pe/u fium, or fin, the ftrength of Egypt, Ezek. xxx. 15. others took up their refidence at Nopb, generally thought to be the city of Memphis. The Targum calls it, Mappas, the fame which is now called Grand Cairo; or however, this city is near the place where Memphis ftood: others dwelt in the country of Pathros, which perhaps had its name from Pathrufim, a fon of Mizraim, Gen. x. 13,14. It is thought by Bochart and others to be the country of Thebais in Egypt, the fame with the Nomos Phanturites, or Phaturites, of Pliny”; and in this country Feremiab feems to have been when this word came to him, y¥. 15. and from hence he fent or carried it to the other places: /aying, as fol- y.2. Thus faith the Lord of hofts, the God of Ufrael, &c.] In which manner the prophecies of this book are frequently prefaced; fee ch. xlii. 15, 18. and xliii. 10: ye have feen all the evil that I have brought upon Ferufalem, and upon all the cities of Fudah, they faw it with their bodily eyes; they could not but obferve it in their minds; nay had ‘an experimental knowledge of it; they fuffered it in part themfelves, and muft be convicted in their own con{ciences that it was from the hand of the Lord: and bebold, this day they are a defolation, and no man dwelleth therein, lie wafte, at this very time; the walls are broken down; the houfes are demolifhed; the goods in them carried off; no inhabitants left, or very few, to rebuild the cities, till the land, and dwell therein. ¥. 3. Becaufe of their wickedne[s which they have committed, to provoke me to anger, &c.| The caufe of this defolation was the wickednefs they were guilty of; whereby they provoked the anger of God to bring this deftruction on them. Sin is always provoking unto God; and tho’ it may not be done on purpofe to provoke him, which it fometimes feems to be; yet it eventually does, and is always the caufe of punifhment: God never punifhes man without a caufé, or for any thing but fin: i that they went to burn incenfe, and to ferve

fore commit ye this great evil againft your fouls

other gods; the particular wickednefs they. were guilty of, and which was the caufe of their min, was burning incenfe to idols, and worfhipping them, than which nothing is.more provoking ta God: © and it was an aggravation of their fin, that they « were gods, whom they knew not, neither they, you, nor your fathers, what they were; from whence they were; their original, and perhaps net their names; however did not know that they were gods; nor could they prove them to be fuch; nay, might know that they were not: and now, fince this was the fin which brought on the de= © ftruction they were eye-witnefles of, it fhould have ~ been a caution to them that they went not into the fame idolatrous practices, which yet they did not avoid; taking no warning from fuch awful inftances of the divine difpleafure:

¥.4. Howbeit, I fent unto you all my fervants the prophets, &c.] As many as he raifed up, and employed in the work and fervice of prophefying; and thele were many; and as many as they were, he fent them to them, one after another, to warn them of their fin and danger; but all to no purpofe; which was a further aggravation of theif wickednefs: nay, tho’ he was ri/ing early, and fending them; was very early in his meflages to them; gave them timely warning, and let flip no opportunity of admonifhing them; and this he did con- - ftantly; fee ch. vii. 13, 25: faying, Ob, do not this abominable thing that I hate; all fin is abominable in itfelf, and hateful to God, efpecially idolatry;

| and therefore fhould not be done; it fhould be abominable to men, and hateful to them, becaufe it is fo to God; and, after fuch a remonftrance a$ this, to commit it, muft be very aggravating and - provoking.

¥. 5. But they hearkened not, nor inchned their ear, &c.] To the prophets fent unto them; to God by the prophets; to the words of his mouth, particularly to the above pathetic expoftulation with them; at leaft, if they heard the words faid, they did not attend unto them; they had not fuch an effect upon them, nor were they wrought upon by them, fo as to turn from their wickednefs, to burt, no incenfe to other gods; to turn from their fins in general, and from their idolatry in particular; one inftance of which is given, and which is put for the whole of idolatrous worfhip.

¥.6. Wherefore my fury and mine anger was. poured forth, &c.| Like melted metal, fealding lead, liquified pitch, or any thing of a bituminous and fulphureous nature, which fpreads, is confuming, and very intolerable; fee ch. xlii. 18: and was kindled in the cities of Judah, and in the ftreets. of Ferufalem, which, like a fire, burnt up and deftroyed thefe cities, and particularly the large and. {pacious city of Ferufalem: and they are wafted and — defolate, as at this day; now lie in ruins, as may © be feen by every one; the thing is notorious; this - is their prefent cafe; they are become defolate, and - fo continue. ee y¥. 7. Therefore now, thus faith the Lord, the God of hofts, the God of Ijrael, &c.] The fame epithets as before, ¥.4. with an addition, that his— words might carry more weight with them: sober fin of idolatry, which is a great evil; a fin ag

God; a giving the glory to another, that belong:

to him; and not only fo, but is againft th men; pernicious and ruinous to them, which brings deftruction, even eternal wrath and damnation on them; and this is an interefting argument, why it fhould not be committed; nay, it was not only againft God, and againft themfelves, but a- " gainit their families, and the intereft of them: Zo cut off from you man and woman, child and fuckling out of fudab, to leave you none to reniain; not that they did this great evil, or committed idolatry with this intention, to ruin their families and pofterity, but fo it was eventually; hereby they provoked the Lord to anger, to cut off the men that offered incenfe to idols; and the women their wives, whom they fuffered fo to do; and their children, who were brought up in the fame prattices; fo that they would have none to fucceed them, to bear their name, and inherit their land; unlefs. God fhould be merciful, and not deal according to their deferts; for fuch was the nature of their crime, as to deferve an utter extirpation of them.

¥.8. In that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your bands, &c.] Their finful actions, particularly their idolatry, by worfhipping images, the works of mens hands; and tho’ it was the queen of heaven they worfhipped, which their hands made not; yet it was before images they did that; befides, the things they did to her were the works of their hands, as facrificing, pouring out drinkofferings, and as follows, burning incenfe; which they did, not only to her, but to other gods in the land of Egypt; where they were very numerous: whither ye be gone to dwell, againft the exprefs will and command of God: shat ye might cut your[elves off; as from the worfhip of God, fo from being his people, and from being under his care and prorection, and from all privileges temporal and {pi-

_gitual: and that ye might be a curfe, and a reproach

among all the nations of the earth? not that this was their view, end and defign, but this was the event; fo it was, that they were looked upon as an accurfed people of God and man, and their names were taken up for a proverb, and a reproach every where..

y.9. Have ye forgotten the wickednefs of your fathers, &c.] And what judgments it brought upon them; meaning not their more remote anceftors in the wildernefs, and the idolatry they committed, and the punifhment inflicted upon them for it; but more near, fuch who lived a little before the de- {truction of Ferufalem, and whofe fins had brought on that; and therefore could not bé eafily forgotten by them; or if they were forgotten, it argued great flupidity > and the wickedne/s of the kings of

‘Yudab, and the wickedyefs of their wives; by whom they were drawn into idolatry, particularly Solomon, and it is in the original text, the wickedne/s of bis wives * and Dr. Lightfoot thinks refpect is had to Solomon’s wives; but it may be underftood diftributively of every one of their wives, as Kimchi and Bea Melech interpret it*: and your own wickednes, and the wickednefs of your wives, which you bave committed in the land of Judah, and in the jiveets of Ferufalem? where they had built altars, and worfhipped ftrange gods, they, and their wives, as well as thofe who were carried captive; and which-were the caufe of all thofe evils that came upon them; thefe being recent things, could not _ be forgotten by them; or however fhould have been remembered, and that fo as to have deterred them from going inte fuch practices again, as they

¥.10, They are not buinbled even unto this day, ' &c.] Not contrite under a fenfe of their fins, nor truly penitent for them; not humbled before God nor man, fo as to acknowledge.them, mourn over them, and forfake them. The Targum is, “* they ceafe not unto this day;” that is, from committing the fame things; which fhows they had no true humiliation and contrition for them. This is to be underftood, not of the Yews in Babylon only, but chiefly of thofe in Egypt; there being a change of perfon from you to they; the Lord not vouchfafing to fpeak to them who were fo obdurate and impenitent, but of them, and, to fome other, as the prophet, concerning them: z¢ither have they feared; the Lord; neither his goodnefs nor his judgments; or ferved and worfhipped him with reverence and godly fear, as became them: nor walked in my law, nor in my flatutes that I fet before you, and before your fathers; a full proof this, that they neither had true repentance for their fins, nor the fear of God in their hearts; for had they, thefe would have led them to obedience to the divine will.

¥. 11. Therefore thus faith the Lord of bofts, the Ged of Ijrael, &c.] Becaufe of thefe fins of idolatry, impenitence and difobedience: I wil] fet my face againft you for evil; to bring the evil of punifhment upon them, for the evil of fin committed. by them: this the Lord determined with himfelf, and refolved to do; which the phrafe, /etting his face againft them, is expreffive of, by way of retaliation for their fetting their faces to go down to Egypt, as-well as of his wrath and indignation againit them: and to cut off all Fudab; not the whole tribe. of Fudah; not thofe that were in Babylon, which were by far the greateft number of that tribe; but thofe that were in Egypt.

y¥.12, And I will take the remnant of Fudab, &c.].. Such as remained of that tribe in the land of Yudea after the captivity: and not all of them, but fuch that have fet their faces to go into the land of Egypt to fojourn there, who were bent.upon going thither, notwithftanding all the remontftrances made to them to the contrary; and were gone thither, and were now actually fojourners there: this defcribes fuch perfons who wilfully, and of their own accord, went thither; and excepts thoie who were over-perfuaded or over-powered to go along with them: and they fhall all be confumed, and fall in the land of Egypt; not by natural death, one after another; but by the judgments of God, as follows: they foall even be confumed by the fword, and by the famine, by the fword of the king of Babylon; and by famine, occafioned by a foreign army and fieges: they hall die, from the lea/t even unto the greateft, by the fword, and by the famine; which is repeated for the confirmation of it, and to exprefs the univerfality of the deftruction; that it fhould reach to perfons of every age, ftate, and condition, rank and degree, young and old, high and low, rich and poor: and they fbail be an execration, and an aftonifhbment, and a curfe, and @ reproach; fee the note on ch. xiii. 18.

y.13. For I will punifh them that dwell in the land of Egypt, &e.] Or vifit; in a way of. wrath and vengeance; meaning not the native inhabitants of Egypt; tho’ thefe fhould be punifhed, and in whofe punifhment the Yews would be involved; but here it means the ews that dwelt in Egypt, who went thither contrary to the will of God, and there fettled: as I have punifbed Ferufalem, by. the fiword, by the famine, and by the peftilence, fignifying that the fame punifhment that came upon the inhabitants of Yeru/alem, and other cities of Fudea, fhould come upon thefe Yews in Egypt,’ and as fure as they came upon them; even thofe which they thought to have efcaped, by leaving Judea, and going to Lgypt.

y.14. So that none of the remnant of Fudab, &c.} Which were left in the land of Fudea after the captivity: which are gone into the land of Egypt

- to fojourn there, fhall efcape or remain, efcape either the fword, or the famine, or the peftilence, or remain in the land of Egypt, or in the land of the living; fo general fhould be the deftruction: that they foould return into the land of Fudab, to the awhich they have a defire to return there, or, have lift up their fouls” to return there; mott earneftly defire it, and have raifed hopes and expectations of it; for it feems that thofe ews that went into Egypt did not go with a defign to fettle there for ever; but to return to their own land, when there fhould be better times, and more fafety and {fecurity there; particularly when they thought the affair of the death of Gedaliah would be no further enquired into: for none fhall return, but fuch as foall efcape, out of the hands of Yohanan, and the reft of the captains; and fhould get out of the land of Egypt before the Chaldeans came into it. Some underftand this of thofe that fhould efcape out of Babylon; that none fhould return to Fudea, but thofe of that captivity, who fhould be releafed by the proclamation of Cyrus. Farchi interprets it of Feremiah and Baruch, whom Nebuchadnezzar removed to Babylon, when Egypt fell into his hands, in the 27th year of his reign, as is related in the Fewi/b chronicles °.

¥.15. Then all the men which knew that their wives had burnt incenfe unto other gods, &c.] Which was a rite God appointed to be ufed in his worfhip; and is here put for the whole of religious worfhip, which was given to idols by the Fewih women: this their hufbands knew of, and winked at, and did not reftrain them from it, as they fhould; they feem to be themfelves irreligious perfons, a fort of atheifts, who had no regard for the true God, nor any other gods, and cared not who were worfhipped: and all the women that flood by; the wives of the men that ftood by their hufbands, and other women that ftood and heard Feremiah’s fermon, and were confcious to themfelves of being guilty of what they were charged with by him: a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros; in that part of Egypt fo called, which was Thebais: here it feems Feremiab was with that part of the people that took up their refidence there; and by this it appears, there was a large number of them, men and women, and who were all become idolaters, or connivers at, and encouragers of, fuch as were: thefe anfwered Feremiah, Jaying; one in the name of the reft made a reply, as follows;.

¥.16. As for the word.that thou haft [poken unto us in the name of the Lord, &c.] Which they did not believe that it came from the Lord, but was-

Da nogtis med

* Da lune propere nov, ae

impudence was rifen to fuch a pitch, that were determined not to regard it: we ell hearken unto thee; to thy words; neither to thy exhortations, reproofs or menaces, even tho” thou comeft and fpeakeft in the name of ‘the rd. This, and what follows, is an unparalleled i eC of the pride, obftinacy, enmity and rebellion of the carnal mind again{t God. tobi

¥.17. But we will certainly do marae: goeth out of our own mouth, &c.] And not wha went out of the mouth of God, or his prophet < but whatever they had refolved on within themfelves to do, and had declared with their mouths they would, or had vowed with their lips; fo dbarbinel interprets it, of a vow; this they were determined to perform, let God and his prophet fay what they would: to burn incenfe unto the queen of heaven; which, according to Abarbinél, was the moon, which is the queen of heaven, as the fun is king; it was called by the heathens Calefis and Urania: but there are fome that think, that fome great ftar in heaven, that is king over the reft, is meant; fo the Targum renders it, the ftar of heaven; which they underftand of the fun, as Kimchi obferves; the fun being much worfhipped im Egypt; but Kimchi himfelf derives the word for gueen, here ufed, not from the’ root which fignifies to reign 5 but from another, which fignifies to work; and fo renders it, the work, or: frame of heaven; the fun, moon and ftars; and fo the Syriae verfion is, she hoft of heaven; {ee the note on ch. vii. 18. and to this deity, be it what it will, they burned incenfe; and they were determined to continue it, and all other idolatrous rites and practices’ particularly: and to pour out drink-offerings unto ber, which was another part of ceremonial worfhip, which the true God required of the people of J/rae/; but were here refolved to give it to another god: as we bave done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the fireets of Feru- Jalem; they plead cuftom and prefcription, antiquity and authority; the examples of anceftors and kings; the general practice of their nation, both in the metropolis of it, and in its feveral cities, where it not only univerfally obtained, but was vifibly and openly done; and more, they plead the temporal advantage of it: for then bad we plenty. of vittuals, and were well, and faw no evil; had fulnefs of bread, and of all provifions; health, peace and fafety; and no judgment was upon’ feen or felt by them; the fword, famine or peiftilence. The goddefs Cale/is,.or the moon, which feems to be here meant, was, as Tertullian pluviarum pollicitatrix, the promifer of rains, and fo of all good things: or, were merry *, as the thens were at their new moons, when they in ‘Sg to their cups, and lived jovially; henc that of

Horace *. |. ¥. 18. But fince we left off to burn incenfe tot queen of heaven, &c.| Or were reftrained fre it, as the Targum, thro’ the force of th fermons, or by the authority of their ¢ this Abarbinel thinks was in the times Feboiachim, and Zedekich, but perhe rds fome fpace of time in the! dekiab?s reign, a ‘little before the

Ferufalem, when they refrained from their idolatry; tearing the wrath of God, and what was coming upon them; tho’ Kimchi is of opinion, that they never ceafed; but they would fay when any evil came upon them, it was becaufe they ceafed to burn incenfe to the queen of heaven, or were not fo ready to it, as at firft: and to pour out drink-offerings to ber; another part of worfhip they performed to her, but for a while left off: and from that time they fay, we have wanted all things, and have been confumed by the fword, and by the famine, wanted all the neceffaries of life, meat and drink, and cloathing, and an habitation to dwell in; and multitudes were deftroyed by the fword of the king of Babylon; and others perifhed with famine during the fiege; thefe evils they imputed to their ceffation from idolatry, when it was the very thing that brought them on them.

y. 19. And when we burnt incenfe to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto ber, &c.

Which they owned they did, and which they were not afhamed of, and were determined to go on with; and were only forry that they had at any time omitted fuch fervice: did we make cakes to qvorfhip ber; or, to make her glad*®, as Kimchi, interpreting the word by an aatipbra/is; it having a contrary fignification, to grieve or to make forrowful; and from hence idols have their name fometimes, becaufé in the iffte they bring grief and trouble to their worfhippers; hence fome render it, to make ber an idol"; or them, the cakes, an idol; thefe had, as Farchi fays, the likenefs of the idol impreffed upon them: aad pour out drinkofferings unto ber without our men? they own they did thefe things, but not without the knowledge and confent at leaft, if not with the prefence of _ their hufbands; hence thefe.words feem to be the words of the women. Some indeed think they fpeak all along from ¥.16. or one in the name of the reft; it may be one of Zedekiah’s daughters: but however, if the men {poke what is faid in the preceding verfes, the women, being provoked, could hold their peace’no longer, but broke in, and uttered thefe words; tho’ fome render the Jatt claufe, without our principal men’, and fo take them to be the words of the people in general, who urge in their own defence, that what they did they did with the direction, approbation and leading example of their kings and governors.

¥.20. Then Feremiah faid unto all the people, &c.] Immediately, being influenced, directed and affifted by the Spirit of God; tho’ what he fays in the three following verfes, he doesnot declare as coming from the Lord; but what was upon _his mind, and was a full refutation of all that had been faid: and which he delivered to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which bad given him that anfwer; in which they all agreed, tho’ delivered by one; and to which he made a reply: faying, as follows:

y. 23. Lbat incenfe that ye burnt in the cities of Fudab, and in the fireets of Ferufalem, &c.] To falfe gods, to the queen of heaven, to the hoft thereot: ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, on which account they. pleaded antiquity, authority, and the general confent of the people, as on their fide, which the prophet allows; but it all fignified no- fo ten Melech; ut faciamus illas idolum, Cocceius, & Tremeliius.

thing: did not the Lord remember them, and came it not into his mind? either the incenfe they offered up to ftrange gods, or the perfons that did it? did he take no notice of thefe idolatrous practices, and of thefe idolaters? he did; he laid up thele things in his mind; he fhewed a proper refentment of them, and in due time punithed for them. ¥.22. So that the Lord could no longer forbear, &c.] He did forbear a long time, and didnot {tir up all his wrath, but waited to fee if thefe people would repent of their fins, and turn from them; during which time of his forbearance, things might be well with them, as they had faid, and they enjoyed peace and plenty; but perfifting in cheir fins, and growing worfe and worfe, he could bear with them no longer, but brought down his judgments upon them. The reafon is exprefied,

| 2ecaufe of the evil of your doings, and becaufe of the

abominations which ye have committed; the incenfe they had burnt; the drink-offerings they had poured out to idols; and fuch like idolatrous practices, which were evil in themfelves, contrary to the law and will of God, and abominable unto him: sherefore is your land a defolation, and an aftonifbment, and a curfe, without an inhabitant, as at this day; the land of [/rael wafted by the Chaldeans, and left uncultivated, was like a barren wildernefs, to the aftonifhment of all that paffed thro’ ir, who had known what a fruitful country it had been; the curfe of God being apparently on it, and fcarce an inhabitant left in it; which was the cafe at this prefent inftant, as the Hews, to whom the prophet directs his difcourfe, well knew; and to whom he appeals for the truth of it: now all this was for the fins, particularly the idolatry, they had been guilty of; as is further explained in the next verte.

¥.23. And because you have burnt incenfe, &c.] Not to Jehovah, but to the queen of heaven; which they owned they did, and determined they would, afferting it was better with them when they did it, than when they omitted it; for which reafon the prophet particularly mentions it, and affigns it as. the caufe of the prefent ruin and deftruction of their land, city and temple: and becaufe ye have Jinned againft the Lord; by worfhipping idols; all fin is againft the Lord, but efpecially idolatry: and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord; by his prophets, who cautioned them againft idolatry, reproved them for it, and told them what would be the confequence of it; but this they hearkened not unto, which was an aggravation of their fin: zor walked in his law; the moral law, according to it; which is a rule of walk and converfation: nor in his flatutes, nor in his teftimonies; as not in the moral law, fo neither in the ceremonial law, and the rites of that; nor in the judicial law, and the teftifications of the will of God in either of them: therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day; that is, the defolation on their land, as in the preceding verfe; fee the note there.

¥.24. Moreover, Feremiah faid unto all the people, and to all the women, &c.) To all the people in general, and to the women in particular, who had a principal concern in thefe idolatrous practices: bear the word of the Lord, all Fudab that are in the land of Egypt; all of the tribe of Fudab that were in Egypt; not in Pathros only, but in other 5 parts parts of Egypt: this diftinguithes them from thofe of ¥udah that were in Babylon, and in other provinces; and tacitly points at their fin in going to Egypt, which was the leading ftep to thefe frefh aéts of idolatry they had been guilty of; thefe are called upon to hear the word of the Lord: what the prophet had faid before, was what was upon his mind without immediate infpiration, or as a dire&t mefflage from the Lord; but what follows 1S.

y. 25. Thus faith the Lord of hofts, the God of Trael, &c.] Which is an ufual preface to prophecies coming from him: faying, as follows: ye and your wives have both fpoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand; they had faid they would burn incenfe to the queen of heaven, and they had done it; they had been as good as their word, true to it, tho’ in a bad thing; their words and works agreed, and fo did the men and their wives: the women had before faid, they did not perform worfhip to the queen of heaven without their men; this is acknowledged by the Lord, and their confeffion is improved againft them: faying, we will furely perform our vows that we have vowed,.to burn incenfe to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drinkofferings unto ber; they thought, becaufe they made a vow that they would do it, that it was therefore obligatory upon them, and this would be fufficient to juftify them before God, and excufe it to him; whereas nothing that is finful ought to be vowed or performed; and to vow and perform in fuch a cafe, is doubly criminal: a vow can’t make that lawful which is unlawful; and the performance of it can never be a laudable action: ‘ye will furely accomplifo your vows, and furely perform your vows, they were refolutely fet upon it, and nothing would hinder their performance of it; this fhows the obftinacy and firmnefs of their minds: tho’ fome think thefe words are fpoken ironically.

y. 26. Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Fudah that dwell in the land of Egypt, &c.] See the note on y. 24. fince you have made your vows, and will perform them, I’ll take an oath, and abide by it: behold, I have fworn by my great _ name, faith the Lord; by his name Fehovah, which is incommunicable, and expreffive of his eternity and immutability; or by himfelf, his name being himfelf, and than which he can fwear by no greater, Heb. vi. 13: that my name foall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Fudab, in all the land of Ligypt, faying, the Lord God liveth, this cannot be underttood of the name of the Lord being called upon them, or of their being called by his name, and reckoned his people, which is the fenfe of Avarbinel, fince this refpecéts not a name by which they fhould be named, but which they fhould name, and intends their ufe of the divine name in an oath, of which this is a form, the Lord God liveth; or as fure as the Lord lives, or by the living God, it is fo and fo; and efpecially as ufed in their vows to burn incenfe to the queen of heaven, they vowing by the living God that they would do fo, which muft be very abominable to him, and therefore he folemnly fwears, there fhould ‘not be a Few in all Aeypt that fhould ufe it; the reafon is, becaufe every one of them that did fhould be cut off, as follows:

¥. 27. Bebold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good, &c.} To bring the evil of -punifhment upon them, the particulars -of which are after mentioned, and not the bleffings of goodnefs as formerly; and.this he would be as careful and diligent to bring about, as one that watches all opportunities to do hurt to another; and it muft be dreadful to be under the vigilant avenging eye of God: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypi, fhall be confumed by the fword, and ~ by the famine, until there be an end of them; that is, the greateft part of them, excepting a few that fhall efcape, hereafter mentioned, particularly feremiah and Baruch, but as for the main body of fuch, who went of their own accord to Egypt, and fettled, and fell into the idolatry of the country; thefe fhould all perifh one after another, till there were none of them left; either by the fword of the king of Babylon; or by ‘famine, which his army and fieges would produce; or by peftilence, tho? not here mentioned, yet is in ¥. 13. "

¥. 28. Yet a fmall number that fhall efcape the fword, &c.| The fword of the king of Babylon; and the other judgments, and which would be but very few; men of number *, as in the Hebrew text, which might eafily be numbered; Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the fon of Neriab, and fome few righteous perfons among them, as Kimchi and Abarbinel obferve: fhall return out of the land of Egypt, into the land of Fudah; they thall make their efcape out of the land of Egypt, whither they did not go willingly; and by one providence or another, fhall come back to their native country, the land of ‘adea, when the reft will not; which muft be a diftinguifhing favour to them: and all the remnant of fudah that are gone into the land of Egypt to fojourn there, fhall know what words fhail ftand, mine or theirs; thofe that are left of the fword, famine, and peftilence, fhall know experimentally, by facts laid down, whofe words have their effect and accomplifhment, ftand firm and fure; whether theirs, that promifed impunity and fafety, peace and profperity, in their idolatrous practices; or the Lord’s, which threatened with ruin and deftruction. The Lord is true, and every man a liar; whatever devices are in a man’s heart, the counfel of the Lord that fhall ftand.

y. 29. And this fhall be a fign unto you, faith the Lord, that I will punifh you in this place, &c.] In Egypt, as before threatened; and what follows is a confirming fign, that fo it would be; and which, when obferved by fome, gave the hint to them to make their efcape; tho’ others, being hardened in their idolatry, impenitence, and unbelief, continued, and perifhed: that ye may know that my words foall furely ftand ageinft you for evil; which fign, when they fhould fee, they might affure themfelves, that the threatnings of evil to them would certainly be accomplifhed, as fure as they faw the fign given, which is as follows:;

¥. 30. Thus faith the Lord, bebold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt, &c.] Pharaob was a common name of the kings of Egypt, who ufually had fome furname, by which they were di- {tinguifhed; and the furname of the then prefent king of Egypt was Hophra,; whom the Septuagint and others call Vaphres; and Herodotus ' Apries. The Targum renders it, Pharaoh the broken; and the Syriac verfion, Pharaoh the lame: now it is here predicted as a fign of the deftruétion of the Fews in Egypt, which fhould follow after; that God would deliver this king into the hand of bis enemies, and into the hand of them that feek bis life; either into the hands of his rebellious fubje¢ts, — by Amafis, by whom he was kept alive for a while after taken, and then put to death, as Herodotus reports; or rather into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar; for Fofephus fays ™, that he, in the twentythird year of his reign, which was four or five years after the deftruction of Ferufalem, having fubdued the Syrians, Ammonites, and Moabites, entered Egypt in a hoftile manner, and flew the then reigning king, and fet up another; and this is confirmed by what follows: as I gave Zedekiah king of Fudab into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that fought bis life; in like manner, and as fure as he had done the one, he would. do the other; and he puts the Jews in mind of | what he had done by him, and which they had full and certain knowledge of; and might from hence conclude, that this alfo would be accomplithed, here given as a fign of their own ruin; and which when they faw come to pafs, might know that it was at hand; and indeed, the king of Egypt, in whom they trufted, being taken by his enemies, and his country wafted, they mutt in courfe fall a prey to the conqueror: