CHAPTER XXI _Nebuchadnezzar being come up against Jerusalem, Zedekiah sends_ _Pashur and Zephaniah to the prophet to request him to intercede_ _with God in behalf of his people_, 1, 2. _But he is declared to be against Jerusalem, and the whole land_ _of Judah; and the only mitigation of their p... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 21:2. _INQUIRE, I PRAY THEE_] See whether God intends to deliver us _into_ or _out of_ the hand of the Chaldeans.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 21:4. _I WILL TURN BACK THE WEAPONS_] Every attempt you make to repel the Chaldeans shall be unsuccessful. _I WILL ASSEMBLE THEM INTO THE MIDST OF THIS CITY._] I will deliver the city into their hands.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 21:6. _THEY SHALL DIE OF A GREAT PESTILENCE._] The _sword_ may appear to be that of _man_, though I have given the Chaldeans their commission; but the _pestilence_ shall appear to be the immediate act of GOD.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 21:7. _NEBUCHADREZZAR_] This name is spelt as above in _twenty-six_ places of this book; and in _ten_ places it is spelt _Nebuchadnezzar_, which is the common orthography. The difference is only a ר _resh_ for a נ _nun_; but the MSS. are various on this point. It is the same person wh... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 21:8. _BEHOLD, I SET BEFORE YOU THE WAY OF LIFE, AND THE WAY_ _OF DEATH._] Meaning _escape_ or _destruction_ in the _present_ instance. This is explained in the next verse.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 21:10. _HE SHALL BURN IT WITH FIRE._] What a heavy message to all; and especially to them who had any fear of God, or reverence for the temple and its sacred services!... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 21:12. _EXECUTE JUDGMENT IN THE MORNING_] Probably the time for dispensing judgment was _the morning_, when the people were going to their work; but the words may mean, Do justice _promptly_, do not _delay_. Let justice be administered _as soon_ as required.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 21:13. _O INHABITANT OF THE VALLEY_, AND _ROCK OF THE PLAIN_] Dr. _Blayney_ translates: "O thou inhabitant of the levelled hollow of a rock." With all his explanation I cannot see the good sense of this translation. Jerusalem itself, though partly on _two hills_, was also extended in... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 21:14. _I WILL KINDLE A FIRE IN THE FOREST THEREOF_] I will send destruction into its _centre_, that shall spread to every part of the _circumference_, and so consume the whole. The beginning of the _thirty-fourth_ chapter should follow here. See the arrangement on Jeremiah 21:1.... [ Continue Reading ]