Jeremiah 11:22

Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine: BEHOLD, I WILL PUNISH THEM - the retribution of their intended murder shall be in kind. As they plotted that Jeremiah should die by their hands, so shall they die by the hand of the Lord. Just as in Messiah's case (Psalms 69:8)....

18-23 The prophet Jeremiah tells much concerning himself, the times he lived in being very troublesome. Those of his own city plotted how they might cause his death. They thought to end his days, but he outlived most of his enemies; they thought to blast his memory, but it lives to this day, and will be blessed while time lasts. God knows all the secret designs of his and his people's enemies, and can, when he pleases, make them known. God's justice is a terror to the wicked, but a comfort to the godly. When we are wronged, we have a God to commit our cause to, and it is our duty to commit it to him. We should also look well to our own spirits, that we are not overcome with evil, but that by patient continuance in praying for our enemies, and in kindness to them, we may overcome evil with good....

Verse Jeremiah 11:22. _BEHOLD, I WILL PUNISH THEM_] And the punishment is, _Their young men shall die by the sword_ of the Chaldeans; and _their sons and daughters shall die by the famine_ that shall come on the land through the desolations occasioned by the Chaldean army....

THE YOUNG MEN - i. e., those of the legal age for military service....

EXPOSITION The superscription in Jeremiah 11:1 evidently belongs to the three chapters 11-13, though Jeremiah 11:1 and Jeremiah 12:1 are more closely connected with each other than with Jeremiah 13:1. To which period the group of prophecies belongs—whether to the reign of Josiah, or of Jehoiakim, or of Jehoiachin, or to various periods, is a matter of dispute. It contains at any rate one passage (Jeremiah 12:7) which was almost certainly put in by a later editor. It is doubtless Jeremiah's work, but seems out of place her

THEREFORE THUS SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS, BEHOLD, I WILL PUNISH THEM,..... Or, visit "them" r; look into this matter, try this cause, bring it to an issue, and pass sentence on them; which is as follows: THE YOUNG MEN SHALL DIE BY THE SWORD; by the sword of the Chaldeans, in the field, going out in battle against them; or rather when their town was taken and plundered, since they were the sons of priests: THEIR SONS AND THEIR DAUGHTERS SHALL DIE BY FAMINE; that is, their little ones, male and female; so that the famine, it seems, was not only in Jerusalem at the time of its siege, but in other parts also: no mention is made of the parents themselves. r פקד עליהם "visitans super eos", Montanus, Schmidt; "visito", Pagninus, Vatablus, Cocceius....

CHAPTER 11 The Broken Covenant and the Plot Against Jeremiah _ 1. The broken covenant (Jeremiah 11:1) _ 2. The plot revealed and Jehovah's answer (Jeremiah 11:18) Jeremiah 11:1. Jehovah had made a covenant with His people. He tells the prophet about it and the responsibility which was connected with that covenant. They were to obey His voice. Then should they be His people and He their God. And of this covenant it was written, “Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant.” The prophet answered the Lord: “So be it LORD” (Amen). Then he is commanded to proclaim this covenant and tell the people that they had broken the covenant. They had followed the evil exampl

THE ANATHOTH PLOT. The abrupt introduction of this account of the plot of the men of Anathoth against the life of the prophet might be explained by the supposition that his advocacy of the Deuteronomic Reformation (Jeremiah 11:1 ff.) would seem treachery to his kinsmen. For, as stated in the Introduction, they may have traced their descent from Abiathar, a priestly line now perpetually set aside in favour of the Zadokite priests of Jerusalem. If, however, Jeremiah's advocacy of Deuteronomy be not accepted as historic, then the Anathoth persecution will be a special instance of the general unpopularity of Jeremiah. Whether it was provoked by some particular utterance like that of Jesus in the synagogue of Nazareth we do not know. Jeremiah says that he was as unconscious of this plot as is a tame (gentle) lamb (_cf._...

PUNISH. visit upon....

See summary at commencement of section, and for the date of Jeremiah 11:18 to Jeremiah 12:6 see introd. notes on the section. The abruptness with which the mention of the plots against Jeremiah is here introduced suggests either that some introductory words have fallen out, or, better (with Co.), that we should transpose these _vv_. with Jeremiah 12:1-6. In this way "it" and "their" of Jeremiah 11:18 will be explained by Jeremiah 12:6, and the Lord's warning in the latter _v_. will fit in with...