XLII. (1) JEZANIAH THE SON OF HOSHAIAH. — Possibly identical with “Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite” (Jeremiah 40:8). In Azariah the son of Hoshaiah (Jeremiah 43:2) we may recognise his brother. The LXX., indeed, reads Azariah here, and it is possibly the true reading.... [ Continue Reading ]
PRAY FOR US UNTO THE LORD THY GOD. — The prophet had gone to Gedaliah at Mizpah (Jeremiah 40:6), and would seem to have been among the captives whom Ishmael was carrying off when they were rescued by Johanan at Gibeon (Jeremiah 41:13). The people now turn to him, acknowledging him as a true prophet,... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD BE A TRUE AND FAITHFUL WITNESS... — The emphatic adjuration implies that they are ready to accept the punishment which the righteous Judge will inflict in the event of their proving unfaithful to their promise. The name of the place where they had lately been staying may have reminded them... [ Continue Reading ]
AFTER TEN DAYS. — The interval is significant, as indicating that the prophet would not give an answer of his own on the spur of the moment, but waited in prayer and meditation until there came into his mind that which he could utter as an oracle of God. So Ezekiel waited for seven days among the ex... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN WILL I BUILD YOU, AND NOT PULL YOU DOWN... — We note the characteristic recurrence of the formulæ with which Jeremiah’s work as a prophet had begun (Jeremiah 1:10). The word for “repent” does not imply regret for the past, as men repent of their sin, but, as in Jeremiah 18:8; Jeremiah 26:3, a c... [ Continue Reading ]
AND CAUSE YOU TO RETURN TO YOUR OWN LAND. — The words admit of two interpretations — (1) that they should be carried away to Babylon, as others had been, and should afterwards return to their own country; (2) that they (the remnant who had been allowed by Nebuzaradan to remain to till the soil) shou... [ Continue Reading ]
NO; BUT WE WILL GO INTO THE LAND OF EGYPT. — The thoughts that were in the hearts of the applicants are stated with dramatic vividness. Egypt, then under Apries (the Pharaoh-hophra of Jeremiah 44:30), seemed to them so safe and peaceful. As of old, it was still the granary of the East, and its plent... [ Continue Reading ]
SO SHALL IT BE WITH ALL THE MEN... — The words possibly imply that others were taking the same course as those who had applied to Jeremiah. There was something like a “rush” from many nations — Moab, Edom, and others (Jeremiah 27:3) — of fugitives, looking to Egypt as their one hope of safety agains... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR YE DISSEMBLED IN YOUR HEARTS... — Looks and whispers betrayed, we may believe, the feelings of the prophet’s hearers. He saw by such outward signs, or he read, as by the intuition of inspiration, the secret counsels of their hearts (1 Corinthians 14:24), that they had made a false profession of... [ Continue Reading ]