_The word that came to Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim_ It is probable this revelation was made to the prophet in the early part of that year; for the defeat of the Egyptians at Carchemish, and the subsequent taking of Jerusalem, are both placed in the same year: but from Jer 25:9 it appear... [ Continue Reading ]
_Which Jeremiah spake to all the people of Judah_ That is, the word which he spake concerned them all, and he spake it to as many of them as he met with in any public assembly at Jerusalem or elsewhere. _From the thirteenth year of Josiah_ In which year, as we read, Jeremiah 1:2, Jeremiah began to p... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the Lord hath sent unto you all his servants_, &c. Nor am I the only prophet whom the Lord hath sent you, and whom you have neglected and despised. God hath sent you many more, and you have despised as many as he hath sent. This contempt of the Lord's messengers is made the proximate cause of G... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore, because ye have not heard_ That is, because ye have not hearkened to, nor obeyed _my words, Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north_, &c. All those kings whose territories lie northward of Judea, and particularly Nebuchadnezzar, who, in this work, shall be my servant;... [ Continue Reading ]
_Moreover, I will take from them the voice of mirth_, &c. See the note on Jeremiah 7:34; Jeremiah 16:9. _The sound of the millstones and the light of the candle_ There shall be no longer any marks of trade carried on, even respecting the common necessaries of life, such as the grinding of corn; and... [ Continue Reading ]
_These nations shall serve the king of Babylon_ That is, Nebuchadnezzar and his successors, collectively considered; _seventy years_ “This period of the nation's servitude must be computed from the defeat of the Egyptians at Carchemish, in the same year that this prophecy was given, when Nebuchadnez... [ Continue Reading ]
_When seventy years are accomplished, I will punish the king of Babylon_ “God often punishes the persons whom he makes instruments of his vengeance upon others for those very things which they did by his appointment, because their intention was merely to carry on their own ambitious and cruel purpos... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thus saith the Lord, Take the wine-cup of this fury_, &c. “Those circumstances which constitute the good and evil of human life are often represented in Scripture as the ingredients of a cup, which God, as master of a feast, mixes up, and distributes to the several guests as he thinks fit. Hence, w... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then took I the cup_ It is not to be imagined that Jeremiah went round in person to all the nations and kings here enumerated, with a cup of wine in his hand, but, doubtless, what is here related passed in a vision, in which it was represented to his view. This, either by writing, or by some specia... [ Continue Reading ]
_To wit, Jerusalem and the cities thereof_ The Jews are mentioned first, because Jeremiah, as well as the rest of the prophets, was in the first place sent to them, and they were to have the greatest share in the judgments denounced. _As it is this day_ This clause speaks of the desolation of Judah... [ Continue Reading ]
_And all the kings of Tyrus and Zidon_ The nobles, or chief men of each city, seem to be meant by kings here, for neither of these cities had more than one king. _And the kings of the isles, which are beyond the sea_ Cyprus, &c., which Nebuchadnezzar subjected. Or, as the Hebrew, האי בעבר הים, is re... [ Continue Reading ]
_All the kings of Zimri_ Those descended from Zimran, one of Abraham's sons, by Keturah; all of whom he sent to settle in the east country, Genesis 25:2; Genesis 25:6. It is probable that these descendants of Zimran were the same that Pliny mentions among the inhabitants of Arabia, by the name of Za... [ Continue Reading ]
_Drink ye and be drunken_ The _imperative_ is here put for the _future:_ see the like mode of speaking, Isaiah 2:9; Isaiah 6:9; Isaiah 23:16. The _cup_ being metaphorically put for calamity, to be _drunken_ with it, and _fall,_ &c., must signify extreme calamity, or destruction. _If they refuse to t... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord shall roar from on high_ Shall manifest his anger from heaven. God speaks by his judgments, and those, when they are very terrible, may be fitly compared to the roaring of a lion, which strikes a consternation into those that hear it. _He shall mightily roar upon his habitation_ He shall p... [ Continue Reading ]
_Howl, ye shepherds, and cry_ The imperative is here also put for the future: see Jeremiah 25:27. _Shepherds_ are here the same with kings, princes, or generals. In pursuance of the same metaphor, by the _principal of the flock_ are meant the great and rich men of each nation. Though such are wont t... [ Continue Reading ]
_A voice of the cry of the shepherds_ Those are great calamities indeed that strike such a terror upon great men, and put them into this mighty consternation. _For the Lord hath spoiled their pasture_ In which they fed their flock, and out of which they fed themselves; the spoiling of this makes the... [ Continue Reading ]