Jeremiah 34:5

Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword: THOU SHALT NOT DIE BY THE SWORD, BUT ... IN PEACE - mitigation of Zedekiah's punishment. THE BURNINGS OF THY FATHERS - thy funeral shall be honoured with the same burning of aromatic spices as there was at the funerals of thy fathers (; ). The honours here mentioned were denied to Jehoiakim (). AH LORD! The Hebrews in their chronology (seder 'owlam) mention the wailing used over him, 'Alas! King Zedekiah is dead, drinking the dregs (i:e., paying the penalty for the sins) of former ages.'...

_In peace, _he says, _shalt thou die, _and then adds, _with the burnings of thy fathers shall they burn thee, and lament over thee, “Alas! Lord.” _Here is added another comfort, — that when Zedekiah should die, there would be some to bury him, not only in a humane, but also in an honorable manner. And burial in many places is reckoned as one of God’s favors, as in life God shews himself kind and bountiful to us when we are in health and in vigor. For as health and food sufficient for the necessities of life, are evidences of God’s love, so is burial after death; for burial distinguishes men from brutes. When a wild beast dies, his carcase is left to putrify. Why are men buried, except in hope of the resurrection, as though they were laid up in a safe place till the time of restoration? Burial, then, as it is a symbol of our immortality, makes a distinction between us and brute animals af...

1-7 Zedekiah is told that the city shall be taken, and that he shall die a captive, but he shall die a natural death. It is better to live and die penitent in a prison, than to live and die impenitent in a palace....

Verse Jeremiah 34:5. _THOU SHALT DIE IN PEACE_] Thou shalt not die a _violent_ death; and at thy death thou shalt have all those funereal solemnities which were usual at the demise of kings. See 2 Chronicles 16:14. _SO SHALL THEY BURN_ ODOURS _FOR THEE_] Scented wood and other odoriferous substances are placed on the funeral pile of the rich Hindoos, and burned with the body. _AND THEY WILL LAMENT THEE_, SAYING, _AH LORD!_] They will recite the funeral dirge that begins with those words. Jeremiah 22:18....

IN PEACE - See Jeremiah 12:12 note. BURN ODORS - “Make a burning.” The burning was probably that of piles of wood, and spices were added only as an special honor. It was not a Jewish custom to burn the dead. As these burnings depended upon the estimation in which the dead king was held, the verse implies a prosperous reign, such as Zedekiah might have had as an obedient vassal to BabyIon. I HAVE PRONOUNCED THE WORD - I have spoken the word....

EXPOSITION This chapter must be taken in connection with Jeremiah 35:1. The whole section consists of three passages, introduced with a superscription in the same form, but otherwise unrelated. It serves to finish off the earlier prophetic portion of the book, Jeremiah 36:1. opening a series of narratives. The first passage (Jeremiah 34:1) is virtually a postscript to Jeremiah 32:1; Jeremiah 33:1.; it apparently contains the prophecy referred to in...

[BUT] THOU SHALL DIE IN PEACE,.... Upon his bed, a natural death, and in good friendship with the king of Babylon; and, it may be, in peace with God; for before his death, some time in his captivity, he might be brought to true repentance for his sins: AND WITH THE BURNINGS OF THY FATHERS, THE FORMER KINGS WHICH WERE BEFORE THEE: SO SHALL THEY BURN [ODOURS] FOR THEE. The sense is, that he should have an honourable burial; and that sweet odours and spices should be burned for him, as were for the kings of Judah his predecessors, particularly Asa, 2 Chronicles 16:14. Josephus says b, that Nebuchadnezzar buried him in a royal manner; though this seems to refer to what the people of the Jews in Babylon would do in honour of him, by burning for him. The Rabbins say, as Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech observe, that they burned their beds and ministering vessels, or h

CHAPTER 34:1-7 Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah The besieging army was before the walls of Jerusalem when the prophet is commanded to go to the king and tell him that the city will soon be burned. He announced also Zedekiah's fate. He could not escape, but would be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon. He would see Nebuchadnezzar eye to eye, speak with him mouth to mouth, and then be taken to Babylon. Ezekiel said he should not see Babylon Ezekiel 12:13. Both statements are true. He saw the king as a prisoner at Riblah and there his eyes were put out 2 Kings 25:6, and then he was taken away to Babylon. Yet he was not to die by the sword, but in peace. And Jeremiah discharged faithfully his message....

THE FATE OF JERUSALEM AND OF ZEDEKIAH. In the course of the siege (588- 6), Jeremiah is sent to Zedekiah to tell him that the city will be taken and destroyed, that he will be brought before Nebuchadrezzar and sent to Babylon, but will obtain the customary royal honours after a peaceful death. At this time, it is said, the only other uncaptured cities were Lachish (Tell-el-Hesy, 35 m. SW. of Jerusalem, see p. 28) and Azekah (Joshua 15:35, probably 15 m. SW. of Jerusalem). For the actual fate of the king, so different from that here promised, see Jeremiah 52:11, and _cf._ Ezekiel 12:13. The present prophecy must be explained as conditional on submission to Babylon, a condition not fulfilled....

WITH. Some codices, with Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "like". BURN ODOURS. Compare 2 Chronicles 16:14, and observe the word is _saraph_, not _katar_ (App-43 for both)...