_O that my head_, &c. The prophet sympathizes with the calamities of his people, as before, Jeremiah 1:19; Jeremiah 8:21; and thereby excites them to a sense of their own misfortunes, that they might humble themselves under the mighty hand of God. The passage is a fine instance of the pathetic, wher... [ Continue Reading ]
_O that I had in the wilderness_, &c. The prophet here wishes that he had a lodging-place, or tent, such as travellers in this country were wont to lodge in when they travelled over the deserts, professing that he would rather pass his days in such a habitation in some desert place, than at Jerusale... [ Continue Reading ]
_They bend their tongues like their bow_ With a great deal of craft, their tongues are fitted for lying, as a bow which is bent is for shooting. Thus the psalmist compares the tongue to a bow and words of calumny and falsehood to arrows, Psalms 64:3. _But they are not valiant for the truth_ They use... [ Continue Reading ]
_Take ye heed every one of his neighbour_ Or, _of his friend_, as רעהו rather signifies; of him who pretends friendship to him, or whom he has befriended. _And trust ye not in a brother_ Against whom you must stand as much upon your guard as if you were dealing with a stranger. _For every brother wi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, I will melt them and try them_ I will cast them into the furnace of affliction, that I may purify them from their dross. See note on Jeremiah 6:29, and on Isaiah 1:25. _For how shall I do_, &c. I have tried all other means, and they have proved ineffectual. _Their tongue is as an arrow_, &c... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the mountains will I take up a weeping_ “These words,” says Houbigant, “as they now lie, must belong either to Jeremiah or the daughter of Zion; and yet it follows in the next verse, _And I will make_, which are the words of God: therefore this verse should be rendered, by a slight alteration o... [ Continue Reading ]
_Who is the wise man_ Or, _Is there not a wise man, who understands this?_ Is there none of you so well acquainted with the will of God and the methods of his providence, as to be able to declare the reasons why he has given such severe instances of his anger against this land? The question implies,... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will feed them, &c., with wormwood_ See on Deuteronomy 29:18. The word rendered _wormwood_ here, it seems, had better be rendered _wolfsbane_, as signifying an herb which is not only bitter and nauseous, but also noxious. _And give them water of gall to drink_ Or _juice of hemlock_, as some read... [ Continue Reading ]
_Consider ye, and call for the mourning women_ Consider the evil circumstances you are in, which call for mourning and lamentation: and since you yourselves are not sufficiently affected with the dangers that threaten you, send for those women whose profession it is to mourn at funerals, and upon ot... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom_ Let not men value themselves on account of their wisdom, strength, or riches, which are things in themselves of a very uncertain continuance, and such calamities are coming, (see Jeremiah 9:25,) in which they will stand the owners of them in very little ste... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold the days come_, &c. Blaney translates these two verses, “Behold, the days are coming, saith Jehovah, that I will punish all the circumcision with the uncircumcision; Egypt, &c., and all those that have their coast insulated, those that dwell in the wilderness: for all the nations are uncircu... [ Continue Reading ]