Yahweh said to me, “A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. Therefore Yahweh says, ‘Behold, I will bring evil on them, which they will not be able to escape; and they will cry to me, but I will not listen to them. Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to which they offer incense, but they will not save them at all in the time of their trouble. For according to the number of your cities are your gods, Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have you set up altars to the shameful thing, even altars to burn incense to Baal.’
“Therefore don’t pray for this people. Don’t lift up cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry to me because of their trouble.
What has my beloved to do in my house, since she has behaved lewdly with many, and the holy flesh has passed from you? When you do evil, then you rejoice.”
Yahweh called your name, “A green olive tree, beautiful with goodly fruit.” With the noise of a great roar he has kindled fire on it, and its branches are broken.
For Yahweh of Armies, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you, because of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done to themselves in provoking me to anger by offering incense to Baal.
Yahweh gave me knowledge of it, and I knew it. Then you showed me their doings.
But I was like a gentle lamb that is led to the slaughter. I didn’t know that they had devised plans against me, saying, “Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit, and let’s cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.”
But, Yahweh of Armies, who judges righteously, who tests the heart and the mind, I will see your vengeance on them; for to you I have revealed my cause.
“Therefore Yahweh says concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, ‘You shall not prophesy in Yahweh’s name, that you not die by our hand;’ therefore Yahweh of Armies says, ‘Behold, I will punish them. The young men will die by the sword. Their sons and their daughters will die by famine. There will be no remnant to them, for I will bring evil on the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.’ ”
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv9–21 Here the Prophet joins closer battle with the men…
Here the Prophet joins closer battle with the men of his age, and says, that they were worse than their fathers; for this is the meaning of the word, banding or joining together. For when the Israelites concurred in a body in ungodly superstitions, it was more excusable at the beginning, for they had not yet struck deep roots in true religion; but when God by his prophets had endeavored many times, and in various ways, to restore them to the right way, and when his diligence and assiduous efforts had proved fruitless, it was an evidence of confirmed and hopeless obstinacy. He then says, that this had been discovered; for this is what he means by saying, that it had been found out This verb is often used in Scripture in another sense, but it means here the same, as though he had said, that the conspiracy of the people had been discovered or proved, as it is said of thieves when found out, that they are caught in the very act. So God says here, that it was no matter of dispute whether the people had designedly and from sheer wickedness perverted his true and lawful worship; the conspiracy, he says, is sufficiently notorious
We then understand the meaning of the Prophet to be, — that not a part of the people was implicated in impiety, but that all, from the least to the greatest, were together defiled, and that this was done, not by some foolish impulse of the moment, but designedly, for they banded together; and further, that this was sufficiently evident, so that they could no longer contend as to the fact, for their wickedness was sufficiently manifest.
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And he says between Judah and Israel There is here implied a sharp reproof; for we know that these two kingdoms had not only entertained a hidden grudge, but fiercely contended with one another, Since then the discord had been such between the ten tribes and the tribe of Judah, that it was as it were an insane hatred, so that they wished wholly to destroy one another, for the Jews sent for the Egyptians when the Israelites had called to arms the Syrians and the Assyrians for the destruction of Judah. Since then they so inimically treated one another for so many ages, what did this now mean? What a monstrous thing it was, that they conspired together to subvert the worship of God, to overturn everything true in religion, and to set up their own idols! We now then perceive the meaning of the Prophet; he intimates, that they had in all other things been enemies, and that they only united in this one thing, that is, in carrying on war against God, in subverting his worship, and rendering void his law. We hence see what the Spirit of God had in view in saying, that a conspiracy was found out; which was, that the Prophet might not use many words, as though the matter was doubtful! God then bids him positively to declare this fact, like at scribe who records the sentence of a judge; and thus God shews that he dealt with the Jews, as men deal with those who are condemned.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21 That is, a general consent to rebel against me.
That is, a general consent to rebel against me.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv9–23 Jer 11:9 And the LORD said unto me, A…
Jer 11:9 And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Ver. 9. A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah.] A combination in sinful courses, this is not unity but conspiracy. See Eze 22:25 Hos 6:9. Such is the unity of the Antichristian crew. {Rev 17:13} The Turks have as little dissension in their religion as any, yet are a rabble of rebels conspiring against Heaven.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23 All sorts of people, whether of the city or…
All sorts of people, whether of the city or country, have done alike, as if they had conspired together to break my law, and to provoke me to wrath, they are all alike and act alike. The thing is manifest, it is not done secretly, nor is it done rashly, but upon a conspiracy, upon counsel and deliberation.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv11, 18 This paragraph, which contains so much of God's wrath,…
This paragraph, which contains so much of God's wrath, might very well be expected to follow upon that which goes next before, which contained so much of his people's sin. When God found so much evil among them we cannot think it strange if it follows, Therefore I will bring evil upon them (Jer 11:11), the evil of punishment for the evil of sin; and there is no remedy, no relief: the decree has gone forth and the sentence will be executed.
I. They cannot help themselves, but will be found too weak to contest with God's judgments: it is evil which they shall not be able to escape, or to go forth out of, by any evasion whatsoever. Note, Those that will not submit to God's government shall not be able to escape his wrath. There is no fleeing from his justice, no avoiding his cognizance. Evil pursues sinners and entangles them in snares out of which they cannot extricate themselves.
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II. Their God will not help them; his providence shall no way favour them: Though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken to them. In their affliction they will seek the God whom before they slighted, and cry to him whom before they would not vouchsafe to speak to. But how can they expect to speed? For he has plainly told us that he that turns away his ears from hearing the law, as they did, for they inclined not their ear (Jer 11:8), even his prayer shall be an abomination to him, as the word of the Lord was now to them a reproach.
III. Their idols shall not help them, Jer 11:12. They shall go, and cry to the gods to whom they now offer incense, and put them in mind of the costly services wherewith they had honoured them, expecting they should now have relief from them, but in vain. They shall be sent to the gods whom they served (Jdg 10:14; Deu 32:37, Deu 32:38), and what the better? They shall not save them at all, shall do nothing towards their salvation, nor give them any prospect of it; they shall not afford them the least comfort, nor relief, nor mitigation of their trouble. It is God only that is a friend at need, a present powerful help in time of trouble. The idols cannot help themselves; how then should they help their worshippers? Those that make idols of the world and the flesh will in vain have recourse to them in a day of distress. If the idols could have done any real kindness to their worshippers, they would have done it for this people, who had renounced the true God to embrace them, had multiplied them according to the number of their cities (Jer 11:13), nay, in Jerusalem, according to the number of their streets. Suspecting both their sufficiency and their readiness to help them, they must have many, lest a few would not serve; they must have them dispersed in every corner, lest they should be out of the way when they had occasion for them. In Jerusalem, the city which God had chosen to put his name there, publicly in the streets of Jerusalem, in every street, they had altars to that shameful thing, that shame, even to Baal, which they ought to have been ashamed of, with which they did reproach the Lord and bring confusion upon themselves. But now in their distress their many gods, and many altars, should stand them in stead. Note, Those that will not be ashamed of their commission of sin as a wicked thing will be ashamed of their expectations from sin as a fruitless thing.
IV. Jeremiah's prayers shall not help them, Jer 11:14. What God had said to him before (Jer 7:16) he here says again, Pray not thou for this people. This is not designed for a command to the prophet, so much as for a threatening to the people, that they should have no benefit by the prayers of their friends for them. God would give no encouragement to the prophets to pray for them, would not stir up the spirit of prayer, but cast a damp upon it, would put it into their hearts to pray, not for the body of the people, but for the remnant among them, to pray for their eternal salvation, not for their deliverance from the temporal judgments that were coming upon them; and what other prayers were put up for them should not be heard. Those are in a sad case indeed that are cut off from the benefit of prayer. "I will not hear them when they cry, and therefore to not thou pray for them." Note, Those that have so far thrown themselves out of God's favour that he will not hear their prayers cannot expect benefit by the prayers of others for them.
V. The profession they make of religion shall stand them in no stead, Jer 11:15. They were originally God's beloved, his spouse, he was married to them by the covenant of peculiarity; even the unbelieving Jews are said to be beloved for the fathers' sake, Rom 11:28. As such they had a place in God's house; they were admitted to worship in the courts of his temple; they partook of God's altar; they ate of the flesh of their peace-offerings here called the holy flesh, which God had the honour of and they had the comfort of. This they gloried in, and trusted to. What harm could come to those who were God's beloved, who were under the protection of his house? Even when they did evil yet they rejoiced and gloried in this, made a mighty noise of this. And when their evil was (so the margin reads it), when trouble came upon them, they rejoiced in this, and made this their confidence; but their confidence would deceive them, for God has rejected it, they themselves having forfeited the privileges they so much boasted of. They have wrought lewdness with many, have been guilty of spiritual whoredom, have worshipped many idols; and therefore, 1. God's temple will yield them no protection; it is fit that the adulteress, especially when she has so often repeated her whoredoms and has grown so impudent in them and irreclaimable, should be put away, and turned out of doors: "What has my beloved to do in my house? She is a scandal to it, and therefore it shall no longer be a shelter to her." 2. God's altar will yield them no satisfaction, nor can they expect any comfort from that: "The holy flesh has passed from thee, that is, an end will soon be put to thy sacrifices, when the temple shall be laid in ruins; and where then will the holy flesh be, that thou art so proud of?" A holy heart will be a comfort to us when the holy flesh has passed from us; an inward principle of grace will make up the want of the outward means of grace. But woe unto us if the departure of the holy flesh be accompanied with the departure of the Holy Spirit.
VI. God's former favours to them shall stand them in no stead, Jer 11:16, Jer 11:17. Their remembrance of them shall be no comfort to them under their troubles, and God's remembrance of them shall be no argument for their relief. 1. It is true God had done great things for them; that people had been favourites above any people under the sun; they had been the darlings of heaven. God had called Israel's name a green olive-tree, and had made them so, for he miscalls nothing; he had planted them (Jer 11:17), had formed them into a people, with all the advantages they could have to make them a fruitful and flourishing people, so good was their law and so good was their land. One would think no other than that a people so planted, so watered, so cultivated, should be, as the olive-tree is, ever green, in respect both of piety and prosperity, Psa 52:8. God called them fair and of goodly fruit, both good for food and pleasant to the eye, both amiable and serviceable to God and man, for which the greenness and fatness of the olive both are honoured, Jdg 9:9. 2. It is as true that they have done evil things against God. He had planted them a green olive, a good olive, but they had degenerated into a wild olive, Rom 11:17. Both the house of Israel. and the house of Judah had done evil, had provoked God to anger in burning incense unto Baal, setting up other mediators between them and the supreme God besides the promised Messiah; nay, setting up other gods in competition with the true and living God, for they had gods many, as well as lords many. 3. When they have conducted themselves so ill they can expect no other than that, notwithstanding what good he has done to them and designed for them, he should now bring upon them the evil he has pronounced against them. He that planted this green olive-tree, and expected fruit from it, finding it barren and grown wild, has kindled fire upon it, to burn it as it stands; for, being without fruit, it is twice dead, plucked up by the roots (Jde 1:12), it is cut down and cast into the fire, the fittest place for trees that cumber the ground, Mat 3:10. The branches of it, the high and lofty boughs (so the word signifies), are broken are broken down, both princes and priests cut off. And thus it proves that the evil done against God, to provoke him to anger, is really done against themselves; they wrong their own souls; God is out of their reach, but they ruin themselves. See Jer 7:19. Note, Every sin against God is a sin against ourselves, and so it will be found sooner or later.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv9–22 They are turned back to the iniquities of their…
They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers,.... According to Kimchi, this prophecy was delivered out in the times of Jehoiakim. There had been a reformation in the reign of Josiah, but now they had rebelled against the Lord, and had returned to their former idolatries that had been practised in the times of Amon, Manasseh, and Ahaz:
which refused to hear my words; sent unto them by the prophets, Isaiah, and others:
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and they went after other gods to serve them; not their forefathers, though it was true of them; but the then present generation, that were in the conspiracy and rebellion against God; they put their schemes into execution, and worshipped and served the gods of the nations:
the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers; by their many transgressions, and especially by their idolatry; the house of Israel, or the ten tribes, had done so, many years ago, and were carried captive; and the house of Judah, or the two tribes of Benjamin and Judah, committing the same iniquities, might justly expect the like treatment.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19 A conspiracy - All sorts of people have done…
A conspiracy - All sorts of people have done alike, as if they had conspired together to break my law.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23 Verse 9. A conspiracy is found] They were all…
Verse 9. A conspiracy is found] They were all fratres conjurati, sworn brothers, determined to cast off the Divine yoke, and no longer to have God to reign over them.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv9, 12, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22 Jer 11:9-11. And the Lord said, A conspiracy is…
Jer 11:9-11. And the Lord said, A conspiracy is found, &c. — Namely, by him whose eye is upon the hidden works of darkness. There is a combination formed among them against God and religion, a dangerous design to overthrow the government of Jehovah, and to bring in counterfeit deities. In other words, All sorts of people have been alike disobedient, as if they had conspired together to break my law. They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers — They made some steps toward a reformation in the former part of the reign of Josiah, but now they have agreed to turn back to their former idolatries. Therefore behold, I will bring evil upon them, &c. — The evil of punishment for the evil of sin, which they shall not be able to escape by any evasion whatsoever. Let us remember, those who will not submit to God’s government, shall not be able to escape his wrath. Evil pursues sinners, and entangles them in snares, out of which they cannot extricate themselves. And though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken — God will not hear them crying to him in their adversity, who refuse to hear him speaking to them in their prosperity.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 19, 22, 23 A conspiracy - The defection from the covenant was…
A conspiracy - The defection from the covenant was as general as if it had been the result of preconcerted arrangement. The decided course taken by Josiah may, however, have led the opposite party to secret combinations against him.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23 Conspiracy. They are leagued together to do evil, with…
Conspiracy. They are leagued together to do evil, with all earnestness. (St. Jerome)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 conspiracy--a deliberate combination against God and against Josiah's reformation.…
conspiracy--a deliberate combination against God and against Josiah's reformation. Their idolatry is not the result of a hasty impulse (Psa 83:5; Eze 22:25).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 23 THE BREAKING OF THE COVENANT BY JUDAH, Jer_11:9-13.
THE BREAKING OF THE COVENANT BY JUDAH, Jer_11:9-13.
9. Conspiracy — Such unanimity as would be brought about by formal preconcertment.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23 9. They have silently agreed to apostatize.
9. They have silently agreed to apostatize.
9–14. See summary at commencement of section.
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9–17. Judah has fallen back into apostasy. It is now clear that Josiah’s reforms have had no lasting results. The passage may therefore be placed in Jehoiakim’s reign.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 (9) A conspiracy.—The words explain the rapid apostasy that…
(9) A conspiracy.—The words explain the rapid apostasy that followed on the death of Josiah. There had been all along, even while he was urging his reforms, an organised though secret resistance to the policy of which he was the representative.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 A conspiracy. The language is figurative. Jehovah is the…
A conspiracy. The language is figurative. Jehovah is the King of Israel; to commit sin is "to rebel against" him (Authorized Version sometimes weakens this into "transgress"); and to encourage one another in wickedness is "to conspire against" God. We need not suppose any open combination against spiritual religion; it is enough if" the spirit of the time" was directly contrary to it.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv9, 14, 21 And the Lord said unto me, A conspiracy is…
Jer_11:9
And the Lord said unto me, A conspiracy is found
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A sad relapse
1.
The prophet calls the peoples relapse a plot or conspiracy; thereby suggesting, perhaps, the secrecy with which the prohibited worships were at first revived, and the intrigues of the unfaithful nobles and priests and prophets, in order to bring about a reversal of the policy of reform.
2. The word further means a bond, which is the exact antithesis of the covenant with Jehovah, and it implies that this bond has about it a fatal strength and permanence, involving as its necessary consequence the ruin of the nation. Breaking covenant with Jehovah meant making a covenant with other gods. If you have broken faith with God in Christ, it is because you have entered into an agreement with another; it is because you have surrendered to the proposals of the tempter, and preferred his promises to the promises of God. (C. J. Ball, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v15 holy flesh
holy flesh
See Hag 2:12 i.e. to what purpose the "holy flesh" of sacrifices? Its efficacy is "passed from thee" who rejoicest in evil. Cf. Isa 1:13-15.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v9 Israel’s Conspiracy Against the Lord and its Punishment
Israel’s Conspiracy Against the Lord and its Punishment
v. 9. And the Lord said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a plot in opposition to Jehovah and to the demands of right and duty, the entire nation being involved in this wickedness.
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v. 10. They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, by which Israelites of the former generations heaped guilt upon themselves, which refused to hear My words, deliberately combining to deny Him obedience in His just demands; and they went after other gods to serve them, this sin of idolatry being the Lord’s chief charge against them; the house of Israel, the ten tribes of the northern kingdom, and the house of Judah, the southern kingdom, have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers, Judah thus being destined to a similar punishment as that which befell Israel.
v. 11. Therefore, thus saith the Lord, Jehovah, the same God of the covenant who was still seeking His children with the same loving-kindness as of old, Behold, I will bring evil upon them which they shall not be able to escape, from which also no deliverance is possible; and though they shall cry unto Me, I will not hearken unto them, refusing them assistance and redemption, since their time of grace had now expired.
v. 12. Then shall the cities of Judah, that is, their people, and inhabitants of Jerusalem go and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense, the idols whom they have worshiped; but they, the false gods in whom they professed to trust, shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble, since, of course, they were utterly unable to do so, being but dead images, who could not deliver in any calamity.
v. 13. For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah, practically a different idol for every city; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars, a different one for every open place, to that shameful thing, to the idol which is the essence of all that is shameful and will bring confusion upon all who persist in worshiping it, even altars to burn incense unto Baal, this idol being the chief abomination of the Canaanite nations since remote times. The Lord, having thus set forth the obstinate wickedness of the people of Judah, turns to His prophet with the command that he should not interfere with His just punishment upon the apostate nation.
v. 14. Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them, any supplication asking deliverance for them; for I will not hear them, He would pay no attention to the prophet’s intercession, in the time that they cry unto Me for their trouble, on account of the calamity which has befallen them. Moreover, the Lord also resents the hypocritical worship of the people.
v. 15. What hath My beloved to do in Mine house, the congregation making a pretense at seeking Him in true worship, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, having become guilty of spiritual adultery in its most revolting form, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? The Lord calls their worship an enormity, because it was, in truth, a hollow mockery, with which they deceived none but themselves. When thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest. The entire second part of the verse may be rendered: "Will vows and holy flesh take thy calamity from thee? Then mayest thou exult!" All the religious customs upon which they relied could not protect them. If they were sincere in their worship, then there would be reason for congratulating themselves.
v. 16. The Lord called thy name "A green olive-tree," fair and of goodly fruit, thus He had regarded Israel in the days when He chose it for His own; with the noise of a great tumult, amid the rattling of thunder or the noise of battle. He hath kindled fire upon it, to destroy the very plant which He formerly cherished so dearly, and the branches of it are broken, ten tribes of the original nation having already been taken away into captivity and the tree thus badly crippled.
v. 17. For the Lord of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, being firmly determined upon punishing the apostate nation, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah which they have done against themselves, to their own hurt, to provoke Me to anger in offering incense unto Baal. Jeremiah now notes a proof of the incorrigible nature of the people of his own nation.
v. 18. And the Lord hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it, their wickedness was revealed to him; then Thou showedst me their doings. Even this, however, had not disturbed Jeremiah’s trustfulness.
v. 19. But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter, with never an inkling of the evil intention of his own familiar friends; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof and let us cut him off from the land of the living that his name may be no more remembered. They wanted to bring ruin, if possible, death, to Jeremiah and cause his teaching to be forgotten. Therefore the prophet calls upon the Lord for vengeance in his just cause.
v. 20. But, O Lord of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, testing the inmost thoughts of man; let me see Thy vengeance on them, for it is He whose honor is principally at stake; for unto Thee have I revealed my cause, laying the whole matter before Him for adjustment.
v. 21. Therefore, thus saith the Lord of the men of Anathoth, Jeremiah’s own townsmen, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the Lord, that thou die not by our hand, this being the demand which they placed before him;
v. 22. therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will punish them, for daring to threaten the life of His servant; the young men shall die by the sword, being cut down by the enemy in battle, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, the result of the unmerciful siege begun by the enemies.
v. 23. And there shall be no remnant of them, the Lord being determined to carry out His sentence of extermination upon them; for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation. Thus the punishment of the Lord descends upon the evil-doers in due time, often with terrible effect.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 11, 14, 17, 18, 21 A conspiracy has been discovered
A conspiracy has been discovered
This can be stated in active form. AT: "There is a conspiracy" (See: Active or Passive)
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conspiracy
a secret plan to do something that is harmful or illegal
the inhabitants of Jerusalem
"the people who live in Jerusalem"
They have turned to the iniquities of their earliest ancestors
The phrase "turned to" is an idiom that means to start doing something. AT: "They have returned to committing the same iniquities as their earliest ancestors committed" (See: Active or Passive)
walked after
"followed after"
The house of Israel
The word "house" is a metonym for the family that lives in the house. In this case it refers to the kingdom of Israel. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 3:18. AT: "Israel" or "The kingdom of Israel" (See: Metonymy)
the house of Judah
The word "house" is a metonym for the family that lives in the house. In this case it refers to the kingdom of Judah, which included the descendants of Judah and Benjamin. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 3:18. AT: "Judah" or "the kingdom of Judah" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
turn
iniquity
word of God
false god
worship
house
kingdom of Israel
kingdom of Judah
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21 11:9-10 conspiracy: The word connotes “betrayal” or “treason” (cp.…
11:9-10 conspiracy: The word connotes “betrayal” or “treason” (cp. 2 Kgs 11:14). • Judah and Jerusalem would no longer worship the Redeemer God, but would give themselves to worshiping other gods. Both Israel (probably referring here to the ten northern tribes) and Judah had broken the covenant.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.