Jeremiah 8:3

And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts. DEATH SHALL BE CHOSEN RATHER THAN LIFE - the survivors shall be still worse off than the dead (; , "In those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them"). WHICH REMAIN IN ALL THE PLACES - `in all places of them that remain, where I,' etc. - i:e., in all places where I have driven them that remain (Maurer)....

He intimates in this verse, that all survivors would be doubly miserable, as it would be better for them to die at once than to pine away in unceasing evils: for they who give another meaning to the words, seem not to understand the design of the Prophet. The import then of the passage is, — that however dreadful God’s judgment would be, when slaughters everywhere prevailed, and dead bodies were drawn out which had been previously buried, yet all this would be a slight punishment in comparison with what God would inflict on the rest, such as remained alive: and he also intimates that their life would be more miserable than death itself, yea, than ten deaths. That those then who would escape death might not think that they gained any advantage, the Prophet says, _Chosen shall be death before life by all the residue _We hence learn how grievous was to be God’s vengeance; for nothing would...

1-3 Though no real hurt can be done to a dead body, yet disgrace to the remains of wicked persons may alarm those yet alive; and this reminds us that the Divine justice and punishments extend beyond the grave. Whatever befalls us here, let us humble ourselves before God, and seek his mercy....

THIS EVIL FAMILY - The whole Jewish race. WHICH REMAIN - The words are omitted by the Septuagint and Syriac versions....

EXPOSITION JEREMIAH 8:1 Punishment will even overtake the sinners who have long since been deceased. JEREMIAH 8:1 THEY SHALL BRING OUT THE BONES. Not only shall many of the dead bodies remain unburied, but the sepulchers of those who have till now "lain in honor, each one in his house" (Isaiah 14:18), shall be violated. THE INHABITANTS OF JERUSALEM meant are evidently those of the upper class, for the others were buried, with but little regard to the security of the corpses, in the valley of Kedron (2 Kings 23:6). According to some, the mot

AND DEATH SHALL BE CHOSEN RATHER THAN LIFE,.... By them that should be alive in those times, who would be carried captive into other lands, and be used very hardly, and suffer greatly, by the nations among whom they should dwell; see Revelation 9:6. The Septuagint version, and those that follow it, make this to be a reason of the former, reading the words thus, "because they have chosen death rather than life"; see Deuteronomy 30:19, but the other sense is best, which is confirmed by what follows: BY ALL THE RESIDUE OF THEM THAT REMAIN OF THIS EVIL FAMILY; the nation of the Jews, become very corrupt and degenerate; so the people of Israel are called the whole family of Israel, Amos 3:1, no

Jeremiah 8:1. _At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves: and they shall spread them before the sun and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth._ This is an awful picture. Here is a nation that would worship the sun, and the moon, and the stars, instead of worshipping God. Here they are, and their bones lie exposed to the sun and moon and stars which they had worshipped, dead people before lifeless gods. This is all that idolatry produces for the ruined people wh

CHAPTER 8 _ 1. The horrors of the invasion (Jeremiah 8:1) _ 2. Hardened hearts and retribution (Jeremiah 8:4) 3. Utter destruction threatened (Jeremiah 8:13) 4. The prophet's lamentation (Jeremiah 8:18) Jeremiah 8:1. These verses must not be detached from the preceding chapter. The division of Chapter s is often unfortunate in this book. The invaders from the north would even have digged out the bones of the dead. Kings, priests, prophets and people who had worshipped the sun, the moon and the stars shoul

JEREMIAH 7:29 TO JEREMIAH 8:3. MOURNING FOR JUDAH'S DEAD. Let Jerusalem mourn, and raise a dirge on the heights (where she sinned by her idolatry), because of the near approach of the punishment for the desecration of Yahweh's house, and for the offering of human sacrifice, which Yahweh never ordered. The land shall be full of corpses (Jeremiah 7:32 _mg.),_ and all joy shall cease. The valley of Hinnom shall be renamed Slaughter, and burials will have to be made even in the (unclean) Topheth. Even those who have died previously shall be dishonoured by exposure to the sun, moon, and stars, which they have worshipped, whilst the living shall wish themselves dead....

EVIL. Hebrew. _ra'a'._ App-44. SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS. See note on Jeremiah 6:6. Compare 1 Samuel 1:3....