The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
The prophet stood at the gate of the temple, in order that the
multitudes from the country might hear him. His life was threatened,
it appears from Jeremiah 26:1, for this prophecy denouncing the fate
of Shiloh as about to befall the temple at... [ Continue Reading ]
Stand in the gate of the LORD's house, and proclaim there this word,
and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at
these gates to worship the LORD.
STAND IN THE GATE - i:e., the gate of the court of Israel within that
of the women. Those whom Jeremiah addresses came throu... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and
your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.
AMEND YOUR WAYS AND YOUR DOINGS - (; ).
CAUSE YOU TO DWELL - permit you still to dwell.... [ Continue Reading ]
Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The
temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.
THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD ... ARE THESE. The Jews falsely thought that
because their temple had been chosen by Yahweh as His special
dwelling, it could never be destroyed. Precisel... [ Continue Reading ]
For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly
execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;
FOR - But (Maurer).
EXECUTE JUDGMENT - justice ().... [ Continue Reading ]
If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and
shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods
to your hurt:
THIS PLACE - this city and land ().
NEITHER WALK AFTER OTHER GODS TO YOUR HURT - (so , "to the confusion
of their own faces;" ).... [ Continue Reading ]
Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave
to your fathers, for ever and ever.
THEN WILL I CAUSE YOU TO DWELL IN THIS PLACE - the apodosis to the
"if ... if" (Jeremiah 7:5).
TO DWELL - to continue to dwell.
FOREVER AND EVER - joined with "to dwell," not with the wo... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. LYING WORDS THAT
CANNOT PROFIT. Maurer translates. 'so that you profit nothing' (see ,
"lying words;" ).... [ Continue Reading ]
Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and
burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;
"Will ye steal, etc., and then come and stand before me?"
GODS WHOM YE KNOW NOT - ye have no grounds of 'knowing' that they are
gods; but I have manifested my G... [ Continue Reading ]
Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in
your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.
IS THIS HOUSE ... CALLED BY MY NAME, BECOME A DEN OF ROBBERS - Do you
regard my temple as being what robbers make their den namely, an
asylum wherein ye may obtain impuni... [ Continue Reading ]
But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name
at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people
Israel.
MY PLACE WHICH WAS IN SHILOH - God caused His tabernacle to be set up
in Shiloh in Joshua's days (; ) In Eli's time God gave the ark which
had beet... [ Continue Reading ]
And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I
spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I
called you, but ye answered not;
RISING UP EARLY - implying unwearied earnestness in soliciting them
(; ; , "The Lord God of their fathers sent to them by Hi... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name,
wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your
fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.
THE PLACE WHICH I GAVE - and I therefore can revoke the gift (for it
is still mine, , "For the land is mine for ye are stranger... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your
brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
I HAVE CAST OUT ALL YOUR BRETHREN - children of Abraham as much as
you.
EVEN THE WHOLE SEED OF EPHRAIM - They were superior to you in numbers
and power: they were ten tribes; ye but two.... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor
prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear
thee.
THEREFORE PRAY NOT THOU FOR THIS PEOPLE ... When people are given up
to judicial hardness of heart, intercessory prayer for them is
unavailing (, "Pray not... [ Continue Reading ]
Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets
of Jerusalem?
SEEST THOU NOT WHAT THEY DO - Yahweh leaves it to Jeremiah himself to
decide, is there not good reason that prayers should not be heard in
behalf of such rebels?... [ Continue Reading ]
The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the
women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to
pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to
anger.
THE CHILDREN GATHER WOOD, AND THE FATHERS KINDLE THE FIRE, AND THE
WOMEN KNEAD THE... [ Continue Reading ]
Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke
themselves to the confusion of their own faces?
DO THEY PROVOKE ME TO ANGER? SAITH THE LORD: DO THEY NOT PROVOKE
THEMSELVES IN THE CONFUSION OF THEIR OWN FACES? - Is it me that they
provoke to anger? Is it not themselves? etc. (; ;... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury
shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and
upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it
shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
UPON BEAST, AND UPON THE TREES OF THE FIELD, AND UPON... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt
offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.
PUT YOUR BURNT OFFERINGS UNTO YOUR SACRIFICES ... EAT FLESH - Add the
former (which the law required to be wholly burnt) to the latter
(which were burnt only in part), and "eat flesh,... [ Continue Reading ]
For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that
I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or
sacrifices:
FOR I SPAKE NOT UNTO YOUR FATHERS, NOR COMMANDED THEM IN THE DAY THAT
I BROUGHT THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, CONCERNING BURNT OFFERINGS OR
SAC... [ Continue Reading ]
But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be
your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that
I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.
BUT THIS THING COMMANDED I THEM - (; ).... [ Continue Reading ]
But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the
counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went
backward, and not forward.
HEARKENED NOT - they did not give even a partial hearing to me
(Psalms 81:11).
IMAGINATION - rather, as margin, 'the stubbornness.'
BACKW... [ Continue Reading ]
Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt
unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets,
daily rising up early and sending them:
RISING UP EARLY - ().... [ Continue Reading ]
Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened
their neck: they did worse than their fathers.
HARDENED THEIR NECK - ( "I know ... thy stiff neck;" , "Thy neck is
an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;" ).
WORSE THAN THEIR FATHERS - (). In . He had said, "your fathers;" here
H... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will
not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not
answer thee.
THEREFORE - rather, 'Though thou speak ... yet they will not hearken'
(Maurer) (, "Thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will
hear,... [ Continue Reading ]
But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the
voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is
perished, and is cut off from their mouth.
THOU SHALT SAY UNTO THEM - i:e., in reference to them.
A NATION, [ hagowy (H1471)] - the word usually applied to the Ge... [ Continue Reading ]
Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a
lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken
the generation of his wrath.
CUT OFF THINE HAIR. Jeremiah addresses "Jerusalem" under the figure
of a woman, who, in grief for her lost children, deprives her head... [ Continue Reading ]
For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD:
they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my
name, to pollute it.
SET THEIR ABOMINATIONS IN THE HOUSE - (; ; , "He (Manasseh) built
altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, In Jerusalem
w... [ Continue Reading ]
And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley
of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the
fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
HIGH PLACES OF TOPHET - the altars (Horsley) of Tophet; erected to
Moloch, on the heights alo... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no
more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the
valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no
place.
VALLEY OF SLAUGHTER - so named because of the great slaughter of the
Jews about to ta... [ Continue Reading ]
And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the
heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them
away.
FRAY - scare or frighten (this verse is quoted from ). Typical of the
last great battle between the Lord's host and the apostasy, wherein
"the fowls of the a... [ Continue Reading ]
Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the
streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness,
the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land
shall be desolate.
THEN WILL I CAUSE TO CEASE FROM THE CITIES OF JUDAH, AND FROM THE
STREET... [ Continue Reading ]