In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Ver. 1. _In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim._] By the date of this prophecy, compared with Jeremiah 27:12; Jeremiah 28:1, it should seem that it lay dormant for fou... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck, Ver. 2. _Make thee bonds and yokes,_] _i.e., _ Yokes with bonds, such as they are wont to be fastened with. _ And put them upon thy neck._] This was to the prophet, saith the Jesuit, _molesta et probrosa poenitentia,... [ Continue Reading ]
_And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;_ Ver. 3. _By the hand of the messengers,_] _i.e., _ Ambassadors of th... [ Continue Reading ]
And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters; Ver. 4. _Go, tell your masters._] But they would not be warned, and were therefore ruined. So true is that of an ancient, _Divinum consilium, dam devitatur, impletur: hu... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have made the earth, the man and the beast that [are] upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me._ Ver. 5. _I have made the earth._] And I am therefore the great proprietary and Lord paramount of all, to transfer kingdoms at... [ Continue Reading ]
And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. Ver. 6. _And now have I given all these lands._] Nebuchadnezzar shall be monarch _contra Gentes. Dicunt nugatores equitasse Nabuchodo... [ Continue Reading ]
And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. Ver. 7. _And all nations shall serve him._] All the neighbouring nations, and some others more remote; but never was any man πα... [ Continue Reading ]
And it shall come to pass, [that] the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence,... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: Ver. 9. _Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets._] Whom the devil setteth to work to persuad... [ Continue Reading ]
For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. Ver. 10. _To remove you far from your land._] So it would prove; and such would be the event of their false prophecies.... [ Continue Reading ]
But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein. Ver. 11. _But the nations that bring their neck._] When God bids us yoke, it is best to submit. In... [ Continue Reading ]
I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. Ver. 12. _I spake also to Zedekiah._] See on Jeremiah 27:1 . _ Bring your necks under the yoke._] Better do so than worse: if... [ Continue Reading ]
Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? Ver. 13. _Why will ye die, thou and thy people?_] _Ec quae haec pertinacia?_ If thou hast no mercy on thyself, yet pity the S... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. Ver. 14. _Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets._] _Quanta opus opera,_ saith Oecolampadius. What a business it is to beat men o... [ Continue Reading ]
_For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you._ Ver. 15. _For they prophesy a lie._] When they speak a lie, they speak of their own, as it is said of their father the d... [ Continue Reading ]
Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the LORD'S house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. Ver. 16. Behold, the... [ Continue Reading ]
Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste? Ver. 17. _Hearken not unto them._] Life and death is let in by the ear. Isa 55:3 Take heed, therefore, what ye hear. _ Serve the king of Babylon._] And so long as ye may have liberty of conscience... [ Continue Reading ]
But if they [be] prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, and [in] the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon. Ver. 18. _Let them make intercession to t... [ Continue Reading ]
For thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city, Ver. 19. _Concerning the sea, and concerning the pillars, &c._] Of these, see 1 Kings 7:15; 1Ki 7:23; 1 Kings 7:27 . _ And... [ Continue Reading ]
Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; Ver. 20. _Which Nebuchadnezzar took not._] See on Jeremiah 27:19 .... [ Continue Reading ]
They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place. Ver. 22. _Until the day that I visit them._] Till by my providence I appoint a great part of them to be brought back again, and to be... [ Continue Reading ]