Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, Belonging to an earlier period than Jeremiah 21:1 - namely the reigns of Shallum or Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Jeconiah (Jeremiah 22:10; ; ; ; ). Jeremiah often groups his prophecies, not by chronological ord... [ Continue Reading ]
And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates: THY PEOPLE THAT ENTER IN BY THESE GATES - of the king's palace.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place. EXECUTE YE JUDGMENT - in which respect Zedekiah had been... [ Continue Reading ]
For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people. UPON THE THRONE OF DAVID - literally, for David on his throne (see note, ). This verse is repeated... [ Continue Reading ]
But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation. I SWEAR BY MYSELF - (; ). God swears, because it seemed to them incredible that the family of I SWEAR BY MYSELF - (; ). God swears, because it seemed to them incredible that the fam... [ Continue Reading ]
For thus saith the LORD unto the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited. THOU ART GILEAD UNTO ME, AND THE HEAD OF LEBANON - though thou art as beautiful as Gilead, and as majestic in min... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. I WILL PREPARE DESTROYERS - the Hebrew for "prepare" is literally, sanctify, or solemnly set apart for a particular work (cf. , "I have prepared my sanc... [ Continue Reading ]
And many nations shall pass by this city and they shall say every man to his neighbour Wherefore hath And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city? MANY NATIONS ... SHALL SAY ... WHEREFORE HATH THE... [ Continue Reading ]
Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them. BECAUSE THEY HAVE FORSAKEN THE COVENANT OF THE LORD - ().... [ Continue Reading ]
Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country. WEEP NOT FOR THE DEAD - i:e., not so much for Josiah, who was taken away by death from the evil to come, as God promised to him (; ), as for Shallum or Jeh... [ Continue Reading ]
_BUT HE SHALL DIE IN THE PLACE WHITHER THEY HAVE LED HIM CAPTIVE, AND SHALL SEE THIS LAND NO MORE._ No JFB commentary on this verse.... [ Continue Reading ]
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; WOE UNTO HIM THAT BUILDETH HIS HOUSE BY UNRIGHTEOUSNESS, AND HIS CHAMBER BY WRONG; THAT USETH HIS NEIGHBOUR'S SERVICE WITHOUT WAGE... [ Continue Reading ]
That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. A WIDE HOUSE - literally, a house of dimensions ('measures'). (Compare Numbers 13:32, "Men of a great stature" - margin, 'men of statures.') LARGE... [ Continue Reading ]
Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? CLOSEST THYSELF - rather, thou viest [from [ chaaraah (H2734)], to be fired with eagerness, to burn with desire]. The same Hebrew verb is transla... [ Continue Reading ]
He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD. WAS NOT THIS TO KNOW ME - namely, to show by deeds that one knows God's will, as was the case with Josiah (cf. ; contrast ).... [ Continue Reading ]
But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it. BUT THINE - as opposed to thy father Josiah.... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory! THEY SHALL NOT LAMENT FOR HIM, SAYING, AH MY BROTHER! AH SISTER! - Addressing... [ Continue Reading ]
He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. HE SHALL BE BURIED WITH THE BURIAL OF AN ASS - i:e., he shall have the same burial as an donkey would get-namely, he shall be left a prey for beasts and birds (Jerome). This is not formally narrated;... [ Continue Reading ]
Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed. GO UP TO LEBANON AND CRY - Delivered in the reign of Jehoiachin (Jeco... [ Continue Reading ]
I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice. I SPAKE UNTO THEE IN THY PROSPERITY - I admonished thee in time. Thy sin has not been a sin of ignorance or thoughtlessness, but willful. PROSPERITY... [ Continue Reading ]
The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness. THE WIND - the Chaldees, as a parching wind that sweeps rapidly over and withers vegetation (Jeremiah 4:11; ; ). SHALL EAT UP ALL THY PASTORS... [ Continue Reading ]
O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail! O INHABITANT OF LEBANON - namely, Jerusalem, whose temple, palaces, and principal habitations were built of cedars of Lebanon. HOW GRACIOUS SHALT... [ Continue Reading ]
As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; AS I LIVE - God's most solemn formula of oath (; ; ). CONIAH - Jeceoniah or Jehoiachim. The contraction of the name is meant in contempt. THOUGH CONI... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. AND I WILL GIVE THEE INTO THE HAND OF THEM THAT SEEK THY LIFE - "I will pluck thee" from "my... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. THY MOTHER - Nehushta, the queen dowager (; ; ; see ).... [ Continue Reading ]
But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return. THEY - Coniah and his mother. He passes from the second person () to the third person here, to express the alienation. The king is as it were put out of sight, as if unworthy of being spoken with directly. THE LAND... [ Continue Reading ]
Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? IS THIS MAN CONIAH A DESPISED BROKEN IDOL? Coniah was idolized once by the Jews; Jeremiah therefore, in their person, expr... [ Continue Reading ]
O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. O EARTH! EARTH! EARTH! ... WRITE YE THIS MAN CHILDLESS. Jeconiah was not actually without offspring (cf. , "his seed;" ; , "Jeconias begat Salathiel"), but he was to be written "childless," as a warning to posterity - i:e., without a lineal heir t... [ Continue Reading ]