V. (1) RUN YE TO AND FRO. — The dark shades of the picture seem at first hardly to belong to the reign of Josiah, which is brought before us in 2 Kings 22, 23; 2 Kings 2 Chronicles 34, 35, as one of thorough reformation. It is, of course, possible that parts of the picture may have been worked up wh... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD LIVETH. — The words imply that a distinction between the binding powers of different formulæ of adjuration, like that of the later scribes (Matthew 23:16), was already in some degree prevalent. The guilt of the men of Jerusalem was that they took the most solemn formula of all, “Jehovah liv... [ Continue Reading ]
UPON THE TRUTH. — The Hebrew word, which has no article, implies truth in the inward parts, _faithfulness,_ as well as truth in words. The “eyes” of God looked for this, and He found the temper that hardens itself against discipline, and refuses to repent.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE. — Literally, _And._ The prophet makes for the poor the half-pitying plea of ignorance. Looking upon the masses that toil for bread, those whom the Scribes afterwards called the “people of earth,” it was not strange that they who had been left untaught should have learnt so little. The tho... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL GET ME. — The prophet turns from the masses to the few, from the poor to the great, repeating, as with a grave, indignant irony, the words that describe the true wisdom which he has not found in the former, but hopes to find in the latter. BUT THESE. — Better, as less ambiguous, _Surely they... [ Continue Reading ]
A LION OUT OF THE FOREST. — The imagery is vivid in itself. The three forms of animal ferocity, lion, wolf, leopard — representing, perhaps, the three phases of simple fierceness, ravenousness, and cunning; possibly even three oppressors in whom those attributes were to be impersonated — are brought... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN I HAD FED THEM TO THE FULL. — The reading of the Hebrew text gives, _though I had bound them by oath, sc.,_ by the covenant, as of marriage; and this, as heightening the enormity of the sin that follows, gives a better sense than the English version, which follows the marginal reading of the He... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY WERE AS FED HORSES IN THE MORNING. — Better, _As fed stallion horses they rove about._ The animal passion is taken, as in Ezekiel 23:20, (1) as answering to the same passion in man; (2) as symbolical of the lust for idolatrous ritual. (Comp. Jeremiah 2:24.)... [ Continue Reading ]
WALLS. — Better, _her palm-trees._ The Hebrew word is found in Ezekiel 27:25, though not in the English Version, in the sense of “mast,” and here, apparently, means the tall, stately trunk of the palmtree. So, for “battlements” it is better to read _branches_ (as in Isaiah 18:5), as carrying on the... [ Continue Reading ]
IT IS NOT HE. — _i.e._, It is not Jehovah who speaks. They listened to the prophet’s warnings as if they came from himself only, and brought with them no certainty of the “sword” or “famine” which they foretold. Perhaps, however, the words refer also to the denial that Jehovah was working in the suf... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WORD. — Literally, _He who speaketh, i.e.,_ Jehovah, as the speaker. THUS SHALL IT BE DONE UNTO THEM. — Better, as a wish, _may it so happen to them;_ may the evils the prophets foretell fall on their own heads. The speech comes from the lips of the unbelieving mockers.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD GOD OF HOSTS. — The solemn name (_Jehovah Elohim Zebaoth_) used for the second time in Jeremiah’s teaching (Jeremiah 2:19). The message is partly to the people — “Because _ye_ speak this word,” partly to the prophet who was sent to bear his witness against them — “I will make my words in _t... [ Continue Reading ]
O HOUSE OF ISRAEL. — Apparently, as there is no contrast with Judah, in its wider sense, as including the whole body of the twelve tribes. A MIGHTY NATION. — The strict force of the adjective is that of “lasting, enduring,” as of mountains (Micah 6:2) and rivers (Amos 5:24; Psalms 74:15). WHOSE LA... [ Continue Reading ]
AN OPEN SEPULCHRE. — Every arrow in the quivers of the Chaldæan bowmen was to be as a messenger of death, a blast or pestilence from the grave.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHICH THY SONS AND THY DAUGHTERS SHOULD EAT. — There is no relative pronoun in the Hebrew, and the clause stands parallel with the others, _they shall eat_ (_i.e.,_ destroy) _thy sons and thy daughters,_ and is so translated in all the older versions. In the other clauses the verb is in the singular... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL NOT MAKE A FULL END. — As before, in Jeremiah 4:27, and in this chapter, Jeremiah 5:10, what seems the extremest sentence is tempered by the assurance that it is not absolutely final. It is intended to be reformatory, and not merely penal.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN YE SHALL SAY. — The implied promise in Jeremiah 5:18 is explained. Then there shall come the backward glance at the past, which brings with it questionings and repentance. STRANGE GODS. — Stronger than the “_other_ gods” of Jeremiah 1:16, “gods of an alien race.” The threats that they should “... [ Continue Reading ]
DECLARE — PUBLISH. — The words indicate, as in Jeremiah 4:5; Jeremiah 4:16, the beginning of a fresh section of the prophecy, though no definitely new topic is introduced. The command is given by Jehovah, not to the prophet only, but to his disciples.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHICH HAVE EYES, AND SEE NOT. — An almost verbal reproduction from Isaiah 6:10.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHICH HAVE PLACED THE SAND... — The greatness of Jehovah is shown by the majesty of His work in nature. As in Job 38:8, so, probably, here also there is something of the wonder of one to whom, as dwelling in an inland village, the billows breaking on the shore was an unfamiliar sight. Here was the t... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THIS PEOPLE... — The contrast seems to lie in the fact that the elements are subject to God’s will, but that man’s rebellious will, with its fatal gift of freedom, has the power to resist it. The two adjectives “revolting” and “rebellious” (the negative and positive aspects of apostasy) are join... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD OUR GOD, THAT GIVETH RAIN... — In the climate of Palestine, as it is now, there are not two distinct rainy seasons. The whole period from October to March has that character. The “early” rains are those that come in autumn, the latter those which close the season in spring. The former argum... [ Continue Reading ]
THESE THINGS. — i.e., the rain and the harvest which, from the prophet’s point of view, had been withheld in consequence of the sins of the people.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY LAY WAIT. — Literally, _he lieth in wait_ (used of the leopard in Hosea 13:7), _as in the crouching down of fowlers: they have set the snare._ The indefinite singular in the first clause brings before us the picture of isolated guilt, the plural that of confederate evil.... [ Continue Reading ]
A CAGE. — The large wicker basket (Amos 8:1) in which the fowler kept the birds he had caught, or, possibly, used for decoy-birds.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY OVERPASS THE DEEDS OF THE WICKED. — Better (the English being ambiguous), _they exceed in deeds_ (literally, _words_ or _things_)_ of wickedness._ The prophet dwells not only on the prosperity of the wicked, but on their callous indifference to the well-being of the poor. YET THEY PROSPER. — B... [ Continue Reading ]
WONDERFUL. — Better, _terrible._ IS COMMITTED. — Better, _has come to pass. _... [ Continue Reading ]
PROPHESY FALSELY. — Literally, _with a lie,_ so in Jeremiah 20:6; Jeremiah 29:9. BEAR RULE BY THEIR MEANS. — Better, _move at their hands, i.e.,_ according to their direction (as in 1 Chronicles 25:2; 2 Chronicles 23:18. The Vulg. and LXX. translate _The priests applauded with their hands._ So take... [ Continue Reading ]