Commentary on Jeremiah Part 6 (No. F024vi)

Chapter 21

Jerusalem Will Fall to Nebuchadrezzar (As God's agent Nebuchadnezzar)

This is the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedeki′ah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchi′ah and Zephani′ah the priest, the son of Ma-asei′ah, saying, ²“Inquire of the Lord for us, for Nebuchadrez′zar king of Babylon is making war against us; perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all his wonderful deeds, and will make him withdraw from us.” ³Then Jeremiah said to them: ⁴“Thus you shall say to Zedeki′ah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war which are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chalde′ans who are besieging you outside the walls; and I will bring them together into the midst of this city. ⁵I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. ⁶And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they shall die of a great pestilence. ⁷Afterward, says the Lord, I will give Zedeki′ah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrez′zar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not pity them, or spare them, or have compassion.’ ⁸“And to this people you shall say: ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. ⁹He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chalde′ans who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war. ¹⁰For I have set my face against this city for evil and not for good, says the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’ ¹¹“And to the house of the king of Judah say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, ¹²O house of David! Thus says the Lord: “‘Execute justice in the morning, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed, lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of your evil doings.’” ¹³“Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, O rock of the plain, says the Lord; you who say, ‘Who shall come down against us or who shall enter our habitations?’ ¹⁴I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, says the Lord; I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all that is round about her.”

Intent of Chapter 21

21:1-24:10 Oracles from the Time of Zedekiah

21:1-10 Oracles Against Zedekiah and Jerusalem

21:1-7 This is not the same event as in 37:1-10 as the delegation is different. (v. 1 comp. 37:3) as the Chaldeans here have not yet withdrawn from the city (comp. 37:5). The two accounts have much in common (comp. 4,5 and 37:10) and Pashhur the son of Malchiah, appears also in Ch. 38. Zephaniah the priest was later executed by Nebuchadrezzar at Riblah (52:24-27).

v. 5a Deut. 4:34; 5:15

v. 5b Deut. 29:28

21:8-10 God has determined to destroy Jerusalem and its inhabitants who resist, and their only possibility for life is to surrender (see also 38:17ff.).

21:11-23:8; Oracles Concerning the Royal House

21:11-22:9 The General Oracle

21:11-14 The role of the king is to administer justice (1Kgs. 3:9; Ps. 72:1-4). God punishes him if he sins and does evil to others in that role. God is warning the House of David because they have failed to do justice early and deliver from the hands of the oppressor those who have been robbed (vv. 11-12).

vv. 13-14 This text is a direct condemnation of the devotees of the Queen of Heaven and her priestesses of the Baal system that has the Asherah in the forests and the menhirs of the rocks who say that God will not punish them. This influence has entered the rulership and administration. God says that He will punish them according to the fruit of their doings. God will kindle a fire in her forests and devour all that is round about her and her effigies. Some scholars incorrectly confine this reference to forests to 1Kgs. 7:2 and the House of the Forest at Jerusalem built by Solomon. It is far more widespread as we see below.

English Translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible.

Brenton, Sir Lancelot C. L…. (1851)

Chapter 21 ^21:1 THE WORD THAT CAME FROM THE LORD TO JEREMIAS, WHEN KING SEDEKIAS SENT TO HIM PASCHOR THE SON OF MELCHIAS, AND SOPHONIAS SON OF BASAEAS, THE PRIEST, SAYING, ² Enquire of the Lord for us; for the king of Babylon has risen up against us; if the Lord will do according to all his wonderful works, and the king shall depart from us. ³ And Jeremias said to them, Thus shall ye say to Sedekias king of Juda, ⁴ Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war wherewith ye fight against the Chaldeans that have besieged you from outside the wall, and I will gather them into the midst of this city. ⁵ And I will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, with wrath and great anger. ⁶ And I will smite all the dwellers in this city, both men and cattle, with grievous pestilence: and they shall die. ⁷ And after this, thus saith the Lord; I will give Sedekias king of Juda, and his servants, and the people that is left in this city from the pestilence, and from the famine, and from the sword, into the hands of their enemies, that seek their lives: and they shall cut them in pieces with the edge of the sword: I will not spare them, and I will not have compassion upon them. ⁸ And thou shalt say to this people, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I have set before you the way of life, and the way of death. ⁹ He that remains in this city shall die by the sword, and by famine: but he that goes forth to advance to the Chaldeans that have besieged you, shall live, and his life shall be to him for a spoil, and he shall live. ¹⁰ For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good: it shall be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall consume it with fire. ¹¹ O house of the king of Juda, hear ye the word of the Lord. ¹² O house of David, thus saith the Lord; Judge judgment in the morning, and act rightly, and rescue the spoiled one from the hand of him that wrongs him, lest mine anger be kindled like fire, and it burn, and there be none to quench it. ¹³ Behold, I am against thee that dwellest in the valley of Sor; in the plain country, even against them that say, Who shall alarm us? or who shall enter into our habitation? ¹⁴ And I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.

Chapter 22

Exhortation to Repent

Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, ²and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O King of Judah, who sit on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. ³Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. ⁴For if you will indeed obey this word, then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their servants, and their people. ⁵But if you will not heed these words, I swear by myself, says the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation. ⁶For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah: “‘You are as Gilead to me, as the summit of Lebanon, yet surely I will make you a desert, an uninhabited city. ⁷I will prepare destroyers against you, each with his weapons; and they shall cut down your choicest cedars, and cast them into the fire. ⁸“‘And many nations will pass by this city, and every man will say to his neighbor, “Why has the Lord dealt thus with this great city?” ⁹And they will answer, “Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.”’” ¹⁰Weep not for him who is dead, nor bemoan him; but weep bitterly for him who goes away, for he shall return no more to see his native land. Message to the Sons of Josiah ¹¹For thus says the Lord concerning Shallum the son of Josi′ah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josi′ah his father, and who went away from this place: “He shall return here no more, ¹²but in the place where they have carried him captive, there shall he die, and he shall never see this land again.” ¹³“Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice; who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing, and does not give him his wages; ¹⁴who says, ‘I will build myself a great house with spacious upper rooms,’ and cuts out windows for it, paneling it with cedar, and painting it with vermilion. ¹⁵Do you think you are a king because you compete in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. ¹⁶He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me? says the Lord. ¹⁷But you have eyes and heart only for your dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, and for practicing oppression and violence.” ¹⁸Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoi′akim the son of Josi′ah, king of Judah: “They shall not lament for him, saying, ‘Ah my brother!’ or ‘Ah sister!’ They shall not lament for him, saying, ‘Ah lord!’ or ‘Ah his majesty!’ ¹⁹With the burial of an ass he shall be buried, dragged and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.” ²⁰“Go up to Lebanon, and cry out, and lift up your voice in Bashan; cry from Ab′arim, for all your lovers are destroyed. ²¹I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, ‘I will not listen.’ This has been your way from your youth, that you have not obeyed my voice. ²²The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds, and your lovers shall go into captivity; then you will be ashamed and confounded because of all your wickedness. ²³O inhabitant of Lebanon, nested among the cedars, how you will groanwhen pangs come upon you, pain as of a woman in travail!” Judgment on Coniah (Jehoiachin) ²⁴“As I live, says the Lord, though Coni′ah the son of Jehoi′akim, king of Judah, were the signet ring on my right hand, yet I would tear you off ²⁵and give you into the hand of those who seek your life, into the hand of those of whom you are afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadrez′zar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chalde′ans. ²⁶I will hurl you and the mother who bore you into another country, where you were not born, and there you shall die. ²⁷But to the land to which they will long to return, there they shall not return.” ²⁸Is this man Coni′ah a despised, broken pot, a vessel no one cares for? Why are he and his children hurled and cast into a land which they do not know? ²⁹O land, land, land, hear the word of the Lord! ³⁰Thus says the Lord: “Write this man down as childless, a man who shall not succeed in his days; for none of his offspring shall succeed in sitting on the throne of David, and ruling again in Judah.”

Intent of Chapter 22

22:1-5 God then sends Jeremiah to the King and says (v. 3) he is to do that which he said in 21:12. He is to do justice and righteousness and deliver, from the hand of the oppressor, him who has been robbed. The text also says that they are to do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless, the widow, nor shed innocent blood. This ties it back to the rituals of sacrifice of 21:13-14. If the people repent, then their dynasty or house will be preserved. These pagan rituals continue on to the Last Days and will be stamped out by Messiah (see # 259; 259B). Those involved will be destroyed.

22:6-7 It is this text that ties the destruction in Jerusalem to the House of the Forest of Lebanon which was made from the cedars provided to Solomon (1Kgs. 7:2). This construction was also to be destroyed (with axes and saws) and then by fire, by the Chaldeans under Nebuchadrezzar but acting as God's Agent.

22:8-9 This text ties the destruction to Jerusalem in its entirety, and not just the palace, as being due to the worship of pagan gods of the Baal system which is present even to this day in Jerusalem not only in Judah but among the Sun and Mystery Cults of Baal and the Triune God among the pseudo Christian idol worship all over Jerusalem. (#235). They will all be removed and destroyed by Messiah and the Host (see also 5:19; Deut. 29:23-28; 1Kgs. 9:8-9).

22:10-30 Oracles concerning Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin, kings of Judah

10-12 God says here that the dead (Josiah) was better than Shallum (personal name of Jehoahaz) (1Chron. 3:15). He was banished to Egypt ca 609 BCE by Neco (2Kgs. 23:33-34; 2Chron. 36:1-4; Ezek. 19:4).

22:13-19 This text shows Jeremiah censure Jehoiakim for expanding his house after Egyptian styles (v. 14) and by injustice in gains. A king was made by his just administration and not the size and splendour of a house, built with ill-gotten gains (21:11-12; Mic. 3:9-10).

Jeremiah tells him to emulate his father Josiah, whose death was mourned. His own death will be accompanied by indignities because of his misdeeds (36:30; 2Kgs. 24:1-5).

22:20-30 In this text God says that the people will lament over the desertion of Jerusalem by her gods (lovers 3:1-2) and the exile of her leaders (shepherds 23:1) and the terror of her king (inhabitant of Lebanon (the house of the Forest of 1Kgs. 7:2)). The pagan gods were supported by the king and they were widespread over the valleys and the forests and stones (21:13-14).

22:24-30 The fate of Jehoiakin (Coniah) son of Jehoiakim and his mother (13:8) is to be removed from authority (hence signet ring (v. 24) see Hag. 2:23) and a broken pot. We then see the final and threefold oracle (vv. 29-30; Isa. 6:3; Ezek. 21:27) concerning Coniah and that none of his descendants shall rule Judah. This was overcome in Messiah in that he was not a descendant of Coniah through Joseph but of David through Nathan and Levi through Shimei (Zech. 12:12-13; Lk 3:23-38 (F042)).

Re. 22:14-30 “Another major point of Matthew’s genealogy (Mat. 1:1-17) is that he is selective in naming only the direct lineage. Solomon is also mentioned because the kingship rested in him. He built the Temple. However, he also lapsed into idolatry and his line is then listed to Jeconiah, who was one of the last kings before the Babylonian captivity. The lineage of Joseph is then traced from Jeconiah to Joseph. Thus Joseph is a descendant of David, but through Jeconiah. This has great significance.” (See God's Prophecy in 22:29-30 above.)

Genealogy of Messiah (No. 119)

English Translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible.

Brenton, Sir Lancelot C. L.. (1851)

Chapter 22 ^22:1 Thus saith the Lord; Go thou, and go down to the house of the king of Juda, and thou shalt speak there this word, ² and thou shalt say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Juda, that sittest on the throne of David, thou, and thy house, and thy people, and they that go in at these gates: ³ thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and justice, and rescue the spoiled out of the hand of him that wrongs him: and oppress not the stranger, and orphan, and widow, and sin not, and shed no innocent blood in this place. ⁴ For if ye will indeed perform this word, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, and riding on chariots and horses, they, and their servants, and their people. ⁵ But if ye will not perform these words, by myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, that this house shall be brought to desolation. ⁶ For thus saith the Lord concerning the house of the king of Juda; Thou art Galaad to me, and the head of Libanus: yet surely I will make thee a desert, even cities that shall not be inhabited: ⁷ and I will bring upon thee a destroying man, and his axe: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. ⁸ And nations shall pass through this city, and each shall say to his neighbour, Why has the Lord done thus to this great city? ⁹ And they shall say Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped strange gods, and served them. ¹⁰ Weep not for the dead, nor lament for him: weep bitterly for him that goes away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native land. ¹¹ For thus saith the Lord concerning Sellem the son of Josias, who reigns in the place of Josias his father, who has gone forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more: ¹² but in that place whither I have carried him captive, there shall he die, and shall see this land no more. ¹³ He that builds his house not with justice, and his upper chambers not with judgment, who works by means of his neighbour for nothing, and will by no means give him his reward. ¹⁴ Thou hast built for thyself a well-proportioned house, airy chambers, fitted with windows, and wainscoted with cedar, and painted with vermilion. ¹⁵ Shalt thou reign, because thou art provoked with thy father Achaz? they shall not eat, and they shall not drink: it is better for thee to execute judgment and justice. ¹⁶ They understood not, they judged not the cause of the afflicted, nor the cause of the poor: is not this thy not knowing me? saith the Lord. ¹⁷ Behold, thine eyes are not good, nor thine heart, but they go after thy covetousness, and after the innocent blood to shed it, and after acts of injustice and slaughter, to commit them. ¹⁸ Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Joakim son of Josias, king of Juda, even concerning this man; they shall not bewail him, saying, Ah brother! neither shall they at all weep for him, saying, Alas Lord. ¹⁹ He shall be buried with the burial of an ass; he shall be dragged roughly along and cast outside the gate of Jerusalem. ²⁰ Go up to Libanus, and cry; and utter thy voice to Basan, and cry aloud to the extremity of the sea: for all thy lovers are destroyed. ²¹ I spoke to thee on occasion of thy trespass, but thou saidst, I will not hearken. This has been thy way from thy youth, thou hast not hearkened to my voice. ²² The wind shall tend all thy shepherds, and thy lovers shall go into captivity; for then shalt thou be ashamed and disgraced because of all thy lovers. ²³ O thou that dwellest in Libanus, making thy nest in the cedars, thou shalt groan heavily, when pangs as of a travailing woman are come upon thee. ²⁴ As I live, saith the Lord, though Jechonias son of Joakim king of Juda were indeed the seal upon my right hand, thence would I pluck thee; ²⁵ and I will deliver thee into the hands of them that seek thy life, before whom thou art afraid, into the hands of the Chaldeans. ²⁶ And I will cast forth thee, and thy mother that bore thee, into a land where thou wast not born; and there ye shall die. ²⁷ But they shall by no means return to the land which they long for in their souls. ²⁸ Jechonias is dishonoured as a good-for-nothing vessel; for he is thrown out and cast forth into a land which he knew not. ²⁹ Land, land, hear the word of the Lord. ³⁰ Write ye this man an outcast: for there shall none of his seed at all grow up to sit on the throne of David, or as a prince yet in Juda.

Chapter 23

Restoration after Exile

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says the Lord. ²Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. ³Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. ⁴I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, says the Lord. The Righteous Branch of David ⁵“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ ⁷“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when men shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ ⁸but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he^[^a^] had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.” False Prophets of Hope Denounced ⁹Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me, all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, like a man overcome by wine, because of the Lord and because of his holy words.¹⁰For the land is full of adulterers; because of the curse the land mourns, and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up. Their course is evil, and their might is not right. ¹¹“Both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in my house I have found their wickedness, says the Lord. ¹²Therefore their way shall be to them like slippery paths in the darkness, into which they shall be driven and fall; for I will bring evil upon them in the year of their punishment, says the Lord. ¹³In the prophets of Samar′ia I saw an unsavory thing: they prophesied by Ba′al and led my people Israel astray.¹⁴But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his wickedness; all of them have become like Sodom to me, and its inhabitants like Gomor′rah.” ¹⁵Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets: “Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and give them poisoned water to drink; for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has gone forth into all the land.” ¹⁶Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes; they speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. ¹⁷They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to every one who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’” ¹⁸For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord to perceive and to hear his word, or who has given heed to his word and listened? ¹⁹Behold, the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. ²⁰The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his mind. In the latter days you will understand it clearly. ²¹“I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. ²²But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.²³“Am I a God at hand, says the Lord, and not a God afar off? ²⁴Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord. ²⁵I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ ²⁶How long shall there be lies^[^b^] in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, ²⁷who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams which they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Ba′al? ²⁸Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the Lord. ²⁹Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces? ³⁰Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who steal my words from one another. ³¹Behold, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who use their tongues and say, ‘Says the Lord.’ ³²Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, says the Lord, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them; so they do not profit this people at all, says the Lord. ³³“When one of this people, or a prophet, or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the Lord?’ you shall say to them, ‘You are the burden, and I will cast you off, says the Lord.’ ³⁴And as for the prophet, priest, or one of the people who says, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ I will punish that man and his household. ³⁵Thus shall you say, every one to his neighbor and every one to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ ³⁶But ‘the burden of the Lord’ you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man’s own word, and you pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. ³⁷Thus you shall say to the prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ ³⁸But if you say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have said these words, “The burden of the Lord,” when I sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’” ³⁹therefore, behold, I will surely lift you up and cast you away from my presence, you and the city which I gave to you and your fathers. ⁴⁰And I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’”

Intent of Chapter 23

23:1-8 A Messianic Oracle

God rebukes the shepherds of Israel who destroy and scatter the sheep of His pasture (see also 22:22; Ezek. Ch. 34 (F026ix)). God says He will deal with them for their evil doings (vv. 1-2). He says that He will gather the remnant from all the lands in which they were scattered and driven and He will bring them back to their land and they will be fruitful and multiply (v. 3). He will set shepherds over them and they will fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor will any be missing (v. 4).

23:5-8

“Messiah had to be the seed of the root of Jesse, the father of David. Messiah is of David’s line from Jeremiah 23:5-8.

vv. 5-8 This text confounds modern Christianity because it shows absolutely that Messiah [the Branch (see also Isa. 11:1; Zech. 3:8)], shall rule on earth and that there will be a second exodus, which establishes Israel under the Law and the Testimony within the Calendar [see also 30:9; Isa. 65:17-66:24; Zech. 14:16-21 (F038)]. Many accept that the modern founding of the State of Israel by Jews [who include converts to Judaism from the Mixed Multitude Egyptians (Hg. E3b and Hittites (Hg. R1B); Canaanites (Hg. E3b) Edomites and Arabs (Hg J) Khazzars (R1a) and from the Phoenicians E1a and E3b] out of the lands of the north in this fulfilment. We wait for its fulfilment in the upcoming dispersal of Israel, the so-called “lost ten tribes” who are among the nations presently located in North-West Europe [and the US and BC]. They, the holders of the birthright promises, will re-join Judah (Ezek. 37:15-22). They had been separated (1Kgs. 11:11-13) because of the breach in the Covenant (vv. 30-34). This re-union is in fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham (Ex. 32:13).”

Messiah will rule responsibly before God (Isa. 9:2-7); this will be the Millennial Kingdom as foretold in 16:14-15 and see also Revelation Chs. 20-22 (F066v).

23:9-40 Oracles concerning the prophets

23:9-12 Jeremiah is distressed by the word of God and he knows the immorality of the priests and prophets, who are the supposed guardians of Israel's faith (v. 12). By their own sins the prophets will be destroyed.

23:13-15 Israel in Samaria saw the prophets prophesy by Baal and lead them astray under the Mystery and Sun Cults, which God held to be an unsavoury thing; but in Jerusalem they commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hand of evil doers so that no one turns from his wickedness and they have become like Sodom and its inhabitants like Gomorrah. God will feed them with wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink for the prophets in Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout all the land.

23:16-22 Jeremiah then turns from their deeds and conveys the word of God to them.

He rebukes them for their assurances of well- being to those who refuse to obey God's Laws (L1). Obviously they cannot be God's emissaries or His spokesmen. In 1Kgs. 22:19-23 we see in the Celestial Council of God a lying spirit emerge and agree to deceive the king. This being later emerged as Satan (comp. Zech, 3:1-2; Job. Chs. 1-2); (see also Isa. 6:1-7; 40:1-2).

23:23-32 God's Omnipresence

God's Omnipresence makes Him aware of all the false revelations and also the false claims of divine revelations through dreams (27:9; 29:8; Deut. 13:3; comp. 2:8b).

vv. 26-27

“God allowed Israel to be given up to be profaned because they had profaned His name (Ezek. 7:21-22; 20:21-26; 24:21). The lack of knowledge caused by profanation is compounded by the ignorance of the people. Israel is destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hos. 4:6) and they are no longer God’s people in that state of sin (Hos. 1:9).

The honour of bearing the name of God was also removed and the nation became lost. Judah was also not allowed to bear the name. Israel profaned the name and hence forgot it (Isa. 17:10; 51:13; Jer. 2:32; 3:21; 13:25; 18:15; 23:27; Ezek. 23:35; Mal. 1:6-8).”

The Covenant of God (No. 152)

v. 28 if one has a dream, tell it faithfully.

v. 29 The Living Word of God is as devastating as fire (5:14) and is as shattering as a hammer. God is against those who steal His words from the mouth of one another (v. 30). See the threefold emphasis in 30, 31, 32, Jeremiah proclaims God's Condemnation of their false teaching and proclamation.

v. 33 Some consider this bitter irony using a play on words.

23:34-40 This text is considered by some scholars as a later commentary on v. 33. It is considered as “Non-Jeremianic” (see OARSV n.). This is an important restriction and should be read and understood in its own right and discarded at one's peril.

English Translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible.

Brenton, Sir Lancelot C. L.. (1851)

Chapter 23 ^23:1 Woe to the shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep of their pasture! ² Therefore thus saith the Lord against them that tend my people; Ye have scattered my sheep, and driven them out, and ye have not visited them: behold, I will take vengeance upon you according to your evil practices. ³ And I will gather in the remnant of my people in every land, whither I have driven them out, and will set them in their pasture; and they shall increase and be multiplied. ⁴ And I will raise up shepherds to them, who shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be alarmed, saith the Lord. ⁵ Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will raise up to David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and understand, and shall execute judgment and righteousness on the earth. ⁶ In his days both Juda shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell securely: and this is his name, which the Lord shall call him, Josedec among the prophets. ⁷ Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when they shall no more say, The Lord lives, who brought up the house of Israel out of the land of Egypt; ⁸ but The Lord lives, who has gathered the whole seed of Israel from the north land, and from all the countries whither he had driven them out, and has restored them into their own land. ⁹ My heart is broken within me; all my bones are shaken: I am become as a broken-down man, and as a man overcome with wine, because of the Lord, and because of the excellence of his glory. ¹⁰ For because of these things the land mourns; the pastures of the wilderness are dried up; and their course is become evil, and so also their strength. ¹¹ For priest and prophet are defiled; and I have seen their iniquities in my house. ¹² Therefore let their way be to them slippery and dark: and they shall be tripped up and fall in it: for I will bring evils upon them, in the year of their visitation. ¹³ And in the prophets of Samaria I have seen lawless deeds; they prophesied by Baal, and led my people Israel astray. ¹⁴ Also in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen horrible things: as they committed adultery, and walked in lies, and strengthened the hands of many, that they should not return each from his evil way: they are all become to me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrha. ¹⁵ Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will feed them with pain, and give them bitter water to drink: for from the prophets of Jerusalem has defilement gone forth into all the land. ¹⁶ Thus saith the Lord Almighty, Hearken not to the words of the prophets: for they frame a vain vision for themselves; they speak from their own heart, and not from the mouth of the Lord. ¹⁷ They say to them that reject the word of the Lord, There shall be peace to you; and to all that walk after their own lusts, and to everyone that walks in the error of his heart, they have said, No evil shall come upon thee. ¹⁸ For who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, and seen his word? who has hearkened, and heard? ¹⁹ Behold, there is an earthquake from the Lord, and anger proceeds to a convulsion, it shall come violently upon the ungodly. ²⁰ And the Lord’s wrath shall return no more, until he have accomplished it, and until he have established it, according to the purpose of his heart: at the end of the days they shall understand it. ²¹ I sent not the prophets, yet they ran: neither spoke I to them, yet they prophesied. ²² But if they had stood in my counsel, and if they had hearkened to my words, then would they have turned my people from their evil practices. ²³ I am a God nigh at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off. ²⁴ Shall any one hide himself in secret places, and I not see him? Do I not fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord. ²⁵ I have heard what the prophets say, what they prophesy in my name, saying falsely, I have seen a night vision. ²⁶ How long shall these things be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies, when they prophesy the purposes of their own heart? ²⁷ who devise that men may forget my law by their dreams, which they have told every one to his neighbour, as their fathers forgot my name in the worship of Baal. ²⁸ The prophet who has a dream, let him tell his dream; and he in whom is my word spoken to him, let him tell my word truly: what is the chaff to the corn? so are my words, saith the Lord. ²⁹ Behold, are not my words as fire? saith the Lord; and as an axe cutting the rock? ³⁰ Behold, I am therefore against the prophets, saith the Lord God, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. ³¹ Behold, I am against the prophets that put forth prophecies of mere words, and slumber their sleep. ³² Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets that prophesy false dreams, and have not told them truly, and have caused my people to err by their lies, and by their errors; yet I sent them not, and commanded them not; therefore, they shall not profit this people at all. ³³ And if this people, or the priest, or the prophet, should ask, What is the burden of the Lord? then thou shalt say to them, Ye are the burden, and I will dash you down, saith the Lord. ³⁴ As for the prophet, and the priests, and the people, who shall say, The burden of the Lord, I will even take vengeance on that man, and on his house. ³⁵ Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What has the Lord answered? and, what has the Lord said? ³⁶ And do ye name no more the burden of the Lord; for his own word shall be a man’s burden. ³⁷ But wherefore, say ye, has the Lord our God spoken? ³⁸ Therefore thus saith the Lord our God; Because ye have spoken this word, The burden of the Lord, and I sent to you, saying, ye shall not say, The burden of the Lord; ³⁹ therefore, behold, I will seize, and dash down you and the city which I gave to you and your fathers. ⁴⁰ And I will bring upon you an everlasting reproach, and everlasting disgrace, which shall not be forgotten. ⁷ Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when they shall no more say, The Lord lives, who brought up the house of Israel out of the land of Egypt; ⁸ but The Lord lives, who has gathered the whole seed of Israel from the north land, and from all the countries whither he had driven them out, and has restored them into their own land.

Chapter 24

The Good and the Bad Figs

After Nebuchadrez′zar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem Jeconi′ah the son of Jehoi′akim, king of Judah, together with the princes of Judah, the craftsmen, and the smiths, and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me this vision: Behold, two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. ²One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten. ³And the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.” ⁴Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁵“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chalde′ans. ⁶I will set my eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not uproot them. ⁷I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord; and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart. ⁸“But thus says the Lord: Like the bad figs which are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat Zedeki′ah the king of Judah, his princes, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. ⁹I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a reproach, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I shall drive them. ¹⁰And I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their fathers.”

Intent of Chapter 24

24:1-10 Vision of the Basket of Figs

24:1-7 The timing is after Jerusalem had been taken into captivity at God's Direction by Nebuchadrezzar (here as God's agent Nebuchadnezzar). This group was Jeconiah and the princes, craftsmen and smiths and the people associated with that deportation (see chapter 1 note). They had been sent into Exile at God's direction. In 597 BCE we saw the fall of Jerusalem and the bad figs appropriated the property of the good figs who were considered the object of God's wrath (29:15-19; Ezek. 11:14-15). God directs that the exiles are to be returned (29:10-14) and they are to become a faithful nation. They were to be returned and given a new heart to be a faithful people

v. 7 “Thus Israel is cleansed from sin and given a new heart and a new mind that will obey His Laws (L1) and be faithful to Him and His covenant (Deut. 30:6; Ps. 147:2-3; Jer. 24:7; 32:40; 50:20; Ezek. 36:24-28; Hos. 14:4).

Part of this cleansing is the removal of the systems of the demons as it was established among the nations (Ezek. 34:29; 36:13-15, 21-23).” The Covenant of God (No. 152)

24 :8-10 The bad figs

The bad figs represented Zedekiah and those in Egypt who refused to accept God's chastisement and had expropriated the property of the captives. God had vowed to restore the exiles, but those with Zedekiah in Egypt were to be punished and removed from the Promised Land. Judah sinned again and refused to accept Messiah and the Church of God from 27-30 CE and the Establishment of the Seventy in the Church (Lk. 10:1,17) (see #122D). They were sent into captivity in accordance with the prophecy of Daniel F027ix re the Seventy weeks of years and the Sign of Jonah and the History of the Reconstruction of the Temple (No. 013). Judah was added to by “converts” such as Edomites (166-130 BCE); Hg. E1a Phoenicians under Herod's Rule, and R1a Khazzars ca 630 CE and Hg. J Arabs post 70 CE.

English Translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible.

Brenton, Sir Lancelot C. L.. (1851)

Chapter 24 ^24:1 The Lord shewed me two baskets of figs, lying in front of the temple of the Lord, after Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had carried captive Jechonias son of Joakim king of Juda, and the princes, and the artificers, and the prisoners, and the rich men out of Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. ² The one basket was full of very good figs, as the early figs; and the other basket was full of very bad figs, which could not be eaten, for their badness. ³ And the Lord said to me, What seest thou, Jeremias? and I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, for their badness. ⁴ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁵ Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; As these good figs, so will I acknowledge the Jews that have been carried away captive, whom I have sent forth out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for good. ⁶ And I will fix mine eyes upon them for good, and I will restore them into this land for good: and I will build them up, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. ⁷ And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be to me a people, and I will be to them a God: for they shall turn to me with all their heart. ⁸ And as the bad figs, which cannot be eaten, for their badness; thus saith the Lord, So will I deliver Sedekias king of Juda, and his nobles, and the remnant of Jerusalem, them that are left in this land, and the dwellers in Egypt. ⁹ And I will cause them to be dispersed into all the kingdoms of the earth, and they shall be for a reproach, and a proverb, and an object of hatred, and a curse, in every place whither I have driven them out. ¹⁰ And I will send against them famine, and pestilence, and the sword, until they are consumed from off the land which I gave them.

*****

Bullinger’s Notes on Chs. 21-24 (for KJV)

Chapter 21

Note the reigns: Jeremiah 21:0 : Zedekiah (the last king of Judah). Jeremiah 21:0 : his three predecessors, Shallum (or Jehoahaz), Jehoiakim, and Coniah (or Jechoniah, or Jehoiachin). Jeremiah 25:0 , Jeremiah 26:0 , Jeremiah 27:0 , Jehoiakim. Jeremiah 28:0 , Zedekiah again, and the last days of Jerusalem. This order is logical, which is more important than chronological, for the severity of Jeremiah 21:0 is shown to be justified by the chapters which follow. Compare Jeremiah 25:3-5 , and see App-83 .

Verse 1

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .

sent unto him. Contrast the mission of Hezekiah to Isaiah (2 Kings 19:2 .Isaiah 37:2; Isaiah 37:2 ).

Pashur. Not the Pashur of Jeremiah 20:1 . This prophecy is nineteen years later; the deportation in the reign of Jehoiachin had taken place, and a worse set of men were the rulers. This Pashur was a priest, if Melchiah is the same Melchiah as in 1 Chronicles 9:12 .

Zephaniah, &c. He is mentioned again (Jeremiah 29:25 ; Jeremiah 37:3 ; Jeremiah 52:24 ). The Hebrew accents read "Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah."

Verse 2

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah . App-4 .

Nebuchadrezzar. First occurrence in Jeremiah.

go up from us: i.e. raise the siege.

Verse 3

Zedekiah. The last king of Judah.

Verse 4

the LORD God of Israel = Jehovah the Elohim of Israel. See note on Jeremiah 11:3 , and App-4 .

Behold. Figure of speech. Asterismos . App-6 .

Verse 5

outstretched hand. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 6:6 )

strong = strong (for holding fast).

Verse 6

man. Hebrew. 'adam. App-14 .

Verse 7

saith the LORD = [is] Jehovah's oracle.

from. Some codices, with Aramaean, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "and from", thus forming the Figure of speech Polysyndeton. App-6 .

life = soul. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13 .

he shall not spare. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 28:50 ).

Verse 8

I set before you, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 30:19 ).

life . . . death. Note the' Introversion in Jeremiah 21:9 , "die . . . live".

Verse 9

he that goeth out, &c. Many acted on this promise (Jeremiah 39:9 ; Jeremiah 52:15 ).

falleth = shall fall.

he shall live. Some codices, with two early printed editions, read "then (or so) shall he live".

be unto him for a prey: i.e. he shall save his life, but it will be dearly bought. Compare Jeremiah 38:2 ; Jeremiah 39:18 ; Jer 45:6 . The phrase occurs only in Jeremiah.

Verse 10

I have set, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 17:10 ). Compare Ezekiel 15:7 .

evil = calamity. Hebrew. ra'a'. App-44 .

Verse 12

house of David. Occurs only here in Jeremiah.

in the morning = betimes.

evil. Hebrew. ra'a'. App-44 .

your. Some codices, with seven early printed editions, read "their".

Verse 13

inhabitant = inhabitress: i.e. Zion.

rock of the plain. Figure of speech Periphrasis , for Zion.

Verse 14

kindle a fire, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 32:22 ). App-92 .

the forest thereof = her forest. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), App-6 , for the timber from Lebanon used in the buildings.

it shall devour. Fulfilled in Jeremiah 52:13 .

Chapter 22

Verse 1

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .

Go down. Compare Jeremiah 36:12 .

king of Judah: i.e. Jehoiakim.

Verse 3

Execute ye, &c. See note on Jeremiah 7:5 .

judgment and righteousness. Figure of speech Hendiadys = judgment, yea, righteous judgment.

spoiled = robbed.

no. nor. neither. Note the Figure of speech Paradiastole .

stranger = sojourner.

fatherless, nor the widow. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Species), for all afflicted ones.

innocent blood. See note on Jeremiah 7:6 .

Verse 4

upon the throne of David = for David upon his throne.

servants. Hebrew text reads "servant", but some codices, with two early printed editions, read plural, as in Authorized Version.

Verse 5

saith the LORD = [is] Jehovah's oracle.

Verse 6

house of Judah. See note on Jeremiah 3:18 .

Verse 7

prepare = set apart. Compare Jeremiah 6:4 ; Jeremiah 51:27 , Jeremiah 51:28 .

cedars. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), for the houses built of cedar.

Verse 8

Wherefore . . . ? Reference to Pentateuch. See note on Jeremiah 16:10 .

Verse 10

the dead: i.e. Josiah.

him: i.e. Jehoiachin.

weep sore = weep ye, weep on. Figure of speech Polyptoton. App-6 .

Verse 11

Shallum the son of Josiah. Josiah had four sons (1 Chronicles 3:15 ). Shallum had another name Jehoahaz. Compare 2 Kings 23:31 , 2 Kings 23:34 . Zedekiah must have been younger than Jehoiakim or Jehoahaz, for he was but twenty-one when he began to reign, and therefore only ten when Jehoiakim began to reign.

Verse 12

die in the place, &c. i.e. in Egypt. He was the first king of Israel to do so. 2 Kings 23:34 .

Verse 13

chambers = upper chambers.

by wrong = in injustice.

useth his neighbour's service, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 19:13 ).

work. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), for the wages earned by his labour = giveth him not [wages] for his work.

Verse 14

large = airy, or roomy.

windows = its windows.

cieled = panelled.

Verse 15

justice = righteousness, as in Jeremiah 22:3 .

Verse 16

He: i.e. Josiah.

judged the cause. Figure of speech Polyptoton. Hebrew judged the judgment. Figure of speech Erotesis by Ellipsis = "[Did he not] judge righteous judgment? "Figure of speech Hendiadys, as in Jeremiah 22:3 .

poor = wretched. Hebrew. 'anah. See note on "poverty", Proverbs 6:11 .

Verse 17

But thine eyes: or, Verily, thou hast neither eyes nor heart save for, &c.

Verse 19

buried with the burial of an ass. Note the Figure of speech Oxymoron , which gives the meaning that he was not buried at all (for asses have no funerals). Jehoiakim is the only king of Judah whose burial is not recorded. See note on 2 Kings 24:6 .

drawn, &c.: i.e. the ass, not Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 22:26 ).

cast forth. Compare Isaiah 26:19 .

Verse 20

Go up, &c. Note the Figure of speech Eironeia. App 6.

cry: the cry of distress.

the passages = Abarim: the mountains beyond Jordan, the range of Nebo. Compare Numbers 27:12 ; Numbers 33:47 , Numbers 33:48 .

lovers: i.e. the neighbouring nations, to whom they looked instead of to God.

Verse 21

prosperity. Hebrew, plural of majesty = thy great prosperity.

obeyedst not = hearkenedst not to.

Verse 22

wind. Hebrew. ruach. App-9 .

pastors. Put for rulers of all kinds. See notes on Jeremiah 2:8 ; Jeremiah 3:15 , &c.

wickedness. Hebrew. ra'a'. App-44 . Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), for the cause of the calamity.

Verse 23

O. Figure of speech Apostrophe.

inhabitant = inhabitress: i.e. Zion.

Lebanon. Figure of speech Metalepsis : "Lebanon" put for the cedars grown there, then "cedars" put for the houses built of the timber.

how gracious = how greatly to be pitied.

Verse 24

Coniah = (by Figure of speech Aphaeresis) , by which the first syllable is cut off. He is called "Jeconiah" (1 Chronicles 3:16 ), which means "Let Jehovah establish"; but the cutting off of the Divine name "Je" (for Jah or Jehovah) is meant to show the departure of Jehovah from Jeconiah, and that he himself would be cut off.

signet. Compare Haggai 2:23 .

right hand. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia.

Verse 27

desire to return = are lifting up their soul. Hebrew. nephesh.

Verse 28

man. Hebrew. 'ish. App-14 .

Verse 29

earth, earth, earth. Figure of speech Epizeuxis , for great emphasis.

Verse 30

childless: i.e. as to the throne (see last clause). Not one of his seven sons (1 Chronicles 3:17 , 1 Chronicles 3:18 ) sat upon his throne.

a man = a strong man. Hebrew. geber. App-14 .

Chapter 23

Verse 1

the pastors = rulers. See notes on Jeremiah 2:8 ; Jeremiah 3:15 , &c.

saith the LORD = [is] Jehovah's oracle.

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .

Verse 2

the LORD God of Israel. See note on Jeremiah 11:3 .

God. Hebrew. Elohim.

that feed = that are the feeders of. Figure of speech Antimereia (of the Verb).

behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6 .

I will visit, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 32:34 ).

evil. Hebrew ra'a.

Verse 3

I will gather, &c. Compare Jeremiah 31:10 ; Jeremiah 32:7 . Ezekiel 34:13 , &c.

Verse 5

Branch = Sprout from the root, not from a branch. Compare Isaiah 11:1 ; Isaiah 53:2 . Here, Hebrew. zemach. The name of the brightest star in the Zodiac sign "Virgo". See App-12 . See notes on the Structure of the Four Gospels. Compare Jeremiah 33:15 .

King. See the Structure of the Gospels. Matthew. Compare Isaiah 9:6 , Isaiah 9:7 . Zechariah 6:12 , Zechariah 6:13 .Psalms 72:2 .Luke 1:32 .

judgment and justice. See note on Jeremiah 22:3 .

Verse 6

Israel shall dwell safely. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 25:18 , Leviticus 25:19 ; Leviticus 25:26 , Leviticus 25:5 .Deuteronomy 33:12 , Deuteronomy 33:28 . Repeated in Jeremiah 32:37 ; Jeremiah 33:16 ). App-92 .

THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Hebrew. Jehovah Zidkenu. See App-4 . For the reason of the large type in Authorized Version, see App-48 .

OUR. Because the gift of God.

Verse 7

the days come. Compare Jeremiah 16:14 , Jeremiah 16:15 .

Which brought up, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Ex. Jeremiah 12:15 , &c). App-92 .

children = sons.

Verse 8

the house of Israel. See note on Jeremiah 2:4 .

land = soil.

Verse 9

Mine heart, &c. Figure of speech Pathopoeia.

man. Hebrew. 'ish.

a man = a strong man. Hebrew. geber. App-14 .

wine. Hebrew. yayin. App-27 .

Verse 10

their: i.e. the false prophets.

Verse 11

wickedness. Hebrew. ra'a'. App-44 .

Verse 12

the year of their visitation. See note on Jeremiah 8:12 .

Verse 15

the LORD of hosts = Jehovah Zebaioth. See note on Jeremiah 6:6 and 1 Samuel 1:3 .

Verse 17

They say still. Figure of speech Polyptoton. Hebrew = saying they say = keep on saying.

imagination = stubbornness.

Verse 18

who . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. Implying that none hath.

counsel = secret council. Compare Psalms 25:14 .

His. Hebrew text, with Revised Version, reads "My"; but margin of Hebrew text, the Babylonian Codex, with eight early printed editions, Aramaean, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "His'! with Authorized Version.

heard: or, announced. Compare Jeremiah 23:22 .

Verse 19

fall grievously = burst.

the wicked = lawless ones.

Verse 20

the latter days = end of days. Reference to Pentateuch (Genesis 49:1 , the same word). App-92 .

perfectly. Compare Jeremiah 30:24 .

Verse 21

I have not, &c. Compare Jeremiah 23:32 ; Jeremiah 14:14 .

Verse 22

But if, &c. The Hebrew accent requires the rendering: "But, had they stood in My Council: then they would have made My People hear My words, and they would have turned", &c.

Verse 23

Am I . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6 .

and not, &c. Figure of speech Pleonasm , for emphasis.

Verse 24

Can . . . ? . . . Do . . . ? Figure of speech E rotesis.

fill. The Hebrew accent (" Tiphcha' ") puts the emphasis on "fill" (not on "earth"), denoting the fullness of the Divine presence which no place can in clude, or ex clude. A fullness of grace, of the prophetic word of judgment, and of promise.

Verse 25

I have dreamed. Thus catching the people's ears. Note Figure of speech Epizeuxis. App-6 .

Verse 26

How long . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis.

shall this be = shall this exist. Hebrew. yesh. See notes on Jeremiah 31:6 , Jeremiah 31:16 , Jeremiah 31:17 . Proverbs 8:21 ; Proverbs 18:24 , and Luke 7:25 .

Verse 27

as = according as.

for = in, or through.

Verse 28

he that hath, &c. Compare Ezekiel 13:7 .

chaff = crushed, or chopped straw. Hebrew. teben.

Verse 29

Is not . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis.

Verse 30

I am against, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 18:20 ).

Verse 31

say, He saith = uttered it as an oracle. Hebrew. ne'um. Reference to Pentateuch (Genesis 22:16 . Numbers 14:28 ; Numbers 24:3 , Numbers 24:4 , Numbers 24:15 , Numbers 24:16 ). Frequent in the prophets.

Verse 32

lightness = reckless boasting.

Verse 33

What burden? Septuagint, Vulgate, and Rashi, read "Ye yourselves are the burden". Compare Jeremiah 23:36 .

forsake = reject.

Verse 36

perverted. See note on Jeremiah 6:10 .

the living God. Both words are plural.

Verse 38

ye say = ye keep on saying. Figure of speech Polyptoton. App-6 .

Verse 40

everlasting . . . perpetual. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Whole), for a part of time = life long. Limited here by the promised Restoration.

Chapter 24

Verse 1

The LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .

shewed me = made me see.

behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6 .

baskets. Hebrew. dudim. Still used for fruit in Jerusalem.

the temple. See note on Jeremiah 26:2 .

carpenters and smiths = craftsmen (or artificers) and armourers.

Verse 2

naughty = worth naught.

Verse 3

evil. Hebrew. raa'. App-44 . Compare Jeremiah 29:17 .

Verse 5

Jeremiah's Fifteenth Prophecy (see book comments for Jeremiah).

the LORD, the God of Israel = Jehovah Elohim of Israel. See note on Jeremiah 11:3 and App-4 .

acknowledge = own. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), App-6 , for regard, or care for.

for . . . good. Connect this with "acknowledge", not with "sent out".

Verse 6

For I will set Mine eyes = And I will set Mine eye. Some codices, with Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "eyes" (plural) with Authorized Version.

build . . . plant. Compare Jeremiah 1:10 ; Jeremiah 18:7-9 .

Verse 7

I will give, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 30:6 ).

they shall be My People. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:12 ).

Verse 9

to be removed into = to be tossed to and fro among.

be removed. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 28:25 ). App-92 .

for their hurt. Hebrew. raa'. App-44 . Compare Jeremiah 25:6 ; Jeremiah 38:4 .

to be a reproach = [I will deliver them to be] a reproach.

a taunt. Reference to Pentateuch. Some codices, with two early printed editions, Aramaean, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulg, read "and a", thus completing the Figure of speech Polysyndeton ( App-6 ).

Verse 10

the sword, the famine, and the pestilence. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:25 , Leviticus 26:26 . Deuteronomy 28:21-24 ). App-92 .

the famine. Some codices, with one early printed edition, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "and famine", thus completing the Figure of speech Polysyndeton .

land = soil, or ground. Hebrew. 'adamah.

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