John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Jeremiah 13:1



INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 13



In this chapter, under the similes of a girdle and bottles of wine, the destruction of the Jews is set forth. Some exhortations are given them to repent and humble themselves, even men of all ranks and degrees among them; and their sins, the source of their calamities, are pointed out to them. An order is given to the prophet to get him a linen girdle, with instructions what to do with it, and which he observed,

Jer 13:1, a fresh order to take it and hide it in the hole of a rock by the river Euphrates, which he accordingly did, Jer 13:3 and he is bid a third time to go and take it from thence, which he did; when he found it spoiled, and good for nothing, Jer 13:6, then follows the application of this simile, or the signification of this sign; that in like manner the pride of Judah and Jerusalem should be marred, and for their wickedness and idolatry should become good for nothing, like that girdle; whereas they ought to have cleaved to the Lord, as a girdle does to a man's loins, and to have been an honourable people to him, Jer 13:8. By the simile of bottles filled with wine is signified that all the inhabitants of the land, king, priests, prophets, and common people, should be like drunken men, that should dash one against another, and destroy each other, which the mercy of God would not prevent, Jer 13:12, some exhortations are made to the people in general, to be humble, and confess their sins, and give glory to God, before it was too late; which are enforced by the prophet's affectionate concern for them,

Jer 13:15 and to the king and queen in particular, since their crown and kingdom were about to be taken from them; the cities, in the southern parts, going to be shut up, and not opened; and even the whole land of Judea, and all its inhabitants, in a little time would be carried captive, Jer 13:18, and, to certify them of the truth of these things, they are bid to look to the north, from whence the enemy was coming to carry them captive, even the beautiful flock committed to their care, Jer 13:20, and to consider what they could say for themselves, when their punishment should come upon them suddenly, as the sorrows of a woman in travail, Jer 13:21 and should they ask the reason of this, it was owing to the multitude of their iniquities, and to their habit and custom of sinning, which made their case desperate, Jer 13:22, wherefore a resolution is taken to disperse them among the nations, and that this should be their lot and portion, because of their many abominations, and yet not without some concern that they might be purged from their iniquities,

Jer 13:24.



Ver. 1. Thus saith the Lord unto me,.... In a vision, and by the spirit of prophecy: when this was said is not certain, very likely in the reign of Jehoiakim; the prophet gives an account of what had been done, the present tense is put for the past.



Go and get thee a linen girdle; or, "a girdle of linens" {l}; a girdle made of flax or fine linen, which the prophet had not used to wear; and having none, is bid to go, perhaps from Anathoth to Jerusalem, to "get" one, or "buy" one: this girdle represents the people of the Jews in their more pure and less corrupted state, when they were a people near unto the Lord, and greatly regarded by him, and had a share in his affections; when they cleaved unto him, and served him, and were to his praise and glory: "and put it upon thy loins"; near the reins, the seat of affection and desire, and that it might be visible and ornamental; denoting what has been before observed: "and" or



but put it not in water or, "bring it not through it" {m}; meaning either before he put it on his loins; and the sense is, that he was not to wash it, and whiten it, but to wear it just as it was wrought, signifying that those people were originally taken by the Lord of his own mercy, and without any merits of theirs, rough, unwashed, and unpolished as they were: or else, after he had wore it, as Jarchi, when it was soiled with sweat; yet not to be washed, that it might rot the sooner: and so may design the corrupt and filthy state of this people, and the ruin brought thereby upon them, which was not to be prevented.



{l} Mytvp rwza "cingulum linorum", Montanus. {m} whabx al Mymbw "sed per aquam non duces eam", Schmidt.







Jeremiah 13:2



Ver. 2. So I got a girdle,.... Or, bought {n} a linen one, as directed:



according to the word of the Lord; his express order and command; the prophet was not disobedient to the heavenly vision:



and I put it on my loins; without washing it before or after, and wore it publicly for some time.



{n} hnqaw Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator, Cocceius, Schmidt.







Jeremiah 13:3



Ver. 3. And the word of the Lord,.... The Targum is,



"the word of prophecy from before the Lord:''



came unto me the second time, saying; what distance of time there was between this order and the former is not known.





Jeremiah 13:4



Ver. 4. Take the girdle which thou hast got, which is upon thy loins,.... Either he is bid to take it off his loins, on which it was; or to go with it on them; seeing the taking it off does not seem absolutely necessary; and go with it to the place directed to in the following words:



and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock; by the river side, where the waters, coming and going, would reach and wet it, and it drying again, would rot the sooner. This signifies the carrying of the Jews captive to Babylon, by which city the river Euphrates ran, and the obscure state and condition they would be in there; and where all their pride and glory would be marred, as afterwards declared.





Jeremiah 13:5



Ver. 5. So I went and hid it by Euphrates,.... Or, "in" {o} it; in a hole of the rock, upon the banks of it:



as the Lord commanded me: all this seems to be done not really, but visionally; it can hardly be thought that Jeremy should be sent on two such long journeys, on such an account, which would take up a considerable time to perform it in; but rather that he went and came in like manner as Ezekiel did, in the visions of God, from Chaldea to Jerusalem, and from thence to Chaldea again, Eze 8:3, and so Maimonaides {p} was of opinion, as Kimchi on the place observes, that all this was done in a vision of prophecy.



{o} trpb "in Euphrate", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Calvin. {p} Moreh Nevochim, par. 2. c. 46. p. 323.







Jeremiah 13:6



Ver. 6. And it came to pass after many days,.... When the girdle had lain long in the hole, by the side of Euphrates; this denotes the length of the Babylonish captivity, which was seventy years:



that the Lord said unto me, arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there; which may denote the return of these people from captivity, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah; see Jer 25:11, though this seems to be visionally done, in order to express the wretched state and condition these people were in; either before the captivity, which was the cause of it; or at their return from it, when they were no better for it.





Jeremiah 13:7



Ver. 7. Then I went to Euphrates,.... In a vision; this is the second journey, of which See Gill on "Jer 13:5",



and digged; the hole, in process of time, being stopped up with soil or sand, that were thrown up over it; this digging was in a visionary way; see Eze 8:8:



and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it; which he knew again by some token or another:



and, behold, the girdle was marred; or "corrupted" {q}; it was become rotten by the washing of the water over it, and its long continuance in such a place:



it was profitable for nothing; it could not be put upon a man's loins, or be wore any more; nor was it fit for any other use, it was so sadly spoiled and so thoroughly rotten. It is in the Hebrew text, "it shall not prosper to all" {r} things; that is, not "to anything" {s}, as many render it.



{q} txvn "corruptum erat", Munster, Montanus, Schmidt; "computruerat", Pagninus. {r} lkl xluy al "non proficiet omnibus", Vatablus. {s} "Non prosperabitur cuiquam", Montanus; "ad ullam rem", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.







Jeremiah 13:8



Ver. 8. Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. Or the word of prophecy from before the Lord, as the Targum; and now follows the application of this sign to the thing signified, and the whole intention of it is opened.





Jeremiah 13:9



Ver. 9. Thus saith the Lord, after this manner,.... As this girdle has been hid in Euphrates, and has been marred and rendered useless; so in like manner, and by such like means,



will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem; or their glory, or excellency {t}; that which they gloried in, and were proud of; their city which was burnt, and their temple which was destroyed by the Chaldeans; their king, princes, and nobles, who were carried captive into Babylon, by the river Euphrates, and stripped of all their grandeur, honour, and glory; and so the Targum,



"so will I corrupt the strength of the men of Judah, and the strength of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, which is much;''



and to which agrees the Syriac version, which renders it,



"the proud or haughty men of Judah, and the many haughty men of Jerusalem.''



{t} Nwag "excellentiam", Calvin, Piscator.





Jeremiah 13:10



Ver. 10. This evil people, which refuse to hear my words,.... Sent by the prophets, to whom they turned a deaf ear; and though they pressed them, and importunately desired them to give them a hearing, they refused it; and this showed them to be a bad people, very degenerate and wicked; and which further appears by what follows:



which walk in the imagination of their heart; which was evil, stubborn, and rebellious, see Jer 7:24:



and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them; went to Egypt and Assyria to pay their adoration to those who were not by nature gods; and this was the cause of their ruin and destruction:



shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing: as they were corrupt in their practices, and were become useless and unserviceable to God; so they would be carried captive into a foreign country, where they would be inglorious, and unprofitable, uncomfortable in themselves, and of no use to one another.





Jeremiah 13:11



Ver. 11. For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man,.... Being girt tight unto him:



so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel, and the whole house of Judah; whom he chose above all people, and caused to approach unto him, and dwell in his courts; whom he favoured with his presence, and encouraged them to follow after him, and cleave to him in faith and affection, and with full purpose of heart; so that they were a people near unto him as a man's girdle is to his loins: and the end of this was, and would have been, had they continued so,



that they might be unto me for a people; his own people, a special and peculiar people above all others, peculiarly favoured and blessed by him, and continue so, and in the enjoyment of all good things:



and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory; for a famous and renowned people, that should be to the praise and glory of God, and an honour to him, and an ornament to the profession of him; whereas they were the reverse:



but they would not hear; the words of the Lord, nor obey his voice; but served other gods, departed from the Lord, to whom they should have cleaved, and so became like this rotten girdle.





Jeremiah 13:12



Ver. 12. Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word,.... The following parable:



thus saith the Lord God of Israel; what was to be said is prefaced with these words, to show that it was not a trifling matter, but of moment and importance, and not to be slighted and despised as it was:



every bottle shall be filled with wine; meaning every inhabitant of Judea and Jerusalem, comparable to bottles or earthen vessels, as the Jewish writers interpret it, for their being empty of all that is good, and for their frailty and brittleness being liable to be broke to pieces, and to utter ruin and destruction; these are threatened to be "filled with wine"; not literally taken, such as they loved; though there may be an allusion to their intemperance, and so this is a just retaliation for their sins; but figuratively, with the wine of divine wrath; and their being filled with it denotes the greatness of the calamities which should come upon them, and be around them on all sides:



and they shall say unto thee; upon hearing the above, and by way of reply to it:



do we not certainly know; or, "knowing do we not know" {u}; can we be thought to be ignorant of this,



that every bottle shall be filled with wine? every child knows this; what else are bottles made for? is this the errand thou art sent on by the Lord? and is this all the knowledge and information that we are to have by thy prophesying? or what dost thou mean by telling us that which we and everybody know? what is designed by this? surely thou must have another meaning in it than what the words express.



{u} edn al ewdyh "an sciendo non scimus", Pagninus, Vatablus, Schmidt.







Jeremiah 13:13



Ver. 13. Then shall thou say unto them,.... Explaining the above words:



thus saith the Lord, behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land; this is the application of the parable, and shows that by every bottle is meant every inhabitant of Judea:



even the kings that sit upon David's throne; or, "that sit for David on his throne" {w}; that succeed him one after another; more kings may be meant than one, as Jehoiakim and Zedekiah; or the present reigning king, and the princes of the brood, are designed; who, though of David's family, and on his throne, yet this could not secure them from the calamity threatened:



and the priests; who ministered in holy things; their sacred office and function would not preserve them from ruin:



and the prophets; the false prophets, as the Targum, that prophesied smooth things, and prophesied them peace and safety, these should be involved in the common destruction:



and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with drunkenness; with tribulation, as the Targum interprets it; and adds,



"and shall be like a drunken man;''



giddy, stupid, unable to help themselves, or to advise one another.



{w} dwdl Mybvyh "sedentes Davidi", Montanus, Schmidt, Cocceius; "pro David", Pagninus, Calvin, Junius & Tremellius.







Jeremiah 13:14



Ver. 14. And I will dash them one against another,.... As drunken men fall foul on one another, and quarrel and fight; or in allusion to bottles and earthen vessels they are before compared to; and may denote the internal broils and contentions among themselves, that instead of assisting each other in their distress, they would be destroying one another; which was notorious in the last siege of Jerusalem:



even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord; no relation, nor even age nor sex, being regarded:



I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them: the Lord's hand was in all this; everything was by his permission, and according to his will; he would not prevent the enemy's invading, besieging, and taking them, nor hinder themselves from destroying one another; but suffer a general calamity to come upon them, without showing the least mercy to them, so great were their sins, and such the provocation.







Jeremiah 13:15



Ver. 15. Hear ye, and give ear,.... Both to what goes before, and what follows after. The words doubled denote the closest and strictest attention:



be not proud; haughty, scornful, as above all instruction, and needing no advice and counsel, self-conceited, despising the word of God, and his messages by his prophets; or, "do not lift up yourselves" {x}; above others, and against God:



for the Lord hath spoken; it is not I, but the Lord; and what he has said shall certainly come to pass; so the Targum,



"for in the word of the Lord it is so decreed;''



it is in vain to oppose him; his counsel shall stand, and he will do all his pleasure; none ever hardened themselves against him, and prospered.



{x} whbgt la "ne elevetis vos", Montanus, Pagninus; "exaltetis", Junius & Tremellius.





Jeremiah 13:16



Ver. 16. Give glory to the Lord your God,.... By confessing sin unto him; by humiliation for it before him; by believing what he says, hearkening to his word, and obeying his commands, and living to his honour and glory; see Jos 7:19, especially by believing in Christ, the true God, and true Messiah, embracing his Gospel, and his ordinances:



before he cause darkness; before the Lord brings on the dark dispensation threatened, the calamity before spoken of; repent while space is given, before it is too late; so the Targum,



"before tribulation comes upon you, and ye be like to those that walk in darkness.''



The Babylonish captivity may be meant, which was a dark day with the Jews, as is their present case, and which may be included; and it is applicable to any dark state of the church of God, such as may be now apprehended as near, through the spread of Popery, the growth of errors and heresies, the persecution of the saints, the slaying of the witnesses, the cessation of the Gospel ministry and ordinances for a while; which is that day of darkness and gloominess, that hour of temptation that shall come upon all the earth, to try its inhabitants; happy those that give glory to God by their faith in him, and by keeping the word of his patience:



and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains; or, "of twilight"; or, "of the evening"; or rather, "upon the mountains in the evening" {y}; at eventide; at which time it is troublesome and dangerous travelling on mountains. These may design either the mountains to which they would flee for shelter, Mt 24:16, or those which lay in the way to Babylon, over which they should travel when carried captive; or rather the kingdoms of Babylon and Media, whither they should be carried, and where they should endure much affliction and hardship; it being usual to signify kingdoms by mountains; so Babylon itself is, Jer 51:25, perhaps there may be some allusion, as Sanctus thinks, to Babylon itself, which being situated in a marshy place, might be generally covered with a cloud or mist, and, together with the smoke of the city, might look like a dark mountain; and especially the hanging gardens in it looked at a distance like {z} mountains with forests on them. It may be applied to the eventide of the latter day, when many shall stumble and fall through mountains of difficulties and discouragements in the way of religion; of professing the pure Gospel and ordinances of it, through the prevailing darkness of the age, and the persecution of men; and to the evening of life, and the dark mountains of death and eternity, on which men may be said to stumble and fall when they die; and when their everlasting state will appear to be fixed as immovable as mountains; and there will be no more means of grace, of faith, repentance, and conversion, but blackness of darkness for evermore, outer darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth; wherefore, before this time comes, it behooves persons to be concerned for the glory of God, and the everlasting welfare of their souls:



and while ye look for light; prosperity and happiness, as the false prophets gave out they should have; or for help and assistance from the Egyptians, to whom they sent:



he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness; that is, the Lord, who would disappoint them, and, instead of having that relief and comfort they were promised, would bring upon them such shocking calamities, which would be as terrible as death itself, or at least as the shadow of death, and be like gross darkness, even such as was in Egypt, which might be felt; see Isa 49:9.



{y} Pvn yrh le "in montibus crepusculi", Montanus, Piscator; "montibus caecioribus intempesta nocte", Junius & Tremellius. {z} See Berosus apud Joseph. Antiqu. l. 10. c. 11. sect. 1. &; Contr. Apion. l. 1. c. 19. & Curtius, Hist. l. 5. c. 1.







Jeremiah 13:17



Ver. 17. But if ye will not hear it,.... The advice and exhortation now given, to repent of sin, be humble before God, and glorify him:



my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; he would no more act in a public character; but, laying aside his office as a prophet and public instructor, would retire to some corner, where he might not be seen or heard, and there lament the sins of the people, particularly their "pride", which had been the cause of their ruin; or mourn on account of their glory and excellency, as the word may be rendered, which would depart from them; their city and temple would be burnt; and their king, princes, and nobles, and the flower of the nation, carried into Babylon; so the Jews {a} interpret it of the glory of Israel, which should cease from them, and be given to the nations of the world;

See Gill on "Jer 13:9";



mine eyes shall weep sore; or, "shedding tears it shall shed tears" {b}; in great abundance, being, as he wished his eyes might be, a fountain of tears to weep night and day, Jer 9:1:



and run down with tears; or, "mine eye let down tears" {c}; upon the cheek in great plenty. The phrases are expressive of the sorrow of his heart for the distresses of his people, and of the certainty of them; the reason of which follows:



because the Lord's flock is carried away captive: that is, the Lord's people, as the Targum; to whom he stood in the relation of a shepherd, and they to him under the character of a flock; and this was what so sensibly touched the heart of the prophet, that they were a people that the Lord had an interest in, a regard unto, and among whom he had been formerly glorified; wherefore it was to the loss of his honour and interest that these should be given into the hands of their enemies, and be carried captive; and this troubled him, for nothing lies nearer the heart of a good man than the glory of God.



{a} T. Bab. Chagiga, fol. 5. 2. {b} emdt emdw "et lachrymando lachrymabitur", Pagninus, Montanus, Schmidt. {c} hemd ynye drtw "et descendet oculus meus lachrymam", Montanus, "lachrymis", Cocceius; "descendere faciet", Pagninus; "demittet", Targ.







Jeremiah 13:18



Ver. 18. Say unto the king, and to the queen,.... Jehoiachin, and his mother Nehushta, as it is generally interpreted by the Jewish commentators, and others; who, with many princes and officers, were carried captive into Babylon, 2Ki 24:12 or rather Zedekiah and his wife; since the captivity after threatened is a perfect and complete one, which Jehoiachin's was not:



humble yourselves, sit down; or, "sit down humbled" {d}; come down from your thrones, and sit in the dust; humble yourselves before the Lord for your own sins, and the sins of the people; in times of general corruption, and which threatens a nation with ruin, it becomes kings and princes to set an example of repentance, humiliation, and reformation; though it may be this is rather a prediction of what would be, that they should descend from their throne, and lose their grandeur, and be in a low and abject condition, than an exhortation to what was their duty; since it follows:



for your principalities shall come down; their royal state and greatness, and all the ensigns of it; and especially such as they had upon their heads, as the word used denotes, and as the following explanation shows:



even the crown of your glory; or glorious crown, which should fall from their heads, or be taken from them, when they should be no more served in state, or treated as crowned heads.



{d} wbv wlypvh "degite humiliter", Castalio; "abjectissime considite", Junius & Tremellius; "loco humili considite", Piscator





Jeremiah 13:19



Ver. 19. The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them,.... Meaning the cities of Judah, which lay in the southern part of the land of Israel, and to the south of Babylon; which might be said to be shut up, and not in the power of any to open, when besieged by the Chaldean army; or rather when destroyed, that there were none to go in and out; though some think the cities of Egypt are intended, which lay south of Judea, from whence the Jews should not have the relief they expected, and where they should find no refuge; but the former sense seems best:



Judah shall be carried away captive all of it; it was in part carried away in Jehoiachin's time, and wholly in Zedekiah's; which seems to be here respected:



it shall be wholly carried away captive; or, in perfections {e}; most perfectly and completely; the same thing is meant as before, only in different words repeated, to express the certainty of it.



{e} Mymwlv "perfectionibus", Vatablus, Montanus. It is by Schmidt left untranslated, "Schelomim", which he takes to be the city of Jerusalem, sometimes called "Solyma"; the inhabitants of which were carried captive when Judah was; and so Junius and Tremellius translate it; "civita, pacatorum", and understand it of Jerusalem; which has the signification of peace in its name.







Jeremiah 13:20



Ver. 20. Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north,.... There are a Keri and a Cetib of the words "lift up" and "behold"; they are written in the singular number, and may be considered as directed to the king, as the words following are; and they are read in the plural number, the state and whole body of the people being called upon to observe the Chaldean army, which came from the north; and is represented as on the march, just at hand to invade, besiege, take, and carry them captive. The Septuagint version renders it, "lift up thine eyes, O Jerusalem"; and the Arabic version, "O Israel: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?" that is, the people, as the Targum interprets it, which were committed to the care and charge of the king, as sheep into the hands of a shepherd; and were a fine body of people, chosen of God and precious, distinguished above all others by wholesome and righteous laws and statutes, and special privileges; a people who were a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, and a peculiar people, the glory of the whole earth; but now carried, or about to be carried, captive. It is no unusual thing to represent a king as a shepherd, and his people as a flock, guided, governed, and protected by him, and who is accountable for his trust to the King of kings; see Ps 78:71.





Jeremiah 13:21



Ver. 21. What will thou say when he shall punish thee?.... Or, "visit upon thee" {f}; that is, either when God shall punish thee for thy sins, thou canst bring no charge of injustice against him, or murmur and repine at the punishment inflicted on thee; so Jarchi; to which agrees the Targum,



"when he shall visit on thee thy sin;''



or else, to which the following words seem to incline, when the enemy shall visit upon thee; so Kimchi and Abarbinel, when the Chaldeans shall come upon thee, and pay thee a visit, an unwelcome one; yet who wilt thou have to blame but thyself? so the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "when they shall visit thee"; these words are directed, not to the king, nor to the queen neither; but to the body of the people, the Jewish state, represented as a woman; who, upon consideration of things past, would have a great deal of reason to reflect upon themselves for what they had done in former times, which had led on to their ruin and destruction:



(for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee;) the Jews showed the Assyrians the way into their country, used them to come thither, and taught them how to conquer them, and be masters over them; or, "hast taught them against thee" {g}; to thy hurt and detriment, to be captains or governors;



for an head, to have the rule over them: this was done by Ahaz, when he sent to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria to come and save him out of the hands of the kings of Syria and Israel, 2Ki 16:7 and by Hezekiah, when he showed the messengers of the king of Babylon all his treasures; these were invitations and temptations to come and plunder them:



shall not sorrows take thee as a woman in travail? denoting the suddenness of their calamities; the sharpness and severity of them; and that they would be inevitable, and could not be prevented.



{f} Kyle dqpy yk "quando visitabit super te"; Cocceius; "quum visitaverit super te", Schmidt. {g} Kyle Mta tdml taw "docuisti istos contra te", Piscator.





Jeremiah 13:22



Ver. 22. And if thou say in thine heart,.... Not daring to express it with the mouth; and which, notwithstanding, God, that knows the heart, was privy to, and could discern all the secret workings of it; putting such a question as this:



wherefore come these things upon me? all these calamities, the invasion and siege of the enemy, famine, sword, captivity, &c.: the answer returned is,



for the greatness of thine iniquity; the enormous crimes the Jews were guilty of, such as idolatry, blasphemy, &c. which were attended with aggravated circumstances: or, "for the multitude of thine iniquity" {h}; their sins being so many, as well as great:



are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare; being obliged to walk naked and barefoot, their buttocks uncovered, and their legs and feet naked, without stockings or shoes, as captives used to be led, to their great shame and disgrace; see Isa 20:2. The phrases are expressive of captivity, and the manner of it; the cause of which was the greatness and multitude of their sins. The Targum is,



"because thy sins are multiplied, thy confusion is revealed, thy shame is seen.''



{h} Knwe brb "propter multitudinem iniquitatis tuae", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Schmidt.





Jeremiah 13:23



Ver. 23. Can the Ethiopian change his skin?.... Or, "the Cushite"; either, as the Arabic version, the "Abyssine", the inhabitant of the eastern Ethiopia; properly an Ethiopian, as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it; or, the "Chusean Arabian"; the inhabitant of Arabia Chusea, which was nearer Judea than the other Ethiopia, and better known, and which were of a dark complexion. The Targum renders it, the Indian; and so does the Syriac version. In the Misna {i} mention is made of Indian garments, with which the high priest was clothed on the day of atonement; upon which the gloss {k} is, that they were of linen of the country of India; and which is the land of Cush (or Ethiopia), as Jonathan Ben Uzziel interprets Jer 13:23



"can the Cushite, the Indian, change his skin?''



and it is highly probable, that, in the time of Jeremiah, no other India was known by the Jews but Ethiopia, or Arabia Chusea, and no other black people but the inhabitants thereof, or any other than the Arabians; and, as Braunius {l} observes, it need not be wondered at, that with the Jews, in those times, Ethiopia and India should be reckoned the same country; when with the ancients, whatever was beyond the Mediterranean sea, as Arabia, Ethiopia, and even Judea itself, was called India; so Joppa, a city of Phoenicia, from whence Andromeda was fetched by Perseus, is by Ovid {m} said to be in India; so Bochart {n} interprets the words of the Saracens or Arabians, who are of a swarthy colour, and some black; and indeed have their name from the same word the raven has, which is black; and particularly the inhabitants of Kedar were black, one part of Arabia, to which the allusion is in So 1:5. Jarchi interprets the word here by "the moor", the blackamoor, whose skin is naturally black, and cannot be changed by himself or others; hence to wash the blackamoor white is a proverbial expression for labour in vain, or attempting to do that which is not to be done:



or the leopard his spots? a creature full of spots, and whose spots are natural to it; and therefore cannot be removed by any means. Some think a creature called "the ounce", or "cat-a-mountain" is meant, whose spots are many, and of a blackish colour; but the description well agrees with the leopard, which is a creature full of spots, and has its name in the eastern languages, particularly the Chaldee and Arabic, from a word {o} which signifies "spotted", "variegated", as this creature is; so the female is called "varia" by Pliny {p}, because, of its various spots; and these spots are black, as the Arabic writers in Bochart {q}. The word here used signifies such marks as are made in a body beat and bruised, which we call black and blue; hence some render it "livid", or black and blue spots {r}; and these marks are in the skin and hair of this creature, and are natural to it, and cannot be changed; and it is usual with other writers {s} to call them spots, as well as the Scripture:



then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil; signifying that they were naturally sinners, as blackness is natural to the Ethiopian, and spots to the leopard; and were from their birth and infancy such, and had been so long habituated to sin, by custom founded upon nature, that there was no hope of them; they were obstinate in sin, bent upon it, and incorrigible in it; and this is another reason given why the above calamities came upon them. The metaphors used in this text fitly express the state and condition of men by nature; they are like the Ethiopian or blackamoor; very black, both with original and actual sin; very guilty, and very uncomely; and their blackness is natural to them; they have it from their parents, and by birth; it is with them from their infancy, and youth upwards; and very hard and difficult to be removed; it cannot be washed off by ceremonial ablutions, moral duties, evangelical ordinances, or outward humiliations; yea, it is impossible to be removed but by the grace of God and blood of Christ. Their sins are aptly compared to the leopard's spots, which are many and natural, and difficult to get clear off. What is figuratively expressed in the above metaphors is more plainly signified by being "accustomed" or "taught to do evil" {t}; which denotes a series and course of sinning; a settled habit and custom in it, founded on nature, and arising from it; which a man learns and acquires naturally, and of himself, whereby he becomes void of fear and shame; and there is a good deal of difficulty, and indeed a moral impossibility, that such persons should "do good": nothing short of the powerful and efficacious grace of God can put a man into a state and capacity of doing good aright, from right principles to right ends, and of continuing in it; for there is no good in such men; nor have they any true notion of doing good, nor inclination to it, nor any ability to perform it: in order to it, it is absolutely necessary that they should first be made good men by the grace of God; that they should be regenerated and quickened by the Spirit of God; that they should be created in Christ Jesus unto good works, and have faith in him; all which is by the grace of God, and not of themselves.



{i} Yoma, c. 3. sect 7. {k} In T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 34. 2. {l} De Vestitu Sacerdot. Heb. l. 1. c. 7. sect. 9. p. 150, 151. {m} "Andromedam Perseus nigris portarat ab Indis". De Arte Atnandi, l. 1. {n} Phaleg. l. 4. c. 2. col. 215, 216. {o} Vid. Golium, col. 2459, 2460. Castel. col. 2321, 2322. {p} Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 17. {q} Hierozoic. par 1. l. 3. c. 7. col. 786, 787. {r} wytwrbrbx "liventee maculas suas", Junius & Tremellius. {s} Vid. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 19. Juvenal. Satyr. 15. {t} erh ydml "docti malefacere", Montanus; "edocti malefacere", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "qui edocti estis malum", Schmidt.







Jeremiah 13:24



Ver. 24. Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away,.... Because of their many sins, and continuance in them, their habits and custom of sinning, they are threatened with being carried captive into other nations, where they should be dispersed and separated one from another, which would make their state and condition very uncomfortable; and this would be as easily and as swiftly done as the light stubble which is blown away by every puff of wind; nor would they be able any more to resist the enemy, and help themselves, than the stubble is to stand before the wind; as follows:



by the wind of the wilderness; which blows freely and strongly; so the Chaldean army is compared to a dry wind of the high places in the wilderness, even a full wind that should scatter and destroy, Jer 4:11; or, "to the wind of the wilderness" {u}; and so may denote the wilderness of the people, or the land of Babylon, whither they should be carried captive, and from whence the wind should come that should bring them thither. Kimchi and Ben Melech make mention sea wilderness between Jerusalem and Babylon, as what may be intended.



{u} rbdm xwrl "ad ventum deserti", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius.





Jeremiah 13:25



Ver. 25. This is thy lot,.... Meaning not the king's, or the queen's only, but the lot of the whole Jewish state:



the portion of thy measures from me, saith the Lord; which were divided and distributed, and measured out to them by the Lord, who appointed these calamities to befall them, and brought them upon them, and that in righteous judgment. The Targum is,



"and the portion of thine inheritance;''



who, instead of having the land of Canaan for their inheritance, to which the allusion is, and of which they boasted, the land of Babylon was assigned them, not to be possessors of it, but captives in it; and instead of having God to be their portion and inheritance, they were banished from him, and this was but righteous measure; they had measure for measure:



because thou hast forgotten me; their Maker and Benefactor; the goodness he had shown them, the mercies and benefits he had bestowed upon them; or, "my law", as the Arabic version; or, "my worship", as the Targum; therefore he forgot them, took no notice of them, hid his face from them, and gave them up into the hands of their enemies:



and trusted in falsehood; either in the Egyptians and Assyrians, who deceived them; or in their idols, which were falsehood and lying vanities, and could not help them.





Jeremiah 13:26



Ver. 26. Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face,.... Turn them up, or throw them over the head or face; that is, expose to public shame and disgrace; which was done when their city and temple were burnt, and they were carried captive; hence it follows:



that thy shame may appear; that their sins might appear to themselves and others, of which they had reason to be ashamed. The allusion is to the treatment which captive women sometimes meet with, or adulterous women, to which the Jews are here compared. The Targum is,



"and I also will reveal the confusion of thy sin upon thy face, and thy shame shall be seen.''





Jeremiah 13:27



Ver. 27. I have seen thine adulteries,.... Not literally such, though they were greatly guilty of that sin; but figuratively, their idolatries:



thy neighings; expressive of their strong desires after other gods, like that of adulterers and adulteresses after one another; and both which are like the neighing of horses. Kimchi thinks this designs their rejoicing in their evil works:



the lewdness of thy whoredom; their sinful thoughts, and wicked desires, which were continually after their idols and idolatrous practices:



and thine abominations on the hills in the fields; their idols, which were abominable to God, and ought to have been so to them; and which they placed on high hills, and there worshipped them; all which were seen and known by the Lord, nor could it be denied by them; and this was the reason of their being carried captive, and therefore could not complain they had been hardly dealt with; yea, notwithstanding all this, the Lord expresses a tender and compassionate concern for them:



woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! sad will be thy case, dreadful are the calamities coming upon thee, unless thou repentest:



wilt thou not be made clean? wilt thou show no concern, land make use of no means to be cleansed, nor seek for it, where it is to be had? neither repent of sin, nor reform from it, nor seek to God for his grace, signified by clean water; or to the blood of Christ, the fountain opened, which cleanses from it:



when shall it once be? some instances there were of it in the times of Christ and his apostles; but it will not be completely done until they seek the Lord, and his Christ, and fear him, and his goodness, in the latter day; when they shall turn unto him, and all Israel shall be saved; or, "thou wilt not be cleansed after a long time" {w}; this the Lord foresaw, and therefore pronounces her case sad and miserable.



{w} dwe ytm yrxa yrhjt al "non mundaberis quousque adhuc, [vel] post quantum adhuc tempus", Schmidt; "non mundaberis posthac aliquamdiu"; so some in Vatablus.



 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Jeremiah 14:1



INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 14



This chapter contains prophecy of a drought, which produced a famine,

Jer 14:1, and is described by the dismal effects of it; and general distress in the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem, Jer 14:2, even the nobles were affected with it, whose servants returned without water ashamed, when sent for it, Jer 14:3, the ploughmen could not use their plough, their ground was so hard, Jer 14:4 and the very beasts of the field suffered much, because there was no grass, Jer 14:5, upon this follows a prayer of the prophet to the Lord, that he would give rain for his name's sake; he confesses the sins of the people, that they were many, and against the Lord; and testified against them, that they deserved to be used as they were; and he addresses the Lord as the hope and Saviour of his people in time past, when it was a time of trouble with them; and expostulates with him, why he should be as a stranger and traveller, and like a mighty man astonished, that either had no regard to their land any more than a foreigner and a traveller; or no heart to help them, or exert his power, than a man at his wits' end, though he was among them, and they were called by his name; and therefore he begs he would not leave them, Jer 14:7, but he is told that it was for the sins of the people that all this was, which the Lord was determined to remember and visit; and therefore he is bid not to pray for them; if he did, it would not be regarded, nor the people's fasting and prayers also; for they should be consumed by the sword, famine, and pestilence,

Jer 14:10, and though the prophet pleads, in excuse of the people, that the false prophets had deceived them; yet not only the vanity and falsehood of their prophecies are exposed, and they are threatened with destruction, but the people also, for hearkening unto them,

Jer 14:13, wherefore the prophet, instead of putting up a prayer for them, has a lamentation dictated to him by the Lord, which he is ordered to express, Jer 14:17, and yet, notwithstanding this, he goes on to pray for them in a very pathetic manner; he expostulates with God, and pleads for help and healing; confesses the iniquities of the people; entreats the Lord, for the sake of his name, glory, and covenant, that he would not reject them and his petition; and observes, that the thing asked for (rain) was what none of the gods of the Heathens could give, or even the heavens themselves, only the Lord; and therefore determines to wait upon him for it, who made the heavens, the earth, and rain,

Jer 14:19.



Ver. 1. The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth. Or, "concerning the words of straints" {x}; that is, concerning the businesses of a drought, as the Targum; concerning the Lord's restraining rain from the earth, and forbidding the heavens dropping it down; the consequence of which is a drought, or dryness of the earth; and the effect of that a famine; when this was it is not anywhere said; it could not be the famine at the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, because that only affected the city; this all Judea. Some think it was in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, long before the siege; and others, that it was in the reign of Jehoiakim, since we read of a fast in his time, Jer 36:9, which might be on this occasion; and it appears that there was one at this time, though not acceptable to God; see

Jer 14:12.



{x} twrubh yrbd le "super verbis, cohibitionum", Junius & Tremellius; "retentionum"; Tigurine version; "prohibitionum", Pagninus, Montanus.







Jeremiah 14:2



Ver. 2. Judah mourneth,.... That is, the inhabitants of Judah; those of the house of Judah, as the Targum; these mourned because of the drought and famine that were upon the land:



and the gates thereof languish; the cities of Judah, as the Targum; the inhabitants of them, which used to be supplied from the field, and out of the country; gates may be mentioned, because through the gates the provisions were brought into the city; but now none; and therefore are said to languish; or else those that sat in the gates are meant, the elders of the people, the senators, the judges, and civil magistrates; these shared in the common calamity:



they are black unto the ground; that is, the inhabitants of the cities, and those that sit in the gates, their faces are black through famine; see La 4:8, so the Targum,



"their faces are covered with blackness, they are black as a pot;''



and which they turned to the ground, and looked downwards, not being able to lift them up through the sorrow and distress they were in, and through faintness of spirit for want of food:



and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up: meaning the cry and lamentation of the inhabitants of Jerusalem because of the famine, for that city was not exempted from it, it having its supply from the country; or the prayer of them, and of the people from all parts got together there, which went up to heaven for rain: it being usual, in times of common distress, for the people in the country to come up to Jerusalem to the temple to pray to God, and particularly for rain, when there was a want of it.





Jeremiah 14:3



Ver. 3. And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters,.... To places where water used to be; to the pools, the upper and the lower, particularly to the fountain of Shiloah, which, Jerom says, was the only one the city of Jerusalem used. The meaning either is, that the nobles in Jerusalem sent their own children to get water for them, they having no servants to attend them, these being put away because they could not support them, the famine being so sore; or rather that they sent their menial servants, their subjects, as the Targum renders it, to fetch them a little water to refresh themselves with:



they came to the pits and found no water; their servants came according to order to the pools and cisterns, or to the deep wells, and to such places where there used to be a great confluence of water, and plenty of it, but now they could find none:



they returned with their vessels empty; just as they came:



they were ashamed and confounded; either the servants that were sent, or rather their masters that sent them, when they saw them come with their empty vessels; having been looking out and longing for their return, expecting they would have brought water with them for their refreshment; but to their great disappointment and confusion brought none:



and covered their heads; as persons ashamed, or as mourners used to do, being full of anguish and distress because of the drought.





Jeremiah 14:4



Ver. 4. Because the ground is chapt,.... Through the violent heat of the sun, and want of rain; or, is broken {y}; and crumbles into dust. The Targum is,



"because of sins, the inhabitants of the earth are broken:''



for there was no rain in the earth; this was the reason of the dearth, and of the famine, and why there was no water in the pits, and the ground was parched. It is to be understood of the land of Judea only, not of the whole earth:



the ploughmen were ashamed; because they could not work the earth with their plough; were obliged to sit still, could do no work, or go on with their husbandry; nothing could be done for want of rain: they covered their heads; as before; See Gill on "Jer 14:3".



{y} htx "confracta", Schmidt; "attritam", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.







Jeremiah 14:5



Ver. 5. Yea, the hind also calved in the field,.... Or brought forth her young in the field; of which see Job 39:1, and which they sometimes did through fear, particularly when frightened with thunder and lightning; and which are common in a time of heat and drought, which is the case here; see Ps 29:9 of these sort of creatures there were great plenty in Judea and the parts adjacent. Aelianus {z} says, the harts in Syria are bred on the highest mountains, Amanus, Lebanon, and Carmel; which were mountains on the borders of the land of Canaan; and the flesh of these was much used for food by the Jews; see

De 12:15:



and forsook it; which, as it is a loving creature to its mate, so very careful of its young, and provident for it, and nourishes it, as Pliny {a} observes. The reason of such uncommon usage follows:



because there was no grass; for the hind to feed upon, and so had no milk to suckle its young with; and therefore left it to seek for grass elsewhere, that it might have food for itself, and milk for its young.



{z} De Anima. l. 5. c. 56. {a} Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 32.







Jeremiah 14:6



Ver. 6. And the wild asses did stand in the high places,.... To see where any grass was to be had, or where the wind blows more freely and cooly, to draw it in; as follows. The Targum renders it, "by the brooks"; and so Jarchi interprets it brooks of water; whither they came as usual to drink, and found them now dried up; and where they stood distressed and languishing, not knowing where to go for any:



they snuffed up the wind like dragons: which, being of a hot nature, open their mouths, and draw in the wind and air to cool them. Aelianus {b} reports of the dragons in Phrygia, that they open their mouths, and not only draw in the air, but even birds flying. The word used for dragons signifies large fishes, great whales; and some understand it of crocodiles, who will lift up their heads above water to refresh themselves with the air:



their eyes did fail; in looking about for grass; or for want of food, being quite starved and famished:



because there was no grass; for their food and nourishment. With great propriety is the herb or grass mentioned, this being the proper food of asses, as Aristotle {c} observes; and with which agrees the Scripture; which represents them as content when they have it; and as ranging about the mountains for it when they have none; being creatures very impatient of hunger and thirst; see Job 6:5 wherefore the Greek writers surname this animal dry and thirsty; and hence the lying story of Tacitus {d}, concerning Moses and the children of Israel; who, he says, being ready to perish for want of water, Moses observed a flock of wild asses going from their pasture to a rock covered with trees, and followed them, taking it for herbage, and found large fountains of water. And very pertinently are their eyes said to fail for want of food, and the sight of them grow dim, which is more or less the case of all creatures in such circumstances; but the rather is this observed of the wild ass, because, as an Arabic writer {e} suggests, it is naturally very sharp and clear sighted.



{b} De Animal. l. 2. c. 21. {c} Hist. Animal. l. 8. c. 8. {d} Histor. l. 5. c. 3. {e} Damir apud Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 3. c. 16. col. 878.







Jeremiah 14:7



Ver. 7. O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us,.... That we deserve such judgments to be inflicted on us; and that God is righteous in bringing them; and we are altogether undeserving of the favour now about to be asked. These are the words of the prophet interceding for his people, and confessing their sins and his own:



do thou it for thy name's sake; that is, give rain; which was the thing wanted, and which none but God could give, Jer 14:22 though we are not worthy to have it done for our sakes, do it for thine own sake; for the honour and glory of thy name, of thy goodness, power, and faithfulness:



for our backslidings are many; and so had many witnesses against them; and which shows how unworthy they were, and that they had no reason to expect the mercy on their own account; and especially as it follows:



we have sinned against thee; as all sin is against God, contrary to his nature and will, and a transgression of his law; and what aggravates it is, that it is against him as a God of goodness, grace, and mercy.





Jeremiah 14:8



Ver. 8. O the hope of Israel,.... The author, object, ground, and foundation of hope of all good things, both here and hereafter; in whom Israel had been used to hope in times past, and had great encouragement so to do, Ps 130:7 or, "the expectation of Israel" {f}; whom they looked for to come:



the Saviour thereof in time of trouble; the Saviour of all men in a way of providence, but especially of the true Israel of God, of them that believe; who, though they have their times of trouble and affliction, by reason of sin, Satan, and wicked men, and other things, yet the Lord saves and delivers them out of them all in due time:



why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land; or, a "sojourner" {g}; who abides but for a while; and it not being his native place, is not so solicitous for the welfare of it. Jerome interprets this of Christ when here on earth, who was as a stranger, and unknown by men; see

Ps 69:9 and the other characters;



of the hope of Israel, and the Saviour, well agree with him, 1Ti 1:1



and as a wayfaring man; or "traveller" {h}:



that turnest aside to tarry for a night? that turns into an inn to lodge there for a night, and that only; and so is unconcerned what becomes of it, or the people in it; he is only there for a night, and is gone in the morning. Thus the prophet represents the Lord by these metaphors, as if he was, or at least seemed, careless of his people; and therefore expostulates with him upon it, as the disciples with our Lord, Mr 4:38.



{f} larvy hwqm "expectatio Israel", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius. {g} rgk "quasi colonus", Grotius; "advena", Gataker. {h} xrak "tanquam viator", Pagninus, Montanus, Schmidt.





Jeremiah 14:9



Ver. 9. Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied,.... Astonished, and so surprised as not to know what to say or do; or "asleep", as the Septuagint; taking no notice of us, and being altogether unconcerned what becomes of us; or, as one "dumb" {i}; that will give no answer to our prayers:



as a mighty man that cannot save? who, though he is able to save, yet, through want of a heart or will, does not exert his power:



yet thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us; having his residence and dwelling in the temple at Jerusalem; and therefore was not a stranger and foreigner among them; and this carries in it an entreaty and an argument that he would not in his providence conduct towards them in such manner as though he was:



and we are called by thy name; the people of God, the Israel of God, and the like:



leave us not; in our distress and trouble, but deliver us out of it.



{i} Mhdn "obmutefactus", Fosterus, Mercerus,





Jeremiah 14:10



Ver. 10. Thus saith the Lord unto this people,.... Instead of answering the prophet directly and immediately, he first speaks to the people, and observes their sin is the cause of his conduct; and whom he does not vouchsafe to call his people; they having broken covenant with him, and so notoriously backslidden from him; but this people, this wicked and worthless people:



thus have they loved to wander; from the Lord, and out of the way of their duty, to Egypt and Assyria for help, and after strange gods, and the worship of them; and this they chose and delighted in; it arose from corrupt affections and a depraved heart:



they have not refrained their feet; from going into other lands, or into the temples of idols; wherefore, it ought not to be wondered at that the Lord was as a stranger in their land, and as a wayfaring man that tarried for a night; and hence it was that they should have enough of wandering to and fro, since they loved it; in seeking for water in their own land, and by their being carried captive into others; so the Targum,



"as they loved, so will I take vengeance on them, to cause them to be carried captive from the land of the house of my majesty; and as they have delighted themselves in the worship of idols, and from the house of my sanctuary have not refrained their feet, therefore before the Lord there is no delight in them:''



therefore the Lord doth not accept them; has no favour for them, no pleasure in them; does not accept either their persons or their services:



he will now remember their iniquity; their idolatry; their trust in others, and distrust of him; which might seem to be forgotten because he had taken no notice of them, in a providential way, to correct for them; but now he would let them know that they were had in remembrance, by causing his judgments to come upon them for them: this stands opposed to the forgiveness of sin; when God forgives sin he remembers it no more; but when he does not, but punishes for it, then he is said to remember it: and visit their; sins; or them for their sins; that is, punish them.







Jeremiah 14:11



Ver. 11. Then said the Lord unto me,.... To the prophet; now the Lord gives a more direct answer to him, and to his prayers and intercession for the people; which he forbids, saying,



pray not for this people for their good; or "for good things", as the Septuagint; for rain, that the famine might cease; and for deliverance from their enemies, that they might not go into captivity; for these things were determined upon by the Lord: he does not forbid him praying at all for them, or for their repentance and reformation; or for spiritual good things for them, for eternal life and salvation for the remnant of his own people among them; but not for external good things for the bulk of them.





Jeremiah 14:12



Ver. 12. When they fast, I will not hear their cry,.... Or, "though they fast" {k}; very probably on account of the want of rain, and the dearth or famine, a fast was proclaimed; see Jer 36:9, when they prayed and cried aloud, and made a great noise; but their prayers being hypocritical, and not arising from a pure heart, or offered up in faith and love, were not heard and accepted by the Lord:



and when they offer burnt offerings and an oblation; or a meat or bread offering, which went along with the burnt offering; thinking by those outward things to atone for their sins, without true repentance for them, or faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ:



I will not accept them; neither their offerings, nor their persons:



but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; the Lord not only determines the continuance of the famine, notwithstanding the prayers of the prophet; but adds two other judgments, the sword and pestilence, by which he was resolved to consume them; and therefore it was to no purpose to pray to him on their behalf, he was inexorable.



{k} wmuy yk "quamvis jejunant", Gataker.





Jeremiah 14:13



Ver. 13. Then said I, Ah, Lord God!.... Being grieved at heart for the people, because he was forbid to pray for them, and because the Lord had resolved on the ruin of them; and the rather he pitied them, because they were deceived by the false prophets, and therefore he tries to excuse them, and lay the blame upon them, as follows:



behold, the prophets say unto them; that is, the false prophets, as the Targum; Jeremiah does not call them so, being willing to make the best of it:



ye shall not see the sword; the sword of the enemy drawn in your country, or fall by it:



neither shall ye have famine; by which it appears, that it was not yet come, only foretold; the contrary to which is here affirmed:



but I will give you assured peace in this place; so they spoke as from the Lord, and in his name, with all the confidence imaginable; assuring the people that they should have peace and prosperity, and be in the utmost safety in Jerusalem; and that neither famine nor sword would come to them, nor in the least hurt them. In the Hebrew text it is, "peace of truth" {l}; that is, true peace, firm and lasting. The Septuagint render it "peace and truth"; see Isa 39:8.



{l} tma Mwlv "pacem veritatis", Montanus, Schmidt.





Jeremiah 14:14



Ver. 14. Then said the Lord unto me,.... In reply to the above excuse, in favour of the people:



the prophets prophesy lies in my name; it is a wicked thing to tell lies; it is more so to foretell them, and that in the name of the Lord; pretending they have his authority, and are under the influence and guidance of his Spirit; and it was sinful in the people to give credit to them, and the more so in that they were forewarned of these prophets and their lies, and had the reverse told them by a true prophet of the Lord, and therefore were inexcusable.



I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spoke unto them; all which are requisite to a prophet, or to a man's prophesying in the name of the Lord; he ought to have his mission from him, and his commission from him; his orders and credentials from him, and the things themselves which he delivers; neither of which those prophets had; nor were they able to make out those things to the people, of which they should have had satisfaction before they believed them, and therefore were highly to blame in giving heed unto them.



They prophecy unto you a false vision; or, "a vision of falsehood" {m}; pretending they had a vision from the Lord, when they had none:



and divination; soothsaying or astrology, as some interpret it, as Kimchi observes; foretelling things by the stars:



and a thing of nought; which is good for nothing, and comes to nothing:



and the deceit of their hearts; which flows from their deceitful hearts and vain imaginations, and by no means to be depended upon.



{m} rqv Nwzx "visionem mendacii", Schmidt; "visionem falsitatis", Montanus.





Jeremiah 14:15



Ver. 15. Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets,.... The false prophets, as the following description shows:



that prophecy in my name, and I sent them not; made use of his name, pretending his authority, though they were not sent by him:



yet they say, sword and famine shall not be in the land; though the Lord by his true prophet had said there should be both; which proves that they were not sent by the Lord, since what they said was in direct opposition to the word of the Lord; wherefore their doom in righteous judgment follows:



by sword and famine shall these prophets be consumed; they should be some of the first, if not the first that should perish by these calamities; which would abundantly prove the falsehood of their predictions, and show that their lies could neither secure themselves nor others from the judgments which the Lord had said should come upon them.







Jeremiah 14:16



Ver. 16. And the people to whom they prophesy,.... That is, such of them as gave credit to their prophecies:



shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, because of the famine and the sword; they dying of the famine and of the sword, their carcasses should be cast out of their houses into the open streets, and there lie unburied, as a punishment for disbelieving the words of the Lord, and giving heed to the lies of the false prophets:



and they shall have none to bury them; either through want of ability of body or substance, or through want of affection; or rather through want of persons to do it for them, all their relations being cut off with them, as follows:



them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters; or rather, "they" {n}, "their wives, and their sons, and their daughters"; these shall die by the famine and the sword, and shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem; so that they and their relatives all dying, there would be none to bury one another; and that all should suffer by these calamities were but just and righteous, since all were guilty both of idolatry, and of despising the prophets, and listening to the false ones; see Jer 7:18:



for I will pour their wickedness upon them; or, "their evil upon them" {o}; not the evil of sin, but the evil of punishment; the meaning is, that he would abundantly punish them for their sins, and as they deserved, though not exceeding the bounds of justice: the phrase denotes that their wickedness was great; and that in proportion to it the vials of his wrath would be poured out upon them.



{n} hmh "ipsi inquam", Pagninus, Montanus, Schmidt. {o} Mter ta "suum malum", Vatablus, Pagninus, Montanus.







Jeremiah 14:17



Ver. 17. Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them,.... Instead of praying for the people, the prophet has a doleful lamentation put into his mouth, to pronounce in their hearing, in order to assure them of the calamities that were coming upon them, and to affect them with them.



Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: or "be silent" {p}; signifying that there would be quickly just reason and occasion for incessant grief and sorrow in them; and if they were so hardened as not to be affected with their case, he could not refrain shedding tears night and day in great abundance; which would have a voice in them, to call upon them to weeping and lamentation also. Some take these words to be a direction and instruction to the people; so the Septuagint,



"bring down upon your eyes tears night and day, and let them not cease;''



and the Arabic version,



"pour out of your eyes tears night and day continually;''



and the Syriac version is,



"let our eyes drop tears night and day incessantly.''



For the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow; cities are sometimes called virgins, which were never taken; and so Jerusalem here, it having never been taken since it was in the hands of the people of Judah; nor were its inhabitants as yet carried captive, but now would be; which, together with the famine and the sword, by which many should perish, is the great breach and grievous blow spoken of; and which is given as a reason, and was a sufficient one, for sorrow and mourning.



{p} hnymdt "sileant", Schmidt; "taceant", Pegninus, Montanus.





Jeremiah 14:18



Ver. 18. If I go forth into the field,.... Without the city, where was the camp of the enemy besieging it



then behold the slain with the sword! the sword of the enemy; who by sallying out of the city upon them, or by endeavouring to make their escape into the country, fell into their hands, and were slain by them.



And if I enter into the city; the city of Jerusalem:



then behold them that are sick with the famine! just ready to die, being starved for want of provisions; and multitudes dead, and their carcasses lying in the streets unburied; the prophet does not make mention of the dead indeed, only of the sick with famine; the reason of which, Kimchi says, is because the sick were more than the dead.



Yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they knew not; into the land of Chaldea, a strange and foreign country, whither they were carried captive, both in the times of Jehoiakim and of Zedekiah, and whither they might go in ways far about: and this seems to be understood of false prophets and wicked priests, that had led the people about, and had caused them to wander from the ways of God and his worship; and therefore, in righteous retaliation, they are led in round about ways to a land unknown to them: though some think that the true prophets and priests of the Lord may be meant, as Ezekiel and Daniel, who were carried captive into Babylon: others interpret them of such going about in the land of Judea seeking for bread and water, or food in the time of the famine;



but they know not {q}, as the last clause may be literally rendered, that is, men know them not, take no notice of them, show no regard to them, and give them no relief; the famine being so sore, that everyone was for himself, and could afford no help to others, even to the prophets and priests. Some render the words, "yea, the priest and the prophet make merchandise against the land"; or, "through the lands" {r}; by deceiving the people with their false prophecies: or rather, go about the land making merchandise {s}; of the souls of men; see 2Pe 2:3, making a gain of their visions and prophecies:



and they know not; the people are not aware of their deception and falsehood. The Targum is,



"for even the scribe and the priest are turned to their own negotiations or merchandises, to that which is in the land, neither do they inquire;''



they minded their own affairs, and inquired not for, nor sought after, the people's good.



{q} wedy alw "et non agnoverunt, Supple, ulli eos", De Dieu. {r} Ura la zrxo "nundinantur contra terram", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "mercaturam exercuerunt per terram", Cocceius. {s} Ura la rho "est circuire terram negotiandi causa", Grotius.







Jeremiah 14:19



Ver. 19. Hast thou utterly rejected Judah?.... The prophet, though forbid, proceeds to prayers and expostulations on account of this people, the people of the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin: or, "in rejecting hast thou rejected Judah?" {t} from being a nation, from being under thy care and protection? hast thou cast them away, and wilt thou suffer them to go into captivity as the ten tribes? what! Judah, whom the Lord hath chosen, and where was his dwelling place? what! Judah, from whom the chief ruler, the Messiah, was to come? what! Judah, from whom the sceptre was not to depart, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, till Shiloh came? and, what! wilt thou reject, and utterly reject, this tribe, upon which so many favours have been bestowed, and from which so much is expected?



Hath thy soul loathed Zion? whom thou hast formerly so much loved and delighted in, and chosen for thine habitation; Zion, the joy of the whole earth, and a perfection of beauty.



Why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? brought upon them his judgments; or, however, was about to bring them upon them, famine, sword, and captivity; and there was no deliverance from them, no way to escape them, no relief, no remedy, or no healing, as in

2Ch 36:16.



We looked for peace: as the false prophets foretold; or through alliance with neighbouring nations, even all safety and prosperity; and had no notion of desolation and war:



and there is no good; as was promised and expected, but all the reverse:



and for the time of healing; national and civil disorders, from which might have been hoped for a train of blessings:



and behold trouble! fears, frights, perplexities, and distresses; trouble from without, and from within. The Targum is,



"a time of pardon of sins, and behold punishment of sins.''



{t} toam oamh "reprobando reprobasti", Montanus, Schmidt.







Jeremiah 14:20



Ver. 20. We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers,.... This is said by the prophet, in the name of the few faithful that were among this people, who were sensible of their own sins, the sins of their ancestors, and which they ingenuously confess; their fathers had sinned, and they had imitated them, and continued in the same, and therefore might justly expect the displeasure of the Lord, and his controversy with them:



for we have sinned against thee; Jer 14:7.





Jeremiah 14:21



Ver. 21. Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake,.... Which was called upon them, and which they called upon; they deserved to be abhorred, they had done those things which might justly render them abominable, being what was abhorrent to him; and they deprecate this, not, for their own sake, who were unworthy of any favour, but for his own sake, for the sake of his honour and glory, which, as it is dear to the Lord, so to his people.



Do not disgrace the throne of thy glory; either Jerusalem, as Kimchi, which was the city of the great King, where he had his throne and palace, and which is called the throne of the Lord, Jer 3:17 or the house of the sanctuary, the temple, as Jarchi; see

Jer 17:12, respect seems to be had to the mercy seat upon the ark, over which were the cherubim of glory, between which the Lord dwelt; and they pray, that though they were worthy of disgrace themselves, and to be taken and carried captive into a strange land, yet they entreat that the Lord would not disgrace his own glorious habitation, by suffering the city and the temple, and the ark in it, to be destroyed:



remember; thy people, Zion, as before; or the promises made to them, the covenant, as follows:



break not thy covenant with us: God never breaks his covenant, though man does; it may sometimes seem to be broken, when his church and people are in distress and affliction; but he will never break the covenant he has made, or suffer his faithfulness to fail; yet, though he does not, it is proper and necessary oftentimes to pray in this manner to God, for the encouragement of faith in him, and expectation of good things from him.







Jeremiah 14:22



Ver. 22. Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain?.... The blessing wanted; none of the idols of the Gentiles, called vanities, because it was a vain thing to apply to them, or hope for anything from them, none of these could give a shower of rain; though the name of one of their idols was Jupiter Imbrius {u}, or Pluvius, the god of rain, yet he could not make nor give a single drop; as Baal, in the times of Ahab, when there was a drought, could not.



Or can the heavens give showers? from whence they descend, and which are the second causes of rain; even these could not of themselves, and much less Heathen deities.



Art not thou he, O Lord our God? the everlasting and unchangeable He, or I AM, our covenant God and Father, thou, and thou only, canst give rain; this is the peculiar of the great God himself; see Ac 14:17.



Therefore we will wait upon thee; for rain, by prayer and supplication, and hope for it, and wait the Lord's own time to give it:



for thou hast made all these things; the rain and its showers, who have no other father than the Lord, Job 38:28, also the heavens from whence it descends, and the earth on which it falls, are made by him, who restrains and gives it at pleasure.



{u} Pausanias makes mention of an image of Jupiter Pluvius, and of altars erected to him in various places; Attica, sive l. 1. p. 60. Corinthiaca, sive l. 2. p. 119. Boeotica, sive l. 9. p. 602. and in India, as Apollonius Tyanaeus relates, in Vit. Philostrat. l. 3. c. 2. in fine, was a tub, which in time of drought they opened; from whence, as they pretended, clouds came forth and watered all the country. Near Rome was a stone called Lapis Manalis, which being brought into the city, was said to cause rain. A like fable is told of water being in the forehead of Jupiter Lycaeus, which being shook by an oaken branch in the hand of a priest, gathered clouds, and produced plentiful showers of rain when wanted; but these, with others, are all fables and lies. See Alex. ab Alex Genial. Dier. l. 4. c. 16.



 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Jeremiah 15:1



INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 15



This chapter contains the Lord's answer to the prophet's prayers, in which he declares himself inexorable, and had resolved on the ruin of the Jewish nation for their sins; the prophet's complaint of the hardships he endured, notwithstanding his sincerity and integrity; and the Lord's promise of protection and deliverance, in case of his continuance in the faithful discharge of his office. The Lord denies the request of the prophet, by observing, that if even Moses and Samuel had been the intercessors for the people, he would not have regarded them, being determined upon casting them out, and sending them away captive, Jer 15:1, their punishment is declared, which was resolved on; some for death, or the pestilence; others for the sword; others for famine; and others for captivity; and others to be devoured by dogs, and fowls, and wild beasts, Jer 15:2, the cause of which were their sins, particularly their idolatry in the times of Manasseh, Jer 15:4, wherefore they should have no pity from men, nor would the Lord any more repent of the evil threatened, of which he was weary, because of their many backslidings,

Jer 15:5, which destruction, being determined, is illustrated by a description of the instrument of it; by the multitude of widows, and the distress of mothers bereaved of their children, Jer 15:7 on which the prophet takes up a complaint of his being born for strife and contention, and of his being cursed by the people, though no usurer, Jer 15:10, when he is comforted with a promise of being used well by the enemy, both he and his remnant, Jer 15:11, but as for the people of the Jews in general, they would never be able to withstand the northern forces, the army of the Chaldeans; their riches and substance would be delivered into their hands, and their persons also be carried captive into a strange land, and the prophet along with them, because of their sins, and the wrath of God for them, Jer 15:12, upon which the prophet prays to the Lord, who knew him, that he would remember and visit him, and avenge him of his persecutors, and not take him away in his longsuffering; he urges, that he had suffered rebuke and reproach for his sake; that he was called by him to his office, which he had cheerfully entered on; he had his mission, commission, and message, from him, which he received with the greatest pleasure, signified by eating his words with joy; and that he had not associated himself with mockers and scoffers at religion and the word of God; and therefore expostulates why he should be put to so much pain, and be used as he was, Jer 15:15, wherefore the Lord promises that, upon condition of doing his work faithfully, he should be preserved, protected, and delivered, Jer 15:19.



Ver. 1. Then said the Lord unto me,.... In answer to his expostulations and entreaties, Jer 14:19,



though Moses and Samuel stood before me; to pray before me, as the Targum; to make intercession for the people. Standing is a prayer gesture. The Jews say there is no standing but prayer, or that is meant when it is mentioned; See Gill on "Mt 6:5". Moses and Samuel were named, because they were eminent for prayer, and had success in it, for the people of Israel. Of Moses, see Ex 32:11 and of Samuel, see 1Sa 7:9 and of both, Ps 99:6. The Arabic version reads "Moses and Aaron", but wrongly. The Palmists make use of this text to prove the intercession of saints in heaven for those on earth; but the words are only a supposition, and not a fact. The meaning is, that supposing that Moses and Samuel were alive, and made intercession for the people, their prayers would not be regarded; and such a supposition, as it suggests that they were not alive, so that they did not stand before him, and make intercession for Judah; wherefore this is against, and not for, the intercession of saints in heaven:



yet my mind could not be towards this people; God could have no good will to them, no delight in them; could not be reconciled to them, or agree to it, that the favours asked for should be granted them, or that they should be continued in their own land; and therefore it was in vain for the prophet to solicit on their account; but, on the other hand, it is ordered as follows:



cast them out of my sight; or presence; as persons loathsome and abominable, not to be borne; I cannot look upon them, or have anything to say to them, in a favourable way:



and let them go forth; from my presence, from the temple, the city, and out of their own land; that is, declare that so it shall be.







Jeremiah 15:2



Ver. 2. And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee,.... As doubtless they will, when this message is brought to them:



whither shall we go forth? in a jeering scornful manner, not believing that this would be their case:



then thou shall tell them, thus saith the Lord, such as are for death, to death; such as were appointed to death, or to die by the pestilence, which is often signified by death; they shall go forth unto it; or it shall meet them, and seize upon them, and take them away:



and such as are for the sword, to the sword; who are appointed to die by the sword of the enemy, into whose hands they should fall by attempting to escape out of the city, shall perish by it:



and such as are for the famine, to the famine; such as are appointed to die by that, shall die of it in the city, where they shall be besieged, and not be able to get out to fetch in any provisions, and where none can be brought, because of the enemy:



and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity; such as are spared from the pestilence, sword, and famine, and are designed to be carried captive into a strange land, shall be taken and carried thither; nor will it be in their power, or in any other's, to hinder any of the above things, to which they are appointed of God. According to the Jews, the latter of these is more grievous than the former; as the sword than death, and famine than the sword, so captivity than them all {w}.



{w} T. Bab Bava Bathra, fol. 8. 2.





Jeremiah 15:3



Ver. 3. And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the Lord,.... Or four families {x}, and these very devouring ones; that is, four sorts of punishment; and so the Targum,



"four evil punishments;''



which are after mentioned. These are represented as under God, and at his beck and command; servants of his, that go and come at his pleasure, and do his will; and as being over men, and having power and authority to kill and to destroy by a divine commission:



the sword to slay: the first and chief of the four families or punishments, which had a commission from the Lord to sheath itself in his people, the Jews; even the sword of the enemy, the Chaldeans, drawn against them by a divine order and appointment:



and the dogs to tear; the carcasses of those that are slain with the sword: or "to draw" {y}; as the word signifies; it being the usual way of dogs to draw and drag the flesh about they are feeding on; this is another of the four families, and a very voracious one it is:



and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy; or "to eat, and to corrupt", the bodies of those that are slain by the sword. The meaning is, that such should not have a burial, but should be the food of fowls and wild beasts: these are the other two destroying families, which have their commission from the Lord for such service.



{x} twxpvm ebra "quatuor familias, [sive] cognationes", Vatablus, Tigurine version, Calvin. {y} bwxol "ad trahendum", Calvin, Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schmidt; so Ben Melech,







Jeremiah 15:4



Ver. 4. And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth,.... Not only into Babylon, but into other countries; which has had its full accomplishment in this their last captivity by the Romans: or "I will give them for a commotion" {z}; shaking and trembling; they shall be like Cain, fugitives and vagabonds, and be in fear and trembling everywhere, for what is, or is about to come upon them: or "for horror unto all kingdoms" {a}; all that see the calamities and judgments that come upon them will be struck with dread and horror, plainly seeing the hand of the Lord in them:



because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah; because of the idolatry and murder committed by him; and which were the more aggravated, by having so good a parent, and so religious an education, and by his high office and dignity as king of Judah; and though these sins were personally forgiven him, yet, being imitated and continued in by the Jews, captivity is threatened them. The Targum is,



"because they turned not (or were not converted) as Manasseh;''



and so in the Talmud {b}, because Manasseh repented, and they did not; but this sense the words will not bear, because of what goes before, of which these are a reason; and because of what follows after, which are connected with them:



for that which he did in Jerusalem; the innocent blood he shed there, and the idolatrous worship he there set up; even where the temple was, the place of God's worship, and which was the metropolis of the nation, and so set an example, which must influence the whole country.



{z} hewzl "in commotionem", Calvin, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. {a} "In horrorem", Cocceius. {b} T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 102. 2.





Jeremiah 15:5



Ver. 5. For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem?.... The inhabitants of it; their sins being so many, and so heinous, and so aggravated, and so deserving of punishment, that none could pity their case, or have a heart of compassion towards them, or even spare reproaching them: or "who shall bemoan thee?" sympathize and condole with thee, or speak a comfortable word to thee, or seek to alleviate thy grief and sorrow: or "who shall go aside to ask how thou doest?" or "of thy peace?" {c} shall not think it worth their while to go a step out of their way, or turn into a house, and inquire of thy welfare, or salute thee.



{c} Kl Mwlvl lwavl "ad petendum [de] pace tua", Pagninus; "ad interrogandum te de paca tua", Piscator; "[sive] prosperitate tua", Junius & Tremellius.







Jeremiah 15:6



Ver. 6. Thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord,.... His worship, as the Targum; and had set up idols, and idol worship; and this was the cause of the sword, pestilence, famine, and captivity, and of all the evils that befell them:



thou art gone backward; from the law of the Lord, and from his pure worship and service, from his ways and from his ordinances; and therefore it was but just they should go into captivity; hence it follows:



therefore will I stretch out mine hand against thee, and destroy thee; his hand of power and vengeance, which when stretched out, and falls with weight, whether on particular persons, or on a nation, brings inevitable ruin and destruction with it:



I am weary with repenting; not that the Lord ever changes his mind, or the counsel of his will; in this sense he is without repentance; but the conduct of his providence, and the dispensations of it; not executing the threatenings denounced, but sparing them a little longer, showing mercy, and exercising patience and longsuffering; but now he was as one weary and tired out, and was determined to bear no longer with them, but stir up all his wrath against them, and destroy them.





Jeremiah 15:7



Ver. 7. I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land,.... Either of their own land, the land of Judea; and so the Septuagint version, "in the gates of my people"; alluding to the custom of winnowing corn in open places; and by fanning is meant the dispersion of the Jews, and their being carried captive out of their own land into other countries: or of the land of the enemy, into their cities, as the Targum paraphrases it; gates being put for them frequently; whither they should be scattered by the fan of the Lord; for what was done by the enemy, as an instrument, is ascribed to him:



I will bereave them of children; which shall die of famine, or pestilence, or by the sword, or in captivity: I will destroy my people; which must be when children are cut off, by which families, towns, cities, and kingdoms, are continued and kept up; and this he was resolved to do, though they were his people:



since they return not from their ways; their evil ways, which they had gone into, forsaking the ways of God, and his worship: or,



yet they return not from their ways {d}; though fanned with the fan of affliction, bereaved of their children, and threatened with destruction: it expresses their obstinate continuance in their evil ways, and the reason of God's dealing with them as above.



{d} wbv al Mhykrdm "et tamen a viis suis non sunt reversi", V. L. Diodatus, Genevenses.





Jeremiah 15:8



Ver. 8. Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas,.... Their husbands being slain; not in the times of Ahaz, when a hundred and twenty thousand men were slain in one day in Judah, by Pekah the son of Remaliah, 2Ch 28:6, as Kimchi thinks; but in the times of Zedekiah, at the siege of Jerusalem, and the taking of it, and in the Babylonish captivity before predicted. The children of Israel were to be as the sand of the sea, and were very numerous; and here the widows are said to be so too, their husbands, who were numerous, being dead; and this, as it was of the Lord, so it was in his sight, and according to his counsel and will. Mention is made of "seas", in the plural, number, there being many in or near Judea, as the Red sea, the sea of Galilee, and the Mediterranean sea:



I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler, at noonday; that is he would bring upon the Jews, against the mother of the young men, or mothers of them; for the young men being destroyed by the spoiler, it was against them; a calamity upon them, and a distress unto them, who have generally a tender concern for them. The Targum is,



"against the company of their young men;''



the Jews; or against Jerusalem, the mother city, the metropolis of the nation, full of young men fit for war: or, "against the mother", that is, Jerusalem, a "young man" {e}; meaning Nebuchadnezzar, who came against Jerusalem in the first year of his reign; and, as some say, in the eighteenth year of his age; and who came not as a thief in the night, but as a spoiler at noonday; not in a secret insidious manner, but openly and with force of arms making his way through the land to Jerusalem, in defiance of the Jews, and in the face of them:



and I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly; that is, upon the city of Jerusalem: for though he came openly, his march was quick, and he was presently at Jerusalem, and laid siege to it at once:



and terrors upon the city; or, "city and terrors" {f}; the city was immediately filled with terrors at the appearance of Nebuchadnezzar and his army. R. Joseph Kimchi interprets it, "an army and terrors", from

1Sa 28:16, the Babylonian monarch, at the head of his army, which spread terrors where he came. Some render the word, from Da 4:13, "a watcher and terrors" {g}: meaning the Chaldean army, called watchers, Jer 4:16. The Targum is,



"I will bring an army upon them suddenly, and destroy their cities;''



it should be rendered "alienation of mind and terrors": from the use of the word, rye, in the Arabic language {h}.



{e} rwxb Ma le "contra metropolin, juvenem", Junius & Tremellius, De Dieu; "contra matrem", Piscator; "super matrem, juvenem", Cocceius. {f} twlhbw rye "civitatem et terrores", Montanus; so Schmidt. {g} "Vigilem, [vel] vigiles et terrores", Gataker; "vigilias et terrores", Coeceius. {h} Ab "alteravit, mutavit et turbavit", Golius, Castel. Schindler.







Jeremiah 15:9



Ver. 9. She that hath borne seven languisheth,.... Either the mother that has borne many children, seven being put for a large number, now being able to bear no more, and being bereaved of what she had, and who were her staff and support, and from whom she had her expectation, faints away, and dies through grief and trouble; or Jerusalem, which formerly abounded with young men, is now in a forlorn and destitute state; her children, the inhabitants of it, being slain with the sword, or dying of famine and the pestilence. In the Talmud {i}, this is interpreted of seven wicked kings of Israel, as Jeroboam, Baasha, Ahab, Jehu, Pekah, Menahem, and Hoshea; and elsewhere of seven kings of Judah, thus reckoned, Jehoram, Joash, Ahaz, Manasseh, Amon, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah {k}:



she hath given up the ghost; or, "blew out her soul {l}"; her breath departs; no life can be kept in her; she faints away at the calamities coming on her:



her sun is gone down while it was yet day; the darkness of affliction, and the evening of distress and calamity came upon her sooner than was expected, while in the midst of peace and prosperity that was promised, and hoped to be enjoyed for a long time to come; see Am 8:9:



she hath been ashamed and confounded; of her vain hope, trust, and confidence:



and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the Lord; that is; such who died not of the famine and pestilence, but at the breaking up of the city endeavoured to make their escape, these fell into the hands of the enemy, and perished by the sword, as the Lord here predicts; for whatsoever he says certainly comes to pass.



{i} T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 88. 1. {k} Vid. Jarchi & Abendana in loc. {l} hvpn hxpn "efflabit animam suam", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "exspiravit animam suam", Cocceius.





Jeremiah 15:10



Ver. 10. Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast born me a man of strife,.... Not that the prophet was a quarrelsome and contentious man, but others quarrelled and contended with him, and that for no other reason than for his faithful discharge of his office, under which he ought to have been easy; but being a man of like passions with others, wishes he had never been born, than to meet with so much trouble; and seems to blame his mother for bearing him; or however looked upon himself to be a miserable man through his birth, and that he was destined from thence to this sorrow:



and a man of contention to the whole earth; or "land"; the land of Judea, the inhabitants of it, as the Targum; for with no other had Jeremiah to do; and it were these only that contended with him, because he brought a disagreeable message to them, concerning their captivity:



I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; which was not lawful with the Jews to do; and therefore such were cursed that did it: but this is not to be restrained to this particular branch of business, which was not usual; but has respect to all trade and commerce; and the meaning is, that the prophet did not concern himself with secular affairs, but attended to the duties of his office; he carried on no negotiations with men; he was neither a creditor nor a debtor; had nothing to do with pecuniary affairs; which often occasions strifes and contentions, quarrels and lawsuits; and yet, notwithstanding, could not be free from strife and debate:



yet everyone of them do curse me; that is, everyone of the inhabitants of the land of Judea, so much known were Jeremiah and his prophecies; these slighted and set light by both him and his predictions; and wished the vilest imprecations upon him for his messages to them. The word here used is compounded of two words, or derived from two roots, as Kimchi observes; the one signifies to make light or vilify, in opposition to honour and glory; and the other to curse, in opposition to blessing; and this is often the case of the ministers of the word, not only to be slighted and despised, but to be defamed and cursed; see 1Co 4:12.







Jeremiah 15:11



Ver. 11. The Lord said,.... In answer to the prophet's complaint:



verily it shall be well with thy remnant: not with the remnant of his people, or those that should escape the threatened calamities; but the sense is, that it should be well with him in his latter end; the remainder of his days should be comfortable or be spent in peace and prosperity; and so the Targum,



"if thine end shall not be for good.''



The words are in the form of an oath, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe; and the meaning is, that if it is not well with thee in thy last days, then say I am unfaithful, and not true to my word. According to Donesh, cited by Jarchi, the word translated "remnant" has the signification of loosing; and he renders it, "if I loose thee not for good" {m}; which accordingly was done, Jer 40:4, and this sense is confirmed by the note of the Masorites: "verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well"; or, "if I do not", &c. for it is also in the form of an oath, as before, as Jarchi notes; and so it was, Nebuchadnezzar gave charge to Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, to look well to him, and do him no harm; who, when he loosed him, gave him his choice to go with him to Babylon, or continue in the land, Jer 39:11, or, "verily I will", or, "shall I not entreat the enemy for thee?" {n} and make him gentle and humane, so that he shall use thee kindly. Jarchi interprets this of Zedekiah and his courtiers seeking to Jeremiah, in the time of their distress, to pray for them, Jer 37:2, and to which sense the Targum inclines,



"if they shall not come and help thee, &c.''



in the time of evil, and in the time of affliction; when the city is taken, and the people carrying captive.



{m} bwjl Ktwrv al Ma "si non absolvero te in bonum", Schmidt. Vid. De Dieu in loc. {n} Kb ytegph awl Ma "sed faciam hostem occurrere tibi", Calvin: "annon intervenirem pro te apud inimicum?" Junius & Tremellius; "nisi interveniam pro te apud inimicum", Piscator.







Jeremiah 15:12



Ver. 12. Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel?] Can iron break iron, especially that which comes from the north, which was harder than the common iron; or steel, the hardest of all? though the Jews were hard as iron, they could not prevail against and overcome Jeremiah, who was made an iron pillar and brasen walls against them, Jer 1:18, and so these words are spoken for his comfort and encouragement: or they may respect the Jews and the Chaldeans; and the sense be, that the Jews, as mighty and as strong as they fancied themselves to be, and boasted that they were, they could not find themselves a match for the Chaldean army, which came out of the north; and may be said to be as hard as the northern iron, which came from the Chalybes, a people in the north, near Pontus, from whom steel has its name in the Latin tongue; and this sense agrees with what follows.





Jeremiah 15:13



Ver. 13. Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price,.... Not the prophet's substance and treasure; for it does not appear that he had any, at least to require so much notice; but the substance and treasure of the people of the Jews, to whom these words are directed; these the Lord threatened should be delivered into the hands of their enemies, and become a spoil and free booty to them, for which they should give nothing, and which should never be redeemed again:



and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders; this spoiling of their substance should befall them because of their sins, which they had committed in all the borders of their land, where they had built their high places, and had set up idolatrous worship; or else the meaning is, that their substance and treasure in all their borders, in every part of the land, should be the plunder of their enemies, because of their sins.





Jeremiah 15:14



Ver. 14. And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies,.... Not Jeremiah, but the Jews, to whom these words are continued. The meaning is, that they should go along with the Chaldeans out of their own land into theirs:



into a land which thou knowest not; the land of Babylon; and there is another reading of the words in the margin, "I will cause thee to serve thine enemies {o}, in a land that thou knowest not"; which is followed by the Targum, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions. Some render the words, "I will bring thine enemies from, or through, a land that thou knowest not" {p}; the place from whence they came, and those through which they came, being at a great distance:



for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you; meaning the wrath of God, compared to fire, which was kindled and excited by their sins, and which would continue upon them until it had destroyed them.



{o} ytdehw "et servire faciam". {p} "Et adducam inimicos tuos de terra quam nescis", V. L. "et transire faciam hostes tuos per terram quam nescis", De Dieu; so Cocceius.





Jeremiah 15:15



Ver. 15. O Lord, thou knowest,.... All persons and things; he knew the prophet and his heart, and all that was in it; his innocence and integrity; all his afflictions, and what he met with from his enemies; and he knew them, and all their malicious designs against him:



remember me; with the favour which he bore to his own people, his covenant with him, his promises to him, and the word on which he had caused him to hope; because of his trials and troubles, he might seem to be forgotten by him:



and visit me; in mercy for good; and so the Targum adds,



"that thou mayest do well unto me:''



and revenge me of my persecutors; not so much for his own sake; unless this is to be attributed to his frailty and infirmity, to the warmth of his spirit, being a man of like passions with others; for private revenge ought not to be sought by good men, but for the sake of God and his glory, in whose cause he was engaged, and on whose account he was persecuted:



take me not away in thy longsuffering; while thou art bearing with others, do not take me away by death; or suffer them, whom thou dost forbear, to take me away, or give them an opportunity thereby so to do; or when thy longsuffering is at an end, do not involve me in the same calamity with them. The Targum is,



"do not give delay to my injury;''



or,



"length to my affliction;''



that is, do not delay to take vengeance on my persecutors; and to this sense Jarchi interprets it,



"do not take my cause, and leave it to thy longsuffering, but hasten and avenge me;''



and De Dieu proposes such a rendering of the words, "to thy longsuffering do not bring me" {q}; and which sense is favoured by the Septuagint version:



know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke; let it appear, and that even to mine enemies, that it is for thy sake that all this reproach is cast upon me; and all these afflictions are endured by me, by thy resentment of their carriage to me.



{q} ynxpt Kpa Kral la "ne ad longanimitatem tuam adduc me", De Dieu; "nec me capias ad dilationem irae tua", Gussetius.







Jeremiah 15:16



Ver. 16. Thy words were found, and I did eat them, &e.] The messages he was called to deliver unto others appeared to him to be of God, and they were as welcome to him as food is to a hungry man; he cheerfully received them, treasured them up in his memory, digested them in his mind, and carefully retained them. So the doctrines of the Gospel, which are the words of God, and not of men, when by searching and close application they are found in the Scriptures, and under the ministry of the word, they are food to souls, sweet, savoury, wholesome, nourishing, and strengthening; not as merely heard externally, or only assented unto, or superficially tasted of; but when eaten, as Ezekiel's roll was by him; and which is done by faith, which receives, feeds upon, and digests the word; for, unless it is mixed with faith, it is not profitable:



and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart; the messages which the prophet was sent with, even those which denounced grievous things against his people in case of impenitence, were gladly received by him, and he readily delivered them, hoping that they would be a means of bringing them to a sense of their sins, and to repentance for them, and so of preserving them from ruin; and especially those words or doctrines he had in commission to deliver, which respected the Messiah, his person, offices, kingdom, righteousness, and grace; the calling of the Gentiles, and the enlargement of the interest of Christ; the glory of his name, and the prosperity of his people in the latter day. The word of the Gospel, when received and eaten by faith, whether by ministers or people, is productive of spiritual joy and pleasure; the promises of it being exceeding precious; and the doctrines of it doctrines of grace, salvation, peace, pardon, and righteousness, by Christ, who is the sum and substance of them:



for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts; what added to his joy was, that the name of the Lord was called upon him, or that he was called a prophet of the Lord: this he looked upon as a high honour done him; and what still more increased his joy was, that he was a prophet, not of Baal, that could not hear nor help his prophets and worshippers; but of the Lord God of hosts and armies, who was able to uphold him, protect and defend him, against his enemies.





Jeremiah 15:17



Ver. 17. I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced,.... With them, the mockers; or, "those that make merry" {r}; as the word is rendered in Jer 30:19, and so the Targum,



"those that sing;''



and dance and live jovially; with these the prophet did not associate himself; such levity being unsuitable to his character as a prophet, and to those grievous messages he was charged with; and though he had joy, it was of another kind; it was not carnal, but spiritual; not outward, but inward; and what arose from the word of the Lord, being found and eaten by him. Moreover, there were some things which he was obliged by his office to deliver, that were very distressing to him, and made him very melancholy; so that he shunned all company and diversion, which might have been lawfully enjoyed: for this is not to be understood of the assembly or council of the wicked governors of the nation, and much less of the refuse of the people, that mocked at the word of God, and scoffed at the prophets and people of God; but of Jeremiah's friends and acquaintance, that met and made merry together; with whom he could not join, because of the sorrowful case in which he was, on account of the people he was sent unto:



I sat alone, because of thine hand; not because he was obliged to it, being deserted by men, but of choice; he withdrew from company, kept himself retired at home in his own house, there meditating upon the word of God, and mourning over the case of his people; and this he did, because the afflicting hand of God was upon him, or because the hand and spirit of prophecy was upon him, and he was charged to denounce very grievous things against the people; and because the hand of divine power and authority was over him, to which he ought to be subject, and was ready to obey:



for thou hast filled me with indignation; either with the indignation of the people against him, because of his prophecies; or with indignation against them, because of their sins; or with denunciations of wrath he was to deliver to them; and so the Targum,



"for thou hast filled me with a prophecy of cursing.''



{r} Myqxvm "ludentium", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius; "jocantium", Vatablus; "hilaria agentium", Gataker.





Jeremiah 15:18



Ver. 18. Why is my pain perpetual,.... The pain of his mind; his uneasiness for the good of his people, which was likely to last, having no hope of a change for the better: or it may design the pain which they gave him by their reproaches and persecutions of him, which seemed as if they would have no end:



and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? the same thing is meant as before. The allusion is to an old ulcer, or obstinate wound, which no medicine can affect, is desperate and deadly; and such the prophet reckoned his case to be, or however deprecates it, and expostulates with God why it should be so:



wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? such God cannot be, nor did the prophet think he was; he knew that he was God that could not lie, and that he was faithful to his promises, and would not disappoint the faith, hope, and expectations of his people; but he feared he would be thought to be so by others, by his enemies, who would triumph over him, and say, where is thy God? did he not promise to make thee a defenced city, an iron pillar, and brasen walls? is he as good as his word? is he not like a dry brook, whose waters fail? are not thy hope and expectation in vain, who hast been trusting to him, and depending on him? and it is as if the prophet should say, Lord, let them have no occasion to speak after this manner; nor suffer my faith in thy promises to fail; show thyself to be as thou art, a covenant keeping God, and whose faithfulness never fails: to which an answer is returned in the following verses.





Jeremiah 15:19



Ver. 19. Therefore thus saith the Lord, if thou return,.... From thine unbelief, diffidence, and impenitence, and repent of them; expressed in the preceding verses:



then will I bring thee again; or, "restore thee {s}"; pardon his sin, and return him to his post and place, to his office and ministry in it, and confirm and establish him therein:



and thou shalt stand before me; not only as a petitioner for the people; see Jer 15:1, but as a servant of the Lord, attending to his word, and waiting his orders, and ready to execute them. It denotes his stability in his office:



and if thou wilt take forth the precious from the vile; take precious truths, comparable to gold, silver, and precious stones; truths more valuable and desirable than thousands of gold and silver, from those doctrines which are worthless and contemptible, comparable to wood, hay, and stubble, and everything that is mean and vile; these faithful ministers should separate one from the other, and not mix and blend them together: or precious souls, truly gracious ones, who are precious in the sight of God, are redeemed by Christ, by his precious blood, and are adorned with the graces of the Spirit; these are to be distinguished from the vile, from sinners impenitent and unbelieving, that live in sin, in defiance of the law, and in contempt of the Gospel; a difference is to be made between them; delivering out comfortable words to the one, and denouncing severe threatenings to the other; doing the reverse of the false prophets, Eze 13:22:



thou shalt be as my mouth; to the people; speak what I command thee, and whatsoever thou sayest shall be as if I had spoken it myself:



let them return unto thee, but return not thou unto them; this is said of the people of the Jews, to whom the prophet was sent; and the sense is, that he should not at all comply with them, or conform to their humours, or flatter and sooth them in their sins, as the false prophets did; but if they returned to him, attended on his ministry, received his words and messages, and agreed and conformed to him, and followed his directions and example, it would be very well; but otherwise he was not in the least to give way to them, or go into any sinful compliance with them, either with respect to doctrine or practice,



{s} Kbyva "restituam te", Tigurine version.





Jeremiah 15:20



Ver. 20. And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall,.... As he had promised him, when he first called him to his office, Jer 1:18, and so would not be as a liar to him:



and they shall fight against thee; by words and blows, by menaces and imprisonment:



but they shall not prevail against thee; so as to cause him to call in his words, and contradict his prophecies; or so as to take away his life:



for I am with thee, to save thee, and deliver thee, saith the Lord; the presence of God with his ministers is sufficient to save and deliver them out of all their troubles, and to protect and defend them against all their enemies; see Mt 28:20.





Jeremiah 15:21



Ver. 21. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked,.... The wicked Jews, Zedekiah and his courtiers, who imprisoned him:



and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible; as kings and great men of the earth seem to be; or, "the violent", or "strong" {t}, and mighty; that were stronger than he, that would use him with violence, and inject terror into him.



{t} Myuyre "violentorum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Schmidt; "fortium", V. L.



 

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