Therefore Yahweh says concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, but I didn’t send them, yet they say, ‘Sword and famine will not be in this land.’ Those prophets will be consumed by sword and famine. The people to whom they prophesy will be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword. They will have no one to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, or their daughters, for I will pour their wickedness on them.
“You shall say this word to them: “ ‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous wound.
If I go out into the field, then, behold, the slain with the sword! If I enter into the city, then, behold, those who are sick with famine! For both the prophet and the priest go about in the land, and have no knowledge.’ ”
Have you utterly rejected Judah? Has your soul loathed Zion? Why have you struck us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and behold, dismay!
We acknowledge, Yahweh, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against you.
Do not abhor us, for your name’s sake. Do not disgrace the throne of your glory. Remember, and don’t break your covenant with us.
Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the sky give showers? Aren’t you he, Yahweh our God? Therefore we will wait for you; for you have made all these things.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv15–22 Jeremiah, after having declared to the false prophets, that…
Jeremiah, after having declared to the false prophets, that as they had by their flatteries deceived the people, they would have to suffer the punishment they had deserved, turns now his address to the people themselves. God might, however, have seemed to deal with them rather hardly, that he inflicted so severe a punishment on men who had been deceived; but the answer to this is evident; for it is certain that except the world winingly sought falsehoods, the power of the devil to deceive would not be so great. When men therefore are led astray by impostures, it happens through their own fault, inasmuch as they are more ready to embrace vanity than to submit to God and his word. And we must remember that saying of Paul, that all the reprobate are blinded and given up to a reprobate mind, because they wilfully seek falsehood, and will not obey the truth. (Romans 1:28) And on this account God declares that he tries the hearts of men, whenever false prophets come abroad; for every one who really fears God shall by no means be led away by the deceits of Satan and of impostors. Hence, whenever men are too credulous and readily embrace deceptions, it is certain that their hypocrisy is thus justly punished by God. And it was well known to the Prophet, that the Jews ever wished for such prophets as soothed their ears and promised them an abundant harvest and a fruitful vintage. (Micah 2:11) As then they had itching ears, a liberty was justly given to Satan to deluge the whole land with falsehood; and so indeed it happened. There is then no wonder that the Lord was so severe in chastising the people; for they had not been deceived except through their own fault. The same thing happens at this day. Though we are touched with pity when we see the ministers of Satan prevail in deceiving the common people: yet we must remember that a reward is rendered by heaven for the impiety of men, who either extinguish or smother the light of God as much as they can, and seek to plunge into darkness.
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 vv17, 18, 19, 20, 22 The false prophets promised peace and assurance, but Jeremiah…
The false prophets promised peace and assurance, but Jeremiah calleth to tears, and repentance for their affliction, which is at hand, as Jer. 9:1; Lam. 1:16 and 2:18.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv15–22 Jer 14:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the…
Jer 14:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
Ver. 15. Yet they say.] Heb., They are saying. This is all their song, though the present famine doth in part confute them; but the people were willing enough to be deceived, and were therefore worthily punished. Being infatuated, they were seduced; and being so seduced, they were justly judged, as Augustine somewhere. The blind led the blind, and both fell into the ditch, though it befell the blind guides to lie nethermost.
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 vv15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 It is a most dangerous thing for ecclesiastical ministers…
It is a most dangerous thing for ecclesiastical ministers to deliver that to people as the will of God which is not so. God here threateneth that these prophets, in testimony of the truth of the word of God delivered by Jeremiah, should die by these very judgments which they falsely prophesied to this people, as from God, an immunity from: see Jer 6:15; 20:6; 1Ki 22:25.
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 v17 The present deplorable state of Judah and Jerusalem is…
The present deplorable state of Judah and Jerusalem is here made the matter of the prophet's lamentation (Jer 14:17, Jer 14:18) and the occasion of his prayer and intercession for them (Jer 14:19), and I am willing to hope that the latter, as well as the former, was by divine direction, and that these words (Jer 14:17), Thus shalt thou say unto them (or concerning them, or in their hearing), refer to the intercession, as well as to the lamentation, and then it amounts to a revocation of the directions given to the prophet not to pray for them, Jer 14:11. However, it is plain, by the prayers we find in these verses, that the prophet did not understand it as a prohibition, but only as a discouragement, like that Jo1 5:16, I do not say he shall pray for that. Here,
I. The prophet stands weeping over the ruins of his country; God directs him to do so, that, showing himself affected, he might, if possible, affect them with the foresight of the calamities that were coming upon them. Jeremiah must say it not only to himself, but to them too: Let my eyes run down with tears, Jer 14:17. Thus he must signify to them that he certainly foresaw the sword coming, and another sort of famine, more grievous even than this which they were now groaning under; this was in the country for want of rain, that would be in the city through the straitness of the siege. The prophet speaks as if he already saw the miseries attending the descent which the Chaldeans made upon them: The virgin daughter of my people, that is as dear to me as a daughter to her father, is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow, much greater and more grievous than any she has yet sustained; for (Jer 14:18) in the field multitudes lie dead that were slain by the sword, and in the city multitudes lie dying for want of food. Doleful spectacles! "The prophets and the priests, the false prophets that flattered them with their lies and the wicked priests that persecuted the true prophets, are now expelled their country, and go about either as prisoners and captives, whithersoever their conquerors lead them, or as fugitives and vagabonds, wherever they can find shelter and relief, in a land that they know not." Some understand this of the true prophets, Ezekiel and Daniel, that were carried to Babylon with the rest. The prophet's eyes must run down with tears day and night, in prospect of this, that the people might be convinced, not only that this woeful day would infallibly come, and would be a very woeful day indeed, but that he was far from desiring it, and would as gladly have brought them messages of peace as their false prophets, if he might have had warrant from heaven to do it. Note, Because God, though he inflicts death on sinners, yet delights not in it, it becomes his ministers, though in his name they pronounce the death of sinners, yet sadly to lament it.
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II. He stands up to make intercession for them; for who knows but God will yet return and repent? While there is life there is hope, and room for prayer. And, though there were many among them who neither prayed themselves nor valued the prophet's prayers, yet there were some who were better affected, would join with him in his devotions, and set the seal of their Amen to them.
1. He humbly expostulates with God concerning the present deplorableness of their case, Jer 14:19. It was very sad, for, (1.) Their expectations from their God failed them; they thought he had avouched Judah to be his, but now, it seems, he has utterly rejected it, and cast it off, will not own any relation to it nor concern for it. They thought Zion was the beloved of his soul, was his rest for ever; but now his soul even loathes Zion, loathes even the services there performed, for the sake of the sins there committed. (2.) Then no marvel that all their other expectations failed them: They were smitten, and their wounds were multiplied, but there was no healing for them; they looked for peace, because after a storm there usually comes a calm and fair weather, after a long fit of wet; but there was no good, things went still worse and worse. They looked for a healing time, but could not gain so much as a breathing time. "Behold, trouble at the door, by which we hoped peace would enter. And is it so then? Hast thou indeed rejected Judah? Justly thou mightest. Hath thy soul loathed Zion? We deserve it should. But wilt thou not at length in wrath remember mercy?"
2. He makes a penitent confession of sin, speaking that language which they all should have spoken, though but few did (Jer 14:20): "We acknowledge our wickedness, the abounding wickedness of our land and the iniquity of our fathers, which we have imitated, and therefore justly smart for. We know, we acknowledge, that we have sinned against thee, and therefore thou art just in all that is brought upon us; but, because we confess our sins, we hope to find thee faithful and just in forgiving our sins."
3. He deprecates God's displeasure, and by faith appeals to his honour and promise, Jer 14:21. His petition is, "Do not abhor us; though thou afflict us, do not abhor us; though thy hand by turned against us, let not thy heart be so, nor let thy mind be alienated from us." They own God might justly abhor them, they had rendered themselves odious in his eyes; yet, when they pray, Do not abhor us, they mean, "Receive us into favour again. Let not thy soul loathe Zion, Jer 14:19. Let not our incense be an abomination." They appeal, (1.) To the honour of God, the honour of his scriptures, by which he has made himself known - his word, which he has magnified above all his name: "Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake, that the name of thine by which we are called and which we call upon." The honour of his sanctuary is pleaded: "Lord, do not abhor us, for that will disgrace the throne of thy glory" (the temple, which is called a glorious high throne from the beginning, Jer 17:12); let not that which has been the joy of the whole earth be made a hissing and an astonishment. We deserve to have disgrace put upon us, but let it not be so as to reflect upon thyself; let not the desolations of the temple give occasion to the heathen to reproach him that used to be worshipped there, as if he could not, or would not, protect it, or as if the gods of the Chaldeans had been too hard for him. Note, Good men lay the credit of religion, and its profession in the world, nearer their hearts than any private interest or concern of their own; and those are powerful pleas in prayer which are fetched thence and great supports to faith. We may be sure that God will not disgrace the throne of his glory on earth; nor will he eclipse the glory of his throne by one providence without soon making it shine forth, and more brightly than before, by another. God will be no loser in his honour at the long-run. (2.) To the promise of God; of this they are humbly bold to put him in mind: Remember thy covenant with us, and break not that covenant. Not that they had any distrust of his fidelity, or that they thought he needed to be put in mind of his promise to them, but what he had said he would plead with himself they take the liberty to plead with him. Then will I remember my covenant, Lev 26:42.
4. He professes a dependence upon God for the mercy of rain, which they were now in want of, Jer 14:22. If they have forfeited their interest in him as their God in covenant, yet they will not let go their hold on him as the God of nature. (1.) They will never make application to the idols of the heathen, for that would be foolish and fruitless: Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? No; in a time of great drought in Israel, Baal, though all Israel presented their prayers to him in the days of Ahab, could not relieve them; it was that God only who answered by fire that could answer by water too. (2.) They will not terminate their regards in second causes, nor expect supply from nature only: Can the heavens give showers? No, not without orders from the God of heaven; for it is he that has the key of the clouds, that opens the bottles of heaven and waters the earth from his chambers. But, (3.) All their expectation therefore is from him and their confidence in him: "Art not thou he, O Lord our God! from whom we may expect succour and to whom we must apply? Art thou not he that causest rain and givest showers? For thou hast made all these things; thou gavest them being, and therefore thou givest them law and hast them all at thy command; thou madest that moisture in nature which is in a constant circulation to serve the intentions of Providence, and thou directest it, and makest what use thou pleasest of it; therefore we will wait upon thee, and upon thee only; we will ask of the Lord rain, Zac 10:1. We will trust in him to give it to us in due time, and be willing to tarry his time; it is fit that we should, and it will not be in vain to do so." Note, The sovereignty of God should engage, and his all-sufficiency encourage, our attendance on him and our expectations from him at all times.
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 vv15–22 Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets,.... The…
Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets,.... The false prophets, as the following description shows:
that prophecy in my name, and I sent them not; made use of his name, pretending his authority, though they were not sent by him:
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yet they say, sword and famine shall not be in the land; though the Lord by his true prophet had said there should be both; which proves that they were not sent by the Lord, since what they said was in direct opposition to the word of the Lord; wherefore their doom in righteous judgment follows:
by sword and famine shall these prophets be consumed; they should be some of the first, if not the first that should perish by these calamities; which would abundantly prove the falsehood of their predictions, and show that their lies could neither secure themselves nor others from the judgments which the Lord had said should come upon them.
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 vv21–22 The throne - The words are either to be…
The throne - The words are either to be understood of the throne of the house of David, called the Lord's throne, 1 Chron. xxix, 23, or else the temple, and the ark in it, the more special symbol of God's presence.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv15–22 Verse 15. By sword and famine shall those prophets…
Verse 15. By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.] Jeremiah had told Jehoiakim that, if he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, he should be overthrown, and the land wasted by sword and famine: the false prophets said there shall be neither sword nor famine, but peace and prosperity. The king believed them, and withheld the tribute. Nebuchadnezzar, being incensed, invaded and destroyed the land; and the false prophets fell in these calamities. See 2Kg 25:3; La 2:11-19.
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 vv17, 19 Jer 14:17-18. Therefore thou shalt say this word unto…
Jer 14:17-18. Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them — Either, 1st, The word spoken above; the threatenings denounced in the last two verses against the false prophets and the people, the deceivers and the deceived: or, 2d, As the passage is generally interpreted, and as our translators have understood it, the words following, namely, the prophet’s lamentation and prayer. Let mine eyes run down with tears — As if he had said, However insensible you are of your own condition, yet God commands me to bewail those calamities which I foresee are coming upon you. For the virgin daughter of my people — That is as dear to me as a daughter to her father; is broken with a great breach — Much greater than any she has yet sustained. The dissolution of a government, or body politic, is called a breach, by way of allusion to the breaking or disjointing the limbs of a human body. The prophet speaks as if he already saw the miseries attending the invasion of the country by the Chaldeans. If I go forth into the field, &c. — Multitudes lie dead in the field, slain with the sword; and in the city multitudes lie dying for want of food: doleful spectacle! Yea both the prophet and the priest — Namely, the false prophets, who flattered the people with their lies, and the wicked priests, who persecuted the true prophets, are now expelled their country, and go about into a land they know not — Either as prisoners and captives, whithersoever their conquerors lead them; or, as fugitives and vagabonds, wherever they can find shelter. Some understand it of the true prophets, Ezekiel and Daniel, who were carried to Babylon with the rest. But as the Hebrew word here used, סחרו, properly signifies, to go about on account of traffic, or, merchandise, the sense of the clause may be, “The prophet and the priest carry on a trade against the land, and acknowledge it not.” That is, they deceive the people with lying divinations for the sake of gain, and when accused of it, will not own their guilt. Blaney renders it, They go trafficking about the city, meaning, “They go about with their false doctrine and lying predictions, as peddlers do with their wares, seeking their own gain,” and take no knowledge — That is, “pay no regard to the miseries in which their country is involved, but act as if they were totally insensible of them.”
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 vv16, 17, 19 I will pour ... - i. e., their wickedness…
I will pour ... - i. e., their wickedness shall be brought home to them.
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 vv17, 18, 21, 22 My. Septuagint, "your eyes." Jeremias shews by his tears…
My. Septuagint, "your eyes." Jeremias shews by his tears the future misery. (Calmet) --- Virgin. Though many were sinners, the Church had some just souls. (Worthington)
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 vv15–22 (Jer 5:12-13).
(Jer 5:12-13).
By sword and famine . . . consumed--retribution in kind both to the false prophets and to their hearers (Jer 14:16).
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 vv15, 17, 18, 19, 22 15, 16. I sent them not — A solemn…
15, 16. I sent them not — A solemn reiteration of God’s purpose to execute his own truth as against all assurances to the contrary. The chariot-wheels of Jehovah’s purposes shall roll on, even though they roll in fire.
I will pour their wickedness upon them — it is the animus of wickedness to destroy all good and precious things, even God himself; hence this is the direst of threats.
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 vv15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22 15, 16. Gi. now (Metrik) omits these vv., apparently…
15, 16. Gi. now (Metrik) omits these vv., apparently as failing to satisfy the metrical conditions which prevail elsewhere in the ch. (Ḳinah).
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 vv15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 (15) Therefore thus saith the Lord.—To the mind of…
(15) Therefore thus saith the Lord.—To the mind of a true prophet, feeling that he was taught of God, nothing could be more hateful than the acts of those who, for selfish ends, were leading the people to their destruction. For them there was therefore the righteous retribution that they should perish in the very calamities which they had asserted would never come.
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 vv16–22 I will pour their wickedness; i.e. the fruits of…
I will pour their wickedness; i.e. the fruits of their wickedness. (comp. Jer_2:19, "Thine own wickedness shall correct thee
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 vv20–22 We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness.
Jer_14:20
We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness.
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Frank acknowledgment of guilt
Next to the merit of not sinning is confessing sin. A learned man has said, The three hardest words in the English language are--I was mistaken. Frederick the Great wrote to the Senate: I have just lost a great battle, and it was entirely my own fault. Goldsmith said, This confession displayed more greatness than all his victories. Such a prompt acknowledgment of his fault recalls Bacons course in more trying circumstances. I do plainly and ingenuously confess, said the great Chancellor, that I am guilty of corruption, and so renounce all defence. I beseech your lordships to be merciful to a broken reed. (A. T. Pierson.)
True repentance avails with God
When a man undertakes to repent towards his fellowmen, it is repenting straight up a precipice; when he repents towards law it is repenting in a crocodiles jaws; when he repents towards public sentiment, it is throwing himself into a thicket of brambles and thorns; but when he repents towards God, he repents towards all love and delicacy. God receives the soul, as the sea the bather, to return it again, purer and whiter than He took it. (H. W. Beecher.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v19 The Prophet again Intercedes
The Prophet again Intercedes
v. 19. Hast Thou utterly rejected Judah? so the prophet sorrowfully asks Jehovah. Hath Thy soul loathed Zion? feeling nothing but disgust for her. Why hast Thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, and there is no good, and for the time of healing, and behold trouble! Terror beset them on every hand, and there was no respite in sight.
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v. 20. We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers, the guilt which was found in the children also, for we have sinned against Thee. It is a confession in the name of those who were still Israelites in truth, since He, in the event of their repenting, had promised them forgiveness.
v. 21. Do not abhor us, in an utter rejection, for Thy name’s sake, which guaranteed to them the true covenant relation with all its benefits, do not disgrace the throne of Thy glory, namely, by repudiating Jerusalem and the Temple of Jehovah. Remember, break not, Thy covenant with us, upholding His promise made to the patriarchs. The prophet finally urges, as a consideration which ought to influence Jehovah, the fact that He alone is able to help in this emergency.
v. 22. Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles, their empty idols, that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? God, as the only Creator, the one true God, is the only One who can dispense rain and give showers as He sees best. Art not Thou He, O Lord, our God? Since He had sent the dreadful droughts under whose hardships the land was groaning, therefore He alone could provide relief. Therefore we will wait upon Thee, for Thou hast made all these things. It is this understanding which is required of all men who would stand in the proper relation to Jehovah, the one God of mercy.
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 vv15, 17, 19, 21 General Information:
General Information:
Jeremiah has just been talking to Yahweh about the things the false prophets have been prophesying.
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in my name
This phrase refers to speaking with Yahweh's power and authority or as his representative. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 14:14. (See: Metonymy)
there will be no sword ... and sword
Here the "sword" represents war. AT: "there will be no war ... and war" (See: Metonymy)
Then the people to whom they prophesied will be thrown out in the streets of Jerusalem because of famine and sword
This can be stated in active form. This means that whole families will die and people will throw their bodies into the streets instead of burying them. AT: "Then the people to whom they prophesied will die by famine and sword and people will throw their bodies into the streets of Jerusalem" (See: Active or Passive)
their wives, their sons, or their daughters
This describes who is referred to by the word "them," that is, everyone who died by famine and sword.
I will pour out their wickedness on them
Here Yahweh speaks of punishing the people in accordance to their wicknedness as if their own wickedness were a liquid that he would pour upon them. AT: "I will punish them like they deserve to be punished" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
sword
famine
perish
Jerusalem
bury
evil
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 vv17, 19, 22 14:17-18 As he surveyed Judah’s condition, God vividly expressed…
14:17-18 As he surveyed Judah’s condition, God vividly expressed his grief through a short poem. The Lord takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek 18:23; 33:11).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.