God now mentions to his servant the commands which he was to convey to the king and priests, and to the whole people; for by the _ears of Jerusalem _he means all its inhabitants. God here intimates that the Jews were unworthy of being cared for by him any more; but that he is induced by another reas... [ Continue Reading ]
God here more clearly reprobates the ingratitude of the people: and first he enumerates his favors by which he had bound the people for ever to himself; and secondly, he shews how malignantly the people responded to the many blessings which they had received. In saying, then, that Israel was _holy,... [ Continue Reading ]
Here God explains why he had referred to what we have noticed, — that he had consecrated Israel to himself as a peculiar people, and as the first — fruits. God often mentions his favors to us, in order to encourage our hope, that we may be fully persuaded that whatever may happen we are ever safe, b... [ Continue Reading ]
Then follows the charge: _What, iniquity have your fathers found in me_, that having forsaken _me they should walk after vanity and become vain? _Here Jeremiah charges the people with two crimes, — that they had departed from the true God, whom they had found to be a deliverer, — and that they had b... [ Continue Reading ]
The Prophet goes on with the same subject; for God adduces here no small crime against his people, as they had buried his favom’s in oblivion. Indeed, a redemption so wonderful was worthy of being celebrated in all ages, not only by one nation, but by all the nations of the earth. As then the Jews h... [ Continue Reading ]
He afterwards adds, _And I brought you in, etc_. Here Jeremiah introduces God as the speaker; for God had, as with his hand stretched forth, brought in the children of Abraham into the possession of the promised land, which they did not get, as it is said in Psalms 44:3, by their own power and by th... [ Continue Reading ]
God assails here especially the teachers and those to whom was committed the power of ruling the people. It often happens that the common people fall away, while yet some integrity remains in the rulers. But God shews here that such was the falling away among the whole community, that priests as wel... [ Continue Reading ]
The particle עוד _oud, _yet, or still, is not without weight; for the Prophet intimates, that if God had already punished the perfidy and wickedness of the people, he still retained whole his right to do so, as though he had said, “Think not that you have suffered all your punishment, though I have... [ Continue Reading ]
Here, by a comparison, he amplifies the wickedness and ingratitude of his own nation, — that they had surpassed in levity all heathen nations; for he says that all nations so agreed in one religion, that each nation followed what it had received from its ancestors. How then was it that the God of Is... [ Continue Reading ]
Hence he says, _Yea, pass over unto the islands; _and then he adds, _see whether there is a thing like this; _that is, such a monstrous and execrable thing can nowhere be found. An explanation follows, _No nation has changed its gods, and yet they are no gods; _that is, religion among all nations co... [ Continue Reading ]
When the Prophet saw that he had to do with besotted men, almost void of all reason, he turned to address the heavens: and it is a way of speaking, common in the Prophets, — that they address the heaven and the earth, which have no understanding, and leave men endued with reason and knowledge. This... [ Continue Reading ]
If a reason is given here why the Prophet had bidden the heavens to be astonished and terrified, then we must render the words thus, “For two evils have my people done:” but I rather think that the preceding verse is connected with the former verses. The Prophet had said, “Go to the farthest lands,... [ Continue Reading ]
These verses are to be read together; for the Prophet first shews that Israel was not as to his original condition miserable, but that this happened through a new cause, and then he mentions the cause. He then first asks, _whether Israel was a servant or a slave? _God had adopted them as his people,... [ Continue Reading ]
He afterwards adds, _Over him roar the lions. _The Prophet seems not simply to compare the enemies of Israel to lions on account of their cruelty, but also by way of contempt, as though he had said, that Israel found that not only men were incensed against them, but also wild beasts: and it is more... [ Continue Reading ]
By way of amplification he adds, _Also the sons of Noph and of Tephanes shall for thee break the head, _or, the crown of the head. We shall hereafter see that the Israelites were wont to seek help from the Egyptians. The particle גם, _g _a_m_, may be thus explained, “Not only those who have been hit... [ Continue Reading ]
Now follows the cause; the Prophet, after having shewn that Israel were forsaken by God, now mentions the reason why it so happened, _Has not this done it for thee? _Some read in the second person, “Hast thou not done this for thee?” but the meaning is still nearly the same. More probable, however,... [ Continue Reading ]
As I have just stated, the Prophet confirms what I said, — that the people could not ascribe the cause of their evils to others; for they ought to have imputed to themselves whatever they suffered; and at the same time their sin was doubled, because they looked here and there for vain remedies, and... [ Continue Reading ]
Here again, the Prophet confirms what I have before stated, — that the people would at length find, willing or unwilling, what it was to deport from God; as though he had said, “As thou hast not hitherto learnt by so many evidences, that thy perfidy is the cause of all thy evils, God will heap evils... [ Continue Reading ]
As there are two readings in Hebrew, two meanings are given; for some think the verb to be, עבד _ob _e_d, _and others, עבר _ob _e_r, _the two letters being very similar. If we read, “I will not pass over,” or, I will not transgress, the sense is, “When I broke thy yoke;” that is, “When I delivered t... [ Continue Reading ]
God here confirms what is said in the last verse; for he condemned the Israelites for having perversely run here and there after their superstitions, when yet they had been redeemed for this end, — that they might be ruled by the hand of God. Hence he says, _I planted thee as a choice vine; _that is... [ Continue Reading ]
We have already seen, and the Prophet will often repeat the same thing, — that the people were become so refractory that they would not willingly give way to any reproofs; for they were almost all of such a hard front, and so obdurate in their wickedness, that they dared insolently to raise objectio... [ Continue Reading ]
Jeremiah goes on here with his reproof, and dissipates the clouds of hypocrites, under which they thought themselves to be sufficiently concealed: for hypocrites, when they allege their fallacious pretences, think themselves already hidden from the eyes of God and from the judgment of all men. Hence... [ Continue Reading ]
As Jeremiah had called the people a dromedary, so he now calls them a wild ass: “Thou,” he says, “art both a dromedary and a wild ass.” For when a wild ass has caught the wind according to her desire, that is, when she has pantingly sought it, and has caught the wind of her occasion, that is, such a... [ Continue Reading ]
The words of the Prophet, as they are concise, may appear at the first view obscure: but his meaning is simply this, — that the insane people could by no means be reformed, however much God might try to check that excess by which they were led away after idols and superstitions. In the first clause,... [ Continue Reading ]
Some render the words in the future tense, “So ashamed shall be the house of Israel,” etc.; and they think that the Prophet is speaking here of the punishment which was impending over the people: but I explain the words as they are, — that the impiety of the people was so gross, that there was no ne... [ Continue Reading ]
The Prophet here confirms what he had before said of the perverse wickedness of the people. He shews that he had not said without reason, that their sins were extremely gross, and could not be excused by any evasions: for they _say_, he adds, _to the wood, Thou art my father, and to the stone, Thou... [ Continue Reading ]
And hence he adds, _Where are your gods? _Here God laughs to scorn the false confidence by which the Jews deceived themselves: _Where are your gods, which you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, let us see whether they will help you in the time of your distress. _We now understand what the Pro... [ Continue Reading ]
Jeremiah concludes here his previous subject: he says that the Jews gained nothing by alleging against God that they were innocent, and by thinking that they could by mere words escape his judgment, and not only by doing so, but also by hurrying on to such a degree of presumption as to challenge God... [ Continue Reading ]
Some expound the beginning of this verse as though the meaning were, — that God chastised the Jews on account of their folly, because they habituated themselves to falsehoods: but the latter clause does not correspond. There is therefore no doubt but that God here expostulates with the Jews, because... [ Continue Reading ]
The prophet assumes the character, no doubt, of one in astonishment, that he might render the sin of the people more detestable: for he speaks as one astonished, _generation! _The word, דור, _dur; _as it is well known, means an age. It is then the same as if he had said, “On what time are we fallen?... [ Continue Reading ]
God here confirms what is said in the last verse, and would make his people ashamed, because they valued him less than girls are wont to value their ornaments. The necklaces of young women are indeed nothing but mere trifles, and yet we see that girls are so taken with them through a foolish passion... [ Continue Reading ]
This verse is differently explained: but the Prophet simply means; that the Jews were like lascivious women, who not only despise their husbands at home, but ramble here and there in all directions, and also paint their faces and seek for themselves all the charms of wantonness. He says that the Jew... [ Continue Reading ]
The Prophet repeats, as I think, what he had before said, — that the wickedness of his nation was incorrigible; for they repented not when warned, but on the contrary raged like wild beasts against the Prophets and religious teachers. Those interpreters are mistaken who think that the savage cruelty... [ Continue Reading ]
The Prophet here shews that the Jews were possessed of such a brazen front, that they could not be led by any admonitions to feel any shame. Though then they were like adulterous women, and though they gave meretricious hire to such as they ran to in all parts, and though also they had murdered the... [ Continue Reading ]
The Prophet goes on with the same subject. He had said before that the people were like an unfaithful wife, who having left her husband rambles here and there to gratify her lusts. For this view he now gives the reason; for he might have appeared to treat the people too severely, had not the fact be... [ Continue Reading ]
He expresses more clearly what he had said of the shameful character of his own nation, — that the Jews, who thought that their safety would be secured by the Egyptians, were seeking their own entire ruin. This seemed to them indeed incredible; for as the Egyptians were neighbors, and as the Jews th... [ Continue Reading ]