_The word which came to Jeremiah, when King Zedekiah sent unto him_ The occasion of Zedekiah's sending the message here mentioned to Jeremiah, has, by some commentators, been confounded with that in chap. 37. “But I think,” says Blaney, “they are clearly and undeniably distinct one from the other. F... [ Continue Reading ]
_Inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us_ As Zedekiah was not one of the best, so he was not one of the worst of the kings of Judah. Having some reverence for God, he sends the prophet to _inquire_ of him. Or, as the word דרשׁ, signifies, to _seek_ or _apply_ to God by prayer and supplication: see... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, I will turn back the weapons_, &c. Instead of doing execution upon your enemies, they shall hurt yourselves, and be the occasion of your own destruction. God will as visibly appear against you as if a miraculous wind were to drive back your own darts and arrows, and turn them upon yourselve... [ Continue Reading ]
_And unto this people thou shalt say_, &c. By the civil message which the king sent to Jeremiah it appeared that both he and the people began to have respect for him; but the reply which God obliged him to make was sufficient to crush that little respect, and to exasperate them against him more than... [ Continue Reading ]
_And touching the house of the king of Judah_, &c. The house of Zedekiah, the court, or those who were magistrates. _Hear ye the word of the Lord_ These, how great soever, are not excused from the common obligations which lie upon all to listen to and obey the revelations of the divine will. _Execut... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain_ A description of Jerusalem, which was built in part upon the rocky mountain of Zion, but a great part of it was in the valley; and the higher mountains about mount Zion made that mountain itself, in comparison with them,... [ Continue Reading ]