_THE UNEQUAL COMPARISON OF GOD AND IDOLS. THE PROPHET EXHORTETH TO FLEE FROM THE CALAMITY TO COME: HE LAMENTETH THE SPOIL OF THE TABERNACLE BY FOOLISH PASTORS: HE MAKETH AN HUMBLE SUPPLICATION._ _Before Christ 600._... [ Continue Reading ]
HEAR YE THE WORD, &C.— Jeremiah continues his denunciations against Judah: he said at the conclusion of the preceding chapter, that the Lord would punish, without distinction, all those who offended him, Jews as well as Gentiles. He here informs them, that if they would avoid this vengeance of the L... [ Continue Reading ]
LEARN NOT THE WAY OF THE HEATHEN— It is well-known, that the Chaldeans and Egyptians were remarkable for their attention to astrology; and therefore the prophet here exhorts the Jews, that when they were to live among those people, they should pay no regard to the predictions which they might utter... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PEOPLE— _The nations._... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY ARE UPRIGHT, &C.— _For they are like the trunk of the palm-tree,_ &c. Houb. "They are inflexible, immoveable, fixed, without action or motion, like the trunk of a palm-tree;" a comparison which admirably suits the ancient statues seen in Egypt and elsewhere, before the art of sculpture attained... [ Continue Reading ]
FORASMUCH, &C.— _There is nothing comparable to thee, O Lord; thou art great, and great is thy name in power._ Houb.... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR TO THEE DOTH IT APPERTAIN— That is, according to some, _to thee doth it appertain to be feared._ Houbigant renders it, _For the government becomes thee, because amongst all the wise men of the nations,_ &c.... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THEY ARE ALTOGETHER BRUTISH, &C.— _But they are altogether foolish, and have received the instruction of those which are nothing but wood._ Houb. _THE STOCK IS A DOCTRINE OF VANITIES_— The true meaning and force of this passage seems to have escaped the notice of all the commentators, except Bla... [ Continue Reading ]
TARSHISH, AND—UPHAZ— _Tarshish_ was a place at this time celebrated through all the East for its commerce. Calmet has endeavoured to prove, in his dissertation upon Ophir, that the _gold of Uphaz_ was the same with that of the river Pison; and Bochart supposes _Uphaz_ to be the same with Ophir in In... [ Continue Reading ]
THUS SHALL YE SAY, &C.— This verse is in the Chaldee language, and it appears here as a kind of parenthesis. Houbigant thinks, that the most probable reason why it is here inserted in the Chaldee, and not in the Hebrew, is, that Jeremiah prescribes to the Jews what they shall answer, in living among... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN HE UTTERETH HIS VOICE, &C.— "When the Almighty utters his voice, or sends his thunders abroad, the clouds immediately precipitate in torrents of rain; and as God causes the vapours to ascend in clouds from every quarter of the earth, so he joins two contrary things together; ordaining great fla... [ Continue Reading ]
EVERY MAN IS BRUTISH IN HIS KNOWLEDGE— Or, according to some, _Every man is made foolish by his knowledge._ "The most skilful maker of statues and idols is convinced hereby of his folly; for if he were truly wise, how could he worship any thing so weak and vain?" What follows seems to favour this in... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PORTION OF JACOB— Upon the principles of heathen theology, every nation was committed to the care and superintendency of its own tutelary god, which was styled its _portion,_ on account of the peculiar relation which was supposed to subsist between them. _The portion of Jacob,_ therefore, is the... [ Continue Reading ]
GATHER UP THY WARES— That is, "Collect to Jerusalem all that you have valuable in the country: fly thither for refuge, with your best effects; for the enemy will soon extend himself all over your land, and render it desolate." The Vulgate translates the word כנעתךֵ _kinatheik,_ which we render _ware... [ Continue Reading ]
BEHOLD, I WILL SLING, &C.— _Behold, I will inclose as in a net the inhabitants of this land; and will surround them with a siege, that they may perceive me to be their avenger._ Houb. _That they may find it so,_ is read by some, _That they may find me;_ "That, driven to distress, they may seek me, c... [ Continue Reading ]
WOE IS ME, &C.— The prophet here pathetically laments the overthrow of his country; and either in his own person, or in that of his country, bewails the plundering and desolation of the cities and houses, as if they were so many shepherds' tents. See the following verse.... [ Continue Reading ]
BRUIT— _A noise_ or _report:_ that is, the news of the approach of Nebuchadnezzar's army.... [ Continue Reading ]
O LORD, I KNOW, &C.— "Thou rulest, O Lord, all events; all that happens comes to pass through an effect of thy adorable providence. It is not in man to hinder that which hath been once absolutely resolved by thee: so that since, Lord, thou art pleased to make us feel the awful effects of thy justice... [ Continue Reading ]