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The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when king Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying, “Please inquire of Yahweh for us; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps Yahweh will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may withdraw from us.”
Then Jeremiah said to them, “Tell Zedekiah:
Jeremiah 21:1-3 sits inside this longer paragraph.
The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when king Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying, “Please inquire of Yahweh for us; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps Yahweh will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may withdraw from us.”
Then Jeremiah said to them, “Tell Zedekiah: ‘Yahweh, the God of Israel says, “Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans who besiege you outside the walls; and I will gather them into the middle of this city. I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation. I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and animal. They will die of a great pestilence. Afterward,” says Yahweh, “I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people, even those who are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life. He will strike them with the edge of the sword. He will not spare them, have pity, or have mercy.” ’
The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when king Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying,
“Please inquire of Yahweh for us; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps Yahweh will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may withdraw from us.”
Then Jeremiah said to them, “Tell Zedekiah:
The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,
Enquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the LORD will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.
Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:
The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashhur the son of Malchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying:
'Inquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; peradventure the LORD will deal with us according to all His wondrous works, that he may go up from us.'
Then said Jeremiah unto them: Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Jeremiah relates how he received the king’s messengers, who…
Jeremiah relates how he received the king’s messengers, who sought from him an answer, whether he could bring any comfort in a state of things so perplexed and almost hopeless, he then says, that two had been sent to him; one was Pashur, not the priest mentioned in the last chapter, for he was the son of Immer but this was the son of Melchiah; and the other was Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah. But he shews that the king and his counsellors were disappointed of their hope, for they expected a favor-able answer, as though God would be propitious to Jerusalem; but the Prophet answered as he was commanded by God, that it was all over with the city, the kingdom, and the whole nation.
We shall also see from other passages that Zedekiah was not one of the worst; though he did not really fear God and was led away by false counsels, there was yet in him some regard for religion, so that he did not avowedly despise God as Epicureans do. Many such are found even at this day in the world, who think it enough to cherish a half-buried fear of God, and to retain some little regard for religion; but it is very fading, and disappears on even the least occasion. So it was with Zedekiah; he was as it were neutral, for he neither seriously worshipped God nor yet despised him.
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Hence it was, that he sent messengers to Jeremiah. He knew that while God was displeased with them no safety could be hoped for; but he did not understand the way of appeasing God, nor had he any real desire to be reconciled to him; as the case is with hypocrites, who, though they wish God to be kind to them, yet when God’s mercy is offered to them, either openly reject it, or are unwilling to embrace it, because they cannot bear to surrender themselves to God. Such was the state of mind in which Zedekiah was; and hence it was, that he asked the Prophet to consult God. But we must also observe that this was an honorable message; and it hence more fully appears that Zedekiah was not one of those furious tyrants, who like the giants seek to fight with God. For by sending two messengers to the Prophet, and employing him as an advocate to seek some favor from God, he proved that religion was not wholly suppressed and extinguished in him.
And hence also it may be seen how bold and courageous was the Prophet; for he was not softened by the honor paid to him, but gave such answer as was calculated to exasperate the king, and to drive him into great rage. But we ought especially to notice, that they did not flatter the Prophet so as to induce him to give a false answer, but wished God to be consulted. It hence appears that they were convinced of Jeremiah’s integrity, that he would say nothing rashly or from himself, but would be a faithful interpreter and herald of heavenly oracles. And yet we see, and shall hereafter see in several passages, that the king was very incensed against God’s Prophet. But hypocrites, though they are forced to reverence God, are yet carried here and there, and maintain no consistency, especially when they perceive that God is against them; for they are not turned by threatenings. They cannot, therefore, but make tumult, and strive like refractory horses to shake off their rider. Such an instance we find in Zedekiah; for he acknowledged Jeremiah as God’s faithful servant; for he did not say, “Tell a lie for us, or in our favor but, inquire of God for us.
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 v2 Not that the King was touched with repentance of…
Not that the King was touched with repentance of his sins, and so sought to God, as did Hezekiah, when he sent to Isaiah, 2 Kings 19:1; Isa. 37:2, but because the Prophet might pray unto God to take this present plague away, as Pharaoh sought unto Moses, Exod. 9:28.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Jer 21:1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from…
Jer 21:1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,
Ver. 1. The word that came unto Jeremiah from the Lord.] This history is here set down out of course; {a} for Jerusalem was not besieged till Jer 32:2, and Jehoiakim reigned Jer 25:1 It was in the ninth year of Zedekiah that this present prophecy was uttered. {2Ki 25:1-2} This Zedekiah was one of those semiperfectae virtutis homines, as Philo calleth some professors, cakes half-baked., {Hos 7:8} no flat atheist, nor yet a pious prince. Of Galba the emperor, as also of our Richard III, it is recorded that they were bad men but good princes. We cannot say so much of Zedekiah; two things he is chiefly charged with: (1.) That he broke his oath and faith plelged to the King of Babylon; {Eze 17:16} (2.) That he humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet, speaking from the mouth of the Lord. {2Ch 36:12-13} Hitherto he had not: but now in his distress he seeketh to this prophet; yea, sendeth an embassy. Kings care not for soldiers, said a great commander, till their crowns hang on the one side of their heads. Sure it is that some of them slight God’s ministers till they cannot tell what to do without them, as here. Kingdoms have their cares, and thrones their thorns. Antigonus cried out of his diadem, O vilis pannus, O base rag, not worth taking up at a man’s feet. Julian complained of his own unhappiness in being made emperor. Dioclesian laid down the empire as weary of it. Thirty of the ancient kings of this our land, saith Capgrave, resigned their crowns; such were their cares, crosses, and emulations. Zedekiah now could gladly have done as much. But since that might not be, he sendeth to Jeremiah, whom in his prosperity he had slighted, and, to gratify his wicked counsellors, wrongfully imprisoned.
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He sent unto him Pashur.] Not that Magormissabib, {Jer 20:1} but another of his name, though not much better, as it afterwards appeared, when, seeing Jeremiah’s stoutness for the truth, he counselled the king to put him to death. {Jer 38:4}
And Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah.] Of whom see further, Jer 29:25-29; Jer 37:3.
{a} Est hic hysterologia sive praeposterus ordo.
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 vv1–2 God at sundry times, and in diver’s manners, spake…
God at sundry times, and in diver’s manners, spake in times past to the fathers by the prophets, Heb 1:1. The two principal were visions and dreams, Num 12:6. How the following word came to Jeremiah is not expressed, it is enough that he knew it came from the Lord. It is apparent some prophecies in this book are not put in the right order as they were delivered. Jer 25;, we have an account of the word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, who was the second son of Josiah, made king by Pharaoh-necho, pursuing his victory mentioned 2Ch 35:22 upon the battle, in which Josiah was killed, as we read there. The people made Jehoahaz king, but he reigned but three months; and the conqueror carrying him away, made Eliakim his brother king, changing his name to Jehoiakim, who reigned eleven years, that is, seven after the word of the Lord, mentioned Jer 25, came to Jeremiah; after whom Jehoiachin his son reigned three months and ten days: Zedekiah was his uncle, the son of Josiah, he reigned eleven years. So that it is plain that Jeremiah’s prophecy mentioned Jer 25 was seven years and three months before this, besides the number of years that Zedekiah had reigned. But some think that Jer 23; Jer 24; Jer 25, doth but make a repetition to Zedekiah’s messengers of what he had before prophesied. This message was (as appeareth by the next verse) when Nebuchadrezzar was come up to make war against Jerusalem, Jer 39:1. Jeremiah was at liberty when the word of the Lord at this time came to him, so as it was some time before the city was taken. The fatal siege held about a year and half, as appears by Jer 39:1,2. The
Pashur mentioned here was another from him mentioned Jer 20:1; he was the son of Immer, of the sixteenth course of the priests, and of a more rugged, ill temper; this was
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the son of Melchiah, and so of the fifth course. See 1Ch 24:9,14.
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 v1 Here is, I. A very humble decent message which…
Here is, I. A very humble decent message which king Zedekiah, when he was in distress, sent to Jeremiah the prophet. It is indeed charged upon this Zedekiah that he humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet, speaking from the mouth of the Lord (Ch2 36:12); he did not always humble himself as he did sometimes; he never humbled himself till necessity forced him to it; he humbled himself so far as to desire the prophet's assistance, but not so far as to take his advice, or to be ruled by him. Observe,
1. The distress which king Zedekiah was now in: Nebuchadrezzar made war upon him, not only invaded the land, but besieged the city, and had now actually invested it. Note, Those that put the evil day far from them will be the more terrified when it comes upon them; and those who before slighted God's ministers may then perhaps be glad to court an acquaintance with them.
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2. The messengers he sent - Pashur and Zephaniah, one belonging to the fifth course of the priests, the other to the twenty-fourth, Ch1 24:9, Ch1 24:18. It was well that he sent, and that he sent persons of rank; but it would have been better if he had desired a personal conference with the prophet, which no doubt he might easily have had if he would so far have humbled himself. Perhaps these priests were no better than the rest, and yet, when they were commanded by the king, they must carry a respectful message to the prophet, which was both a mortification to them and an honour to Jeremiah. he had rashly said (Jer 20:18), My days are consumed with shame; and yet here we find that he lived to see better days than those were when he made that complaint; now he appears in reputation. Note, It is folly to say, when things are bad with us, "They will always be so." It is possible that those who are despised may come to be respected; and it is promised that those who honour God he will honour, and that those who have afflicted his people shall bow to them, Isa 60:14.
3. The message itself: Enquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us, Jer 21:2. Now that the Chaldean army had got into their borders, into their bowels, they were at length convinced that Jeremiah was a true prophet, though loth to own it and brought too late to it. Under this conviction they desire him to stand their friend with God, believing him to have that interest in heaven which none of their other prophets had, who had flattered them with hopes of peace. They now employ Jeremiah, (1.) To consult the mind of God for them: "Enquire of the Lord for us; ask him what course we shall take in our present strait, for the measures we have hitherto taken are all broken." Note, Those that will not take the direction of God's grace how to get clear of their sins would yet be glad of the directions of his providence how to get clear of their troubles. (2.) To seek the favour of God for them (so some read it): "Entreat the Lord for us; be an intercessor for us with God." Note, Those that slight the prayers of God's people and ministers when they are in prosperity may perhaps be glad of an interest in them when they come to be in distress. Give us of your oil. The benefit they promise themselves is, It may be the Lord will deal with us now according to the wondrous works he wrought for our fathers, that the enemy may raise the siege and go up from us. Observe, [1.] All their care is to get rid of their trouble, not to make their peace with God and be reconciled to him - "That our enemy may go up from us," not, "That our God may return to us." Thus Pharaoh (Exo 10:17): Entreat the Lord that he may take away this death. [2.] All their hope is that God had done wondrous works formerly in the deliverance of Jerusalem when Sennacherib besieged it, at the prayer of Isaiah (so we are told, Ch2 32:20, Ch2 32:21), and who can tell but he may destroy these besiegers (as he did those) at the prayer of Jeremiah? But they did not consider how different the character of Zedekiah and his people was from that of Hezekiah and his people: those were days of general reformation and piety, these of general corruption and apostasy. Jerusalem is now the reverse of what it was then. Note, It is folly to think that God should do for us while we hold fast our iniquity as he did for those that held fast their integrity.
II. A very startling cutting reply which God, by the prophet, sent to that message. If Jeremiah had been to have answered the message of himself we have reason to think that he would have returned a comfortable answer, in hope that their sending such a message was an indication of some good purposes in them, which he would be glad to make the best of, for he did not desire the woeful day. But God knows their hearts better than Jeremiah does, and sends them an answer which has scarcely one word of comfort in it. He sends it to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel (Jer 21:3), to intimate to them that though God allowed himself to be called the God of Israel, and had done great things for Israel formerly, and had still great things in store for Israel, pursuant to his covenants with them, yet this should stand the present generation in no stead, who were Israelites in name only, and not in deed, any more than God's dealings with them should cut off his relation to Israel as their God. It is here foretold,
1. That God will render all their endeavours for their own security fruitless and ineffectual (Jer 21:4): "I will be so far from teaching your hands to war, and putting an edge upon your swords, that I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hand, when you sally out upon the besiegers to beat them off, so that they shall not give the stroke you design; nay, they shall recoil into your own faces, and be turned upon yourselves." Nothing can make for those who have God against them.
2. That the besiegers shall in a little time make themselves masters of Jerusalem, and of all its wealth and strength: I will assemble those in the midst of this city who are now surrounding it. Note, If that place which should have been a centre of devotion be made a centre of wickedness, it is not strange if God make it a rendezvous of destroyers.
3. That God himself will be their enemy; and then I know not who can befriend them, no. not Jeremiah himself (Jer 21:5): "I will be so far from protecting you, as I have done formerly in a like case, that I myself will fight against you." Note, Those who rebel against God may justly expect that he will make war upon them, and that, (1.) With the power of a God who is irresistibly victorious: I will fight against you with an outstretched hand, which will reach far, and with a strong arm, which will strike home and wound deeply. (2.) With the displeasure of a God who is indisputably righteous. It is not a correction in love, but an execution in anger, in fury, and in great wrath; it is upon a sentence sworn in wrath, against which there will lie no exception, and it will soon be found what a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God.
4. That those who, for their own safety, decline sallying out upon the besiegers, and so avoid their sword, shall yet not escape the sword of God's justice (Jer 21:6): I will smite those that abide in the city (so it may be read), both man and beast, both the beasts that are for food and those that are for service in war, foot and horse; they shall, die of a great pestilence, which shall rage within the walls, while the enemies are encamped about them. Though Jerusalem's gates and walls may for a time keep out the Chaldeans, they cannot keep out God's judgments. His arrows of pestilence can reach those that think themselves safe from other arrows.
5. That the king himself, and people that escape the sword, famine, and pestilence, shall fall into the hands of the Chaldeans, who shall cut them off in cold blood (Jer 21:7): They shall not spare them, nor have pity on them. Let not those expect to find mercy with men who have forfeited God's compassions, and shut themselves out from his mercy. Thus had the decree gone forth; and then to what purpose was it for Jeremiah to enquire of the Lord for them?
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 vv1–3 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord,....…
The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord,.... This prophecy stands out of its proper place, being made in the times of Zedekiah, and when Jerusalem was besieged by the king of Babylon; whereas, after this, there are prophecies which were delivered in the times of Jehoiakim and Jeconiah, who both reigned before Zedekiah; see Jer 22:11, &c.
when King Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah; this was another Pashur from him that is spoken of in the preceding chapter, and is called "Magormissabib"; he was the son of Immer; this of Melchiah; he was of the sixteenth course of the priesthood; this of the "fifth":
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and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest; who was of the "twenty fourth" course; see Ch1 24:9; in Jer 52:24, he is called the "second priest"; he was "sagan", or deputy to the high priest: they were both priests; wherefore the Syriac version renders it in the plural number, "priests". It may be observed, that the foregoing chapter is concluded with the prophet's cursing the day of his birth; and the last clause of it expresses the "shame" he imagined his days would be consumed in; and the next account we have is of an honour done him by the king, in sending two priests to him, with a message from him; whereby he tacitly owned him to be a true prophet of the Lord; as indeed he must now be convinced by facts that he was. Princes and people, who slight the ministers of God in time of prosperity, send to them, and are desirous of their assistance in times of distress:
saying; as follows:
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 vv1–2 King Zedekiah in the siege sends to Jeremiah to…
King Zedekiah in the siege sends to Jeremiah to inquire of the event, ver. 1, 2. He foretells a hard siege and miserable captivity, ver. 3-7. He counsels the people to fall to the Chaldeans, ver. 8-10. And upbraids the king's house, ver. 11-14.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1–2 Nebuchadnezzar being come up against Jerusalem, Zedekiah sends
CHAPTER XXI
Nebuchadnezzar being come up against Jerusalem, Zedekiah sends
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Pashur and Zephaniah to the prophet to request him to intercede
with God in behalf of his people, 1, 2.
But he is declared to be against Jerusalem, and the whole land
of Judah; and the only mitigation of their punishment must
proceed from their surrendering to the king of Babylon, 3-10.
Prophecy concerning the house of the king of Judah, 11, 12.
Notwithstanding the amazing fortifications round about
Jerusalem, in which the people vainly trust, the Lord will most
assuredly visit them for their iniquities; the city shall be
taken by the Chaldeans, 13, 14.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXI
Verse 1. The word which came unto Jeremiah] The chapters in the remaining parts of this prophecy seem strangely interchanged. This subject has been mentioned in the introduction, and some tables given; and to these the critical reader is requested to refer. The discourse here was delivered about the ninth year or the reign of Zedekiah. This chapter, observes Dr. Blayney, contains the first of those prophecies which were delivered by Jeremiah, subsequent to the revolt of Zedekiah, and the breaking out of the war thereupon; and which are continued on to the taking of Jerusalem, related in Jer 39:1-2, in the following order: - Jer 21, Jer 34, Jer 37, Jer 32, Jer 33, Jer 38, Jer 39.
Pashur the son of Melchiah] There can be little doubt that this Pashur was a different person from him who was called the son of Immur in the preceding chapter.
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 vv1–2 Jer 21:1. The word which came to Jeremiah, when…
Jer 21:1. The word which came to Jeremiah, when King Zedekiah sent unto him — The occasion of Zedekiah’s sending the message here mentioned to Jeremiah, has, by some commentators, been confounded with that in chap. 37. “But I think,” says Blaney, “they are clearly and undeniably distinct one from the other. From the reply given to that in chapter 37., it is manifest that the Chaldeans, who had been besieging Jerusalem for some time had already raised the siege, and were gone to meet the Egyptian army, leaving the Jews in great hopes that they would never return again. But the terms of this message seem to imply, that the king of Babylon had but just commenced his hostilities against Judah, of which Zedekiah informs the prophet, as of a matter that might not yet have come to his certain knowledge; and desires him to intercede with God, that he would divert the storm by some such extraordinary interposition as he had been wont to manifest in favour of his people. The answer likewise takes no notice of any siege or operations past; but simply regards the future, which it is declared should end unhappily, because God would take an active part against the inhabitants of Judah, and would deliver both their city, and also the king and his people, into the hands of their merciless enemies. The time of this transaction, therefore, I conceive to be the ninth year of Zedekiah, previous to the siege of Jerusalem, which began in the tenth mouth of that year.”
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 vv1–2 By sending this embassy Zedekiah acknowledged that Jeremiah held…
By sending this embassy Zedekiah acknowledged that Jeremiah held the same position in the kingdom which Isaiah had held under Hezekiah 2Ki 19:2. Pashur and Zephaniah belonged to the party who were for resisting Nebuchadnezzar by force of arms.
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 v1 Sent, after Nabuchodonosor had returned from Egypt. (The year…
Sent, after Nabuchodonosor had returned from Egypt. (The year of the world 3415.) This consultation should be placed after chap. xxxvii. (Calmet) --- Phassur, specified above, and chap. xxxviii. 1., (Calmet) or a different person. (St. Jerome) (Piscator) --- Sophonias, the second priest, (chap. xxxvii. 3., and lii. 24.) of the 24th class, (1 Paralipomenon xxiv. 18.) who was slain at Reblatha. (Calmet) --- Jeremias threatens the great ones to chap. xxix. and is persecuted. He spoke this when Nabuchodonosor invaded the country. (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).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 8. THE EIGHTH DISCOURSE (Against the Wicked Shepherds)
8. THE EIGHTH DISCOURSE (Against the Wicked Shepherds)
(Chaps. 21–24)
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In designating this portion of the book a discourse we do so only a potiori. For neither is it purely of the nature of a discourse, nor does it form one discourse, i. e., a connected rhetorical whole. The different portions of it, partly of historical, partly of rhetorical character, and pertaining to very different epochs, are however comprised under a common title, such as in Jeremiah is usually prefixed to the greater sections. These portions contain in general the same fundamental thought, viz., that which is slated in the title, “Against wicked Shepherds.” By these wicked shepherds are to be understood all the leaders of the people, kings and prophets (and priests, Jer_23:11). The main trunk is formed by the powerful speech against Jehoiakim (Jer_22:1-9; Jer_22:13-23; Jer_23:1-8), which Jeremiah addressed to that violent despot before the gate of his palace, in presence of his court and the people. Around this discourse, enclosing it and interwoven with it, are grouped other portions of similar character. Originally a brief passage (Jer_21:11-14) was prefixed to this discourse, on account of its purport, in which it is intimately related to Jer_22:3-7 (comp. the Comm. on Jer_21:11-14). This passage could not be subjoined after Jer_22:9, because here the personal addresses connected with the words spoken to Jehoiakim, Jer_22:13-19, had to be inserted, and after Jer_22:30, the distance would be too great from the discourse to which it is related, Jer_22:3-7. The passage Jer_21:1-10 had to be placed before Jer_21:11, although as to time the latest in the whole compass of chh. 21—24. because in it a Pashur is spoken of. By this it seemed to be connected with Jeremiah 20, in which also a Pashur plays the chief part. Jer_22:13-23 followed originally immediately after Jer_22:9 (comp. the preliminary remarks to Jer_22:13-19). But since there was a brief passage, referring to Shallum-Jehoahaz (Jer_22:10-12) the immediate predecessor of Jehoiakim, this had to be placed before Jer_22:13. After Jer_22:23 the passage referring to Jehoiakim (Jer_22:24-30) naturally found its position. The passage Jer_23:1-8 followed finally as the original conclusion of the speech addressed to Jehoiakim, and as a consolatory glance into the future after the dark portraits of the kings of the present. From Jer_23:9-40 follows then the connected discourse against the false prophets. This was by no means delivered on the same day and in the same place as the discourse against Jehoiakim, Jer_22:1 to Jer_28:8. It may however in general belong to the same period, viz., the first four years of the reign of Jehoiakim, since there is no mention of the Chaldeans, and the reign of Josiah gave much less occasion for such a discourse. Chap. 24 finally corresponds to “the punitive judgments on the three predecessors of Zedekiah, and completes the judgment on the corrupt pastors and leaders of the people” (Graf). The reason why this chapter was not inserted immediately after Jer_22:30 is that it treats its subject in a form quite peculiar and different from the style of Jeremiah 22. It would accordingly appear too much like a foreign element after Jer_22:30.
If accordingly we cannot speak of this discourse as one properly and logically concatenated, yet we may recognize a certain orderly arrangement of its individual parts. This will be manifest in the following synopsis:—
Against The Wicked Shepherds
Chaps. 21–24
I. Preface, Jeremiah 21
a. Passage relating to Pashur, as an addition to Jeremiah 20; Jer_21:1-10
b. Transition. Exhortation to the house of David to righteousness, Jer_21:11-14.
II. Main Discourse, chs. 22 and 23.
Against the wicked kings and prophets.
1. Against the wicked kings, Jer_22:1 to Jer_23:8.
a. The alternative offered the royal house, Jer_22:1-9.
b. Prophecy relating to the person of Shallum, Jer_22:10-12.
c. Prophecy relating to the person of Jehoiakim, Jer_22:13-19.
d. The consequences to the people, Jer_22:20-23.
e. Prophecy relating to the person of Jehoiakim, Jer_22:24-30.
α. Before the captivity, Jer_22:24-27.
β. After the captivity, Jer_22:28-30.
f. Conclusion and consolation in a glance at the just and the justifier, Jer_23:1-8.
2. Against the false prophets, Jer_23:9-40.
a. The blind leaders of the blind, Jer_23:9-15.
b. Warning against deception by the prophets, Jer_23:16-22.
c. The criminal mingling of man’s word and God’s word, Jer_23:23-32.
d. The criminal use of the word “burden,” Jer_23:33-40.
III. Postscript.
Supplement to Jer_22:13-30 : The fourth king, Jer_24:1-10.
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I. PREFACE
Chap. 21
a. Passage relating to Pashur, as an addition to Jeremiah 20 (Jer_21:1-10)
1. The king’s question and the prophet’s consolatory answer
Jer_21:1-7
1The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord [Jehovah] when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah2[,] the priest, saying, Inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord [Jehovah] for us, for Nebuchadrezzar,1 king of Babylon, maketh war against us; if so be that [perhaps] the Lord [Jehovah] will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he 3may go up [withdraw] from us. Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say 4to Zedekiah: Thus saith the Lord [Jehovah] God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls [or your walls from without] and I will assemble [withdraw] them into the midst of this city. 5And I myself will fight against you, with an outstretched hand and a strong arm, 6even in anger and in great fury, and in great wrath. And I will smite the inhabitants 7of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. And afterward, saith the Lord [Jehovah] I will deliver Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left2 in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword, he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
To the petition of King Zedekiah that the prophet would seek for them the interposition of Jehovah against Nebuchadnezzar (Jer_21:1-2), the prophet answers that the Lord will cause the defenders of the city to retreat before the Chaldeans (Jer_21:3-4), yea, will Himself contend against them with a great pestilence (Jer_21:5-6), and will then surrender the survivors of the sword, famine and pestilence (among whom will be the king himself and his servants) to king Nebuchadnezzar, who will slay them without mercy by the sword (Jer_21:7).
Jer_21:1-2. The word which came … withdraw from us. The beginning is like Jer_7:1. Comp. ad hoc loc.—Pashur, the son of Malkiah, is also mentioned in Jer_38:1.—Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, Jer_29:25; Jer_37:3; Jer_52:24. Both were priests (Malkiah and Maaseiah are also names of courses of priests, 1Ch_24:9-18); the latter כֹהֵן מִשְׁנֶה the next after the high-priest (Jer_52:24). The embassy was therefore a respectable one.—Zedekiah sent once again with the same object to the prophet: Jer_37:3. Comp. also Isa_37:2 sqq.—On the relation of time Vide Comm. on Isa_37:23.—Inquire, etc. The prophet was not merely to ask what will be done, but also to pray that whatever would serve for deliverance may be done, as is evident from perhaps Jehovah, etc. In Jer_37:3 it is “Pray for us.” Comp. Jer_42:2.—That he may go up from us. Comp. 1Sa_6:20; 1Ki_15:19; Jer_37:5; Jer_37:11. The figure of a person thrown down, from whom his vanquisher raises himself, lies at the basis of this expression. [Henderson: “The phrase means to recede from the incumbent attitude assumed by a besieging army.”—S. R. A.]
Jer_21:3-7. Then said Jeremiah … have mercy. From the words in the midst of the city it is evident that the prophet places the line of defence within the walls. Thus the enemy presses the Jews no longer without but within the walls, and certainly the city is then as good as taken. This however is just what the prophet wished them to understand. I believe therefore that without the walls is to be referred not to turn back nor to fight, but to besiege.—Assemble. Comp. Jer_16:5; Joel 2:10; 4:15.—Outstretched hand. Comp. Deu_4:34; Deu_5:15; Deu_26:8. It should be remarked that everywhere else, with the exception of the formula “and his hand is stretched out still” (Isa_5:25; Isa_9:11; Isa_9:16; Isa_9:20; Isa_10:4 coll. 1Ch_21:16), נטויהoutstretched is the adjective used with זְרוֹעַarm, and חֲזָקָהmighty, with יָדhand.—With anger, etc. Comp. Jer_32:37; Deu_29:27.—With the edge of the sword. In Jeremiah here only.—Not spare them. Comp. Jer_13:14.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. On Jer_21:2. “King Zedekiah sends word to Jeremiah, that the Lord is to do according to all His miracles, that Nebuchadnezzar may withdraw. A demand rather cavalierly made in such evil circumstances. But the noble are so unfortunate! It is indeed as though it only depended on them to arrange matters with God; as if He were only waiting for them, as if it were a point of honor not to be over-hasty, but first to await a little extremity …. It is a very necessary observance for a servant of the Lord, that he try his superiors, whether there is any trace remaining in them of having been once baptized, well brought up and instructed in the fear of the Lord. If he observe anything of this kind, he must insist upon it and especially not allow them to deal too familiarly with the Judge of all the earth, but plainly demonstrate to them their insufficiency and nothingness, if they measure themselves by Him. Though Zedekiah had spoken so superficially, Jeremiah answered him without hesitation, definitely and positively, and accustomed him to a different manner of dealing with the Lord.” Zinzendorf. “When the ungodly desire God’s help, they commonly appeal not to His saving power to heal them, but to His miraculous power to save them, while they persist in their impenitence.” Starke.
2. On Jer_21:8. “It is pure grace on the part of God, when He leaves to man the choice between the good and the evil; not that it is permitted him to choose the evil, but that he may choose freely the good, which he is under obligation to do, Deu_30:19.” Starke. “God lays before us the way of life and the way of death. The way of life is however always contrary to human reason, and that on which it sees merely death and shame. … If thou wilt save thyself thou must leave the false Jerusalem, fallen under the judgment, and seek thy life where there seems to be only death. He who would save his life must lose it, and he who devotes it for the sake of the truth will save it.” Diedrich.
3. On Jer_21:11-14. “To be such a king is to be an abomination to the Lord, and severe judgment will follow. God appoints magistrates for His service and for the use of men; he who only seeks his own enjoyment in office, is lost. Jerusalem, situated on rocks in the midst of a plain, looks secure; but against God neither rocks avail nor aught else. The fire will break out even in them, and consume all around, together with the forest of cedar-houses in the city. The corruption is seated within, and therefore proceeds from within outwards, so that nothing of the former stock can remain. What shall a government do which no longer bears the sword of justice? What shall a church do which is no longer founded on God’s truth as its only power?” Diedrich. Comp. moreover on the whole of Jeremiah 24. the extended moral reflections of Cyrillus Alex. περὶ τῆς ἐν πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθ. προσκυνήσεως. Lib. I.
4. On Jer_22:1. “Jeremiah is to deliver a sermon at court, in which he reminds the king of his office of magistrate, in which he is to administer justice to every man.” Cramer.
It was no easy task for Jeremiah to go into the lions’ den and deliver such an uncourtly message to him. We are reminded of the prophet Jonah. But Jeremiah did not flee as he did.
5. On Jer_22:1-3. [“But we ought the more carefully to notice this passage, that we may learn to strengthen ourselves against bad examples, lest the impiety of men should overturn our faith; when we see in God’s church things in such disorder, that those who glory in the name of God are become like robbers, we must beware lest we become on this account alienated from true religion. We must, indeed, desert such monsters, but we must take care lest God’s word, through men’s wickedness, should lose its value in our esteem. We ought then to remember the admonition of Christ, to hear the Scribes and Pharisees who sat in Moses’ seat (Mat_23:2).” Calvin.—S. R. A.]
6. On Jer_22:10. [“Dying saints may be justly envied, while living sinners are justly pitied. And so dismal perhaps the prospect of the times may be, that tears even for a Josiah, even for a Jesus, must be restrained, that they may be reserved for ourselves and our children (Luk_23:28).” Henry.—S. R. A.]
“Nequaquam gentilis plangendus est atque Judæus, qui in ecclesia non fuerunt et simul mortui sunt, de quibus Salvator dicit: dimitte mortuos sepelire mortuos suos (Mat_8:22). Sed eos plange, qui per scelera atque peccata egrediuntur de ecclesia et nolunt ultra reverti ad earn damnatione vitiorum.” Hieron. Epist. 46 ad Rusticam. “Nolite flere mortuum, sed plorate raptorem avarum, pecuniæ sitientem et inexplebilem auri cupidinem. Cur mortuos inutiliter ploramus? Eos ploremus, qui in melius mutari possunt.” Basilius Seleucensis. Comp. Basil, Magn. Homil. 4 de Gratiarum actione post dimid.—Ghislerus.
7. On Jer_22:6-9. “God does not spare even the authorities. For though He has said that they are gods, when they do not rightly administer their office they must die like men (Psa_82:6) … No cedars are too high for God, no splendor too mighty; He can destroy all at once, and overturn, and overturn, and overturn. Eze_21:27,” Cramer.
Another passage from which it is seen how perverse and unjustifiable is the illusion that God’s election is a surety against His anger, and a permit to any wilfulness. The individual representatives of the objects of divine election should never forget that God can march over their carcases, and the ruins of their glory, to the fulfilment of His promise, and that He can rebuild on a higher stage, what He has destroyed on a lower. Comp. remarks on Jer_22:24.
8. On Jer_22:13-19. It is blasphemy to imagine that God will be frère et compagnon to all princes as such, and that He has a predilection for them as of His own kind. Does He not say to his majesty the king of Judah, with whom, in respect of the eminence of his dynasty and throne no other prince of earth could compare, that he should be buried like an ass, dragged and cast out before the gates of Jerusalem? This Jehoiakim was however an aristocrat, a heartless, selfish tyrant, who for his own pleasure trampled divine and human rights under foot. If such things were done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
“He who builds his house with other people’s property, collects stones for his grave.” Cramer.
9. On Jer_22:14. [“It was a proof of luxury when men began to indulge in superfluities. In old times the windows were small; for use only was regarded by frugal men; but afterwards a sort of madness possessed the minds of many, so that they sought to be suspended as it were in the air. And hence they began to have wider windows. The thing in itself, as I have said, is not what God condemns; but we must ever remember, that men never go to excesses in external things, except when their hearts are infected with pride, so that they do not regard what is useful, what is becoming, but are carried away by fondness for excess.” Calvin.—S. R. A.]
10. On Jer_22:15. “God may grant the great lords a preference in eating and drinking and the splendor of royal courts, but it is not His will that these be regarded as the main things, but that true religion, right and justice must have the precedence;—this is the Lord’s work. But cursed is he who does the Lord’s work remissly. Jer_48:10.” Cramer.
11. On Jer_22:17. “Description of haughty, proud, magnificent, merciless and tyrannical lords and rulers, who are accomplices of thieves.” Cramer.
12. On Jer_22:19. [“God would have burial a proof to distinguish us from brute animals even after death, as we in life excel them, and as our condition is much nobler than that of the brute creation. Burial is also a pledge as it were of immortality; for when man’s body is laid hid in the earth, it is as it were a mirror of a future life. Since then burial is an evidence of God’s grace and favor towards mankind, it is on the other hand a sign of a curse, when burial is denied.” Calvin.—S. R. A.]
13. On Jer_22:24. “Great lords often imagine that they not only sit in the bosom of God, but that they are a pearl in His crown; or as the prophet says here, God’s signet-ring. Therefore, it is impossible that they should not succeed in their designs. But God looks not on the person of the princes, and knows the magnificent no more than the poor. Job_34:19.” Cramer.
14. On Jer_22:28. [“What is idolized will, first or last, be despised and broken, what is unjustly honored will be justly contemned, and rivals with God will be the scorn of man. Whatever we idolize we shall be disappointed in, and then shall despise.” Henry.—S. R. A.]
“The compliment is a very poor one for a king, who thinks somewhat of himself, and to whom it in a certain measure pertains that he be honored….But here it is the word of the Lord, and in consideration of these words it is declared in 2Ch_36:12, to be evil on the part of Zedekiah, that he did not humble himself before Jeremiah. Teachers must be much on their guard against assuming such purely prophetic, that is, extraordinary acts. It cost the servants of the Lord many a death, who were obliged thus to employ themselves, and when it is easy for one to ape it without a divine calling he thus betrays his frivolity and incompetence, if not his pride and delusion.” Zinzendorf.
15. On Jer_22:28-30. Irenæus (Adv. Hær. 3:30) uses this passage to prove that the Lord could not have been Joseph’s natural son, for otherwise he would have fallen under the curse of this passage, and appear as one not entitled to dominion (“qui eum dicunt ex Joseph generatum et in eo habere spem, abdicatos se faciunt a regno, sub maledictione et increpatione decidentes, quæ erga Jechoniam et in semen ejus est”). Basil the Great (Epist. ad Amphilochium) endeavors to show that this passage, with its declaration that none of Jeconiah’s descendants should sit on David’s throne, is not in contradiction to the prophecy of Jacob (Gen_49:10), that a ruler should not be lacking from Judah, till He came for whom the nations were hoping. Basil distinguishes in this relation between dominion and royal dignity.—The former continued, the latter ceased, and this period of, so to speak, latent royalty, was the bridge to the present, in which Christ rules in an invisible manner, but yet in real power and glory as royal priest, and at the same time represents Himself as the fulfilment of the hope of the nations. In like manner John of Damascus concludes that according to this passage there could be no prospect of the fulfilment of the promise in Gen_49:10, if Mary had not virgineo modo borne the scion of David, who however was not to occupy the visible throne of David. (Orat. II. in Nativ. B. Mariæ p. med.)—Ambrose finally (Comment. in Ev. Luc. L. III. cap. ult.) raises the question how Jeremiah could say, that ex semine Jechoniæ neminem regnaturum esse, since Christ was of the seed of Jeconiah and reigned? He answers: “Illic (Jer_22:30) futuros ex semine Jechoniæ posteros non negatur et ideo de semine ejus est Christus (comp. Mat_1:11), et quod regnavit Christus, non contra prophetiam est, non enim seculari honore regnavit, nee in Jechoniæ sedibus sedit, sed regnavit in sede David.” Ghislerus.
16. On Jer_23:2. “Nonnulli præsmles gregis quosdam pro peccato a communione ceiciunt, ut pæniteant, sed quali sorte vivere debeant ad melius exhortando non visitant. Quibus congrue increpans sermo divinus comminatur: pastores, qui pascunt populum meum, vos dispersistis gregem meum, ejecistis et non visitastis eum.” Isidor. Hisp. de summo bono she LL. sentt. Cap. 46. Ghislerus.
17. On Jer_23:5-6. Eusebius (Dem. Ev. VII. 9) remarks that Christ among all the descendants of David is the only one, who rules over the whole earth, and everywhere not only preaches justice and righteousness by His doctrine but is Himself also the author of the rising [of the Sun] of righteousness for all, according to Psa_72:7 : ἀνατελεῖ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ δικαιοσύνη, καὶ πλῆθος εἰρήνης ἕως οὗ ἀνταναιρεθῇ ἡ σελήνη (LXX.) Cyril of Alex. (Glaphyr. in Gen. I. p. 133) explains Ἰωσεδέκ as justitia Dei, in so far as we are made righteous in Him, not for the sake of the works of righteousness that we have done, but according to His great mercy. Rom_3:24; Tit_3:5.
18. On Jer_23:6. [“If we regard God in Himself, He is indeed righteous, but not our righteousness. If we desire to have God as our righteousness, we must seek Christ; for this cannot be found except in Him. … Paul says that He has been given or made to us righteousness,—for what end? that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. (1Co_1:30). Since, then, Christ is made our righteousness, and we are counted the righteousness of God in Him, we hence learn how properly and fitly it has been said that He would be Jehovah, not only that the power of His divinity might defend us, but also that we might become righteous in Him, for He is not only righteous for Himself, but He is our righteousness.” Calvin. See also a long note in Wordsworth, to show that Jehovah our Righteousness refers to Christ;—S. R. A.]
“The character of a true church is when the Lytrum, the ransom-money of Jesus Christ, is known and valued by all, and when they have written this secret, foolish and absolutely inscrutable to reason, in the heart with the finger of the living God: that Jesus by His blood has taken away the sins of the world. ‘O let it ne’er escape my thought, at what a price my soul was bought.’ This is the evening and morning prayer of every church, which is a true sister from above.” Zinzendorf.
19. On Jer_23:5-8. “The return under Ezra was also a fulfilment of this promise, but inferior and preliminary: not all came, and those who did come brought their sins back with them. They were still under the Law and had to wait for Righteousness; still in their return they had a pledge that the Messiah was yet to come and prepare the true city of peace. Now, however, all has been long fulfilled and we can enjoy it perfectly, if we have the mind for it. We have now a country of which no tyrant can rob us; our walk and citizenship is in heaven. We have been delivered from all our suffering, when we sit down at the feet of Jesus to hear His word. Then there is a power of resurrection within us, So that we can fly with our souls beyond the world and laugh at all our foes. For Christ has made us righteous by His daily forgiveness, so that we may also bring ourselves daily into heaven. Yea verily, the kingdom of heaven is come very nigh unto us! Jeremiah then longed to see and hear this more nearly, and now we can have it.” Diedrich.
20. On Jer_23:9. “Great love renders God’s servant so ardent, that he deals powerful blows on the seducers. He does not think that he has struck a wasp’s nest and embittered his life here forever, for he has a higher life and gives the lower one willingly for love. Yet all the world will hold him for an incorrigible and mad enthusiast, who spares no one. He says himself that he is as it were drunk with God and His word, when he on the other hand contemplates the country.” Diedrich.
21. On Jer_23:11. “They are rogues. They know how to find subterfuges, and I would like to see him who accuses a false and unfaithful teacher, and manages his own case so that he does not himself come into the dilemma.” Zinzendorf.
22. On Jer_23:13-14. “In the prophets of Samaria I see folly. This is the character which the Lord gives to error, false religion, heterodoxy. But in the prophets of Jerusalem I find abomination. This is the description of the or thodox, when they apply their doctrine, so that either the wicked are strengthened or no one is converted.” Zinzendorf.
23. On Jer_23:15. “From the prophets of Jerusalem hypocrisy goes forth into all the land. This is the natural consequence of the superiority, which the consistories, academies, ministers, etc., have and in due measure ought to have, that when they become corrupt they communicate their corruption to the whole region, and it is apparent in the whole land what sort of theologians sit at the helm.” Zinzendorf.
24. On Jer_23:16. Listen not to the words of the prophets, they deceive you. Luther says (Altenb. Tom. II. p. 330): “But a Christian has so much power that he may and ought to come forward even among Christians and teach, where he sees that the teacher himself is wanting,” etc.; and “The hearers altogether have the right to judge and decide concerning all doctrine. Therefore the priests and liveried Christians have snatched this office to themselves; because, if this office remained in the church, the aforesaid could retain nothing for their own.” (Altenb. Tom. II. p. 508).—The exercise of this right on the part of members of the church has its difficulties. May not misunderstanding, ignorance, even wickedness cause this to be a heavy and unjust pressure on the ministers of the word, and thus mediately tend to the injury of the church? Certainly. Still it is better for the church to exercise this right than not to do so. The former is a sign of spiritual life, the latter of spiritual death. It will be easier to find a corrective for some extravagances than to save a church become religiously indifferent from the fate of Laodicea (Rev_3:16).
25. On Jer_23:16. [“But here a question may be raised, How can the common people understand that some speak from God’s mouth, and that others propound their own glosses? I answer, That the doctrine of the Law was then sufficient to guide the minds of the people, provided they closed not their eyes; and if the Law was sufficient at that time, God does now most surely give us a clearer light by His prophets, and especially by His Gospel.” Calvin—S. R. A.]
26. On Jer_23:17. “The pastors, who are welcome and gladly seen at a rich man’s table, wish him in fact long life, good health, and all prosperity. What they wish they prophesy. This is not unnatural; but he who is softened by it is ill-advised.” Zinzendorf.
27. On Jer_23:21. [“There is a twofold call; one is internal, the other belongs to order, and may therefore be called external or ecclesiastical. But the external call is never legitimate, except it be preceded by the internal; for it does not belong to us to create prophets, or apostles, or pastors, as this is the special work of the Holy Spirit. … But it often happens that the call of God is sufficient, especially for a time. For when there is no church, there is no remedy for the evil, except God raise up extraordinary teachers.” Calvin.—S. R. A.]
28. On Jer_23:22. “If I knew that my teacher was a most abominable miscreant, personally, and in heart the worst enemy of God in his parish; so long as, for any reason, he preaches, expounds, develops, inculcates the word of God; even though he should betray here and there in his expressions, that this word was not dwelling in him; if only he does not ex professo at one time throw down what at another time he teaches of good and true quasi aliud agendo: I assure you before the Lord that I should fear to censure his preaching.” Zinzendorf.
29. On Jer_23:23. “ God’s essential attribute is Omnipresence. For He is higher than heaven, what canst thou do? deeper than hell, what canst thou know? Longer than the earth and broader than the sea (Job_4:8). And He is not far from every one of us (Act_17:27).” Cramer.—“We often think God is quite far from us, when He is yet near to us, has us in His arms, presses us to His heart and kisses us.” Luther.—“ When we think the Sun of righteousness, Jesus, is not risen, and is still behind the mountain, and will not come to us, He is yet nearest to us. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart. (Psa_34:19) ”—“Deus et omni et nullo loco “—” Cuncta Deus replens molem se fundit in omnem.” MS. notes to my copy of Cramer’s Bibel.—“ Si vis peccare, O homo, quære tibi locum, ubi Deus non videat.” Augustine.
30. On Jer_23:28. [“When any one rejects the wheat because it is covered with chaff, and who will pity him who says that he has indeed wheat on his floor, but that it is mixed with chaff, and therefore not fit for food? … If we be negligent, and think that it is a sufficient excuse for despising the Word of God, because Satan brings in his fallacies, we shall perish in our sloth like him who neglects to cleanse his wheat that he might turn it to bread.” Calvin.—S. R. A.]
He who cannot restrain his mouth or his ink let him expectorate. But let him say openly and honestly that they are his own dreams, which he preaches. The false prophets certainly know that mere falsehood is empty straw. They therefore always mingle some of the genuine word of God amongst it. An unavailing mixture! It is in this mingling that Satan’s highest art is displayed, so that he at the same time furthers his own work and testifies against himself. Comp. Genesis 3
31. On Jer_23:29. God’s word is the highest reality, life and power, while the dreams of the false prophets are pretence, death and weakness. God’s word is therefore compared to a fire which burns, warms, and enlightens, so that it burns up the hardest flint, melts the thickest ice, illuminates the deepest obscurities. It is compared further to a hammer which crushes the hardest rocks into sand.—He who mingles God’s wheat among his straw, will find that the wheat will become fire and burn up the straw (1Co_3:12-15). He Who handles the word of the Lord purely, let him not despair if he sees before him hearts of adamant (Zec_7:12). He who seeks peace is not ashamed to bow beneath the hammer of the word. For the destructive power of the word applies to that in us which is opposed to God, while the God-related elements are loosed and set free by those very crushing blows.—He, however, to whom the peace of God is an object of derision, may feed on the straw of this world. But how will it be when finally the day comes that God will come upon him with fire and hammer? What then remains to him as the result of his straw-diet, which is in a condition to withstand the blows of the hammer and the fire?
Help, Lord, against Thy scornful foes,
Who seek our souls to lead astray;
Whose mockeries at mortal woes
Will end in terrible dismay!
Grant that Thy holy word may root
Deep in our hearts, and richer fruit
May ever bear to endless day.
“God’s word converts, all other doctrine befools.” Luther.
32. On Jer_23:29. “God’s word in general is like a fire: the more it is urged the more widely and brightly it extends. God has caused His word to be proclaimed to the world as a matter, which they can dispense with as little as fire. Fire often smoulders long in secret before it breaks out, thus the power of the divine word operates in its time. God’s word can make people as warm as if glowing coals lay upon them; it shines as brightly upon them, as if a lamp were held under their eyes; it tells every one the truth and purifies from all vices. He who deals evilly with God’s word burns himself by it, he who opposes it is consumed by it. But the word of God is as little to blame as a lamp or a fire when an unskilful person is burned by it. Yet it happens that often it will not be suffered in the world, then there is fire in all the streets. That is the unhappy fire of persecution, which is kindled incidentally in the world by the preaching of the Gospel.” Jos. Conr. Schaller, Pastor at Cautendorf, Sermons on the Gospels, 1742.
33. On Jer_23:30. “Teachers and preachers are not to steal their sermons from other books, but take them from the Bible, and testify that which they speak from their inward experience (Joh_3:11). False teachers steal God’s word, inventing a foreign meaning for it, and using this for the palliation of their errors.” Starke—“Hinc illi ζῆλοι at auctions, who can obtain this or that good book, this or that manuscript? Here they are thus declared to be plagiarios; and they are necessarily so because they are not taught of God. But I would rather they would steal from true men of God than from each other.”—Zinzendorf.
34. On Jer_23:33-40. “ When the word of God becomes intolerable to men, then men in their turn become intolerable to our Lord God; yea, they are no more than inutile pondus terræ, which the land can no more bear, therefore they must be winnowed out, Jer_15:17.” Cramer.
35. On Jer_24:5-7. “ He who willingly and readily resigns himself to the will of God even to the cross, may escape misfortune. But he who opposes himself to the hand of God cannot escape.” Cramer.—“The captives are dearest to God. By the first greater affliction He prepares their souls for repentance and radical conversion, so that He has in them again His people and inheritance. O the gracious God, that He allows even those who on account of sin must be so deeply degraded and rendered slaves, even in such humiliation to be His people! The captives are forgiven their opposition to God; they are separated from the number of nations existing in the world, politically they are dead and banished to the interior. Now, God will show them what His love can do; they shall return, and in true nearness to God be His true Israel.” Diedrich.
36. On Jer_24:7. [“Since He affirms that He would give them a heart to understand, we hence learn that men are by nature blind, and also that when they are blinded by the devil they cannot return to the right way, and that they cannot be otherwise capable of light than by having God to illuminate them by His Spirit. … This passage also shows, that we cannot really turn to God until we acknowledge Him to be the Judge; for until the sinner sets himself before God’s tribunal he will never be touched with the feeling of true repentance. … Though God rules the whole world. He yet declares that He is the God of the Church; and the faithful whom He has adopted He favors with this high distinction, that they are His people; and He does this that they may be persuaded that there is safety in Him, according to what is said by Habakkuk, ‘Thou art our God, we shall not die’ (Hab_1:12). And of this sentence Christ Himself is the best interpreter, when He says, that He is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Luk_20:38).” Calvin.—S. R. A.]
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1. On Jer_21:8. This text may be used on all occasions when an important decision is to be made or on the entrance on a new section of life, as, e. g., at synods, diets, New Years, beginning of the church-year, at confirmations, weddings, installations, etc. What the present day demands and promises: I. It demands from us an important choice. II. It promises us, according as we choose, life or death.
2. On Jer_22:2-9. In how far the divine election is conditional and unconditional. I. It is conditional with respect to individual elected men, places, things. For 1, these become partakers of the salvation promised by the election only by behaviour well-pleasing to God; 2, if they behave in a manner displeasing to God, the election does not protect them from destruction. II. The election is unconditional with respect to the eternal ideas lying at the foundation of the single appearances, and their absolute realizations.
3. On Jer_22:24. [Payson:—“The punishment of the impenitent inevitable and justifiable. I. To mention some awful instances in which God has verified this declaration: (a), the apostate angels; (b) our first parents; (c) destruction of mankind by the flood; (d) the children of Israel; (e) Moses, David, the disobedient prophet, Christ. II. Some of the reasons for such a declaration. Not a disposition to give pain or desire for revenge. It is the nature and tendency of sin to produce misery.”—S. R. A.]
4. On Jer_23:5-6. The Son of David. What the prophet declares of Him is fourfold: 1. He will Himself be righteous; 2. He will rule well as king and execute judgment and righteousness; 3. He will be our righteousness; 4. Under Him shall Judah be helped and Israel dwell safely.
5. On Jer_23:14. [Lathrop: “The horrible guilt of those who strengthen the hands of the wicked. 1. All sin is horrible in its nature. 2. This is to oppose the government of the Almighty. 3. It directly tends to the misery of mankind. 4. It supports the cause of the Evil Spirit. 5. It is to become partakers of their sins. 6. It is horrible as directly contrary to the command of God, and marked with His peculiar abhorrence.”—S. R. A.]
6. On Jer_23:23-24. The Omnipresence of God. 1. What it means. God is everywhere present, (a). He fills heaven and earth; (b) there is no removal from Him in space; (c) nothing is hidden from Him. 2. There is in this for us (a) a glorious consolation, (b) an earnest admonition. [Charnock, Jortin, and Wesley have sermons on this text, all of very similar outline. The following are Jortin’s practical conclusions; “ This doctrine 1. Should lead us to seek to resemble God’s perfections 2. Should deter us from sin. 3. Should teach us humility. 4. Should encourage us to reliance and contentment, to faith and hope.”—S. R. A.]
7. On Jer_23:29-30. God’s Word and man’s word. 1. The former is life and power (wheat, fire, hammer). The latter pretence and weakness (dream, straw). 2. The two are not to be mixed with each other. [Cecil: This shows 1. The vanity of all human imaginations in religion, (a). What do they afford to man? (b). How much do they hinder? 2. The energy of spiritual truth. Let us entreat God that our estimate may be practical.—S. R. A.]
8. On Jer_24:1-10. The good and bad figs an emblem of humanity well-pleasing and displeasing to God. 1. The prisoners and broken-hearted are, like the good figs, well-pleasing to God. For (a) they know the Lord and turn to Him; (b) He is their God and they are His people. 2. Those who dwell proudly and securely are displeasing to God, like the bad figs. For (a) they live on in foolish blindness; (b) they challenge the judgment of God.
Footnotes:
[1]Jer_21:2.—On the form of the name נְבוּכַדְרֶאצָר comp. rems. on Jer_25:1.
[2]Jer_21:7.—The ואת here is logically incorrect, since after the general term the people, other survivors are not supposable. The LXX. omits it (και τὸν λαὸν καταλειφθέντο). Comp. Jer_8:3; Jer_24:8; Jer_38:4; Jer_39:9; Jer_40:6; Jer_41:10; Jer_52:15.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v2 Nebuchadrezzar--the more usual way of spelling the name in…
Nebuchadrezzar--the more usual way of spelling the name in Jeremiah than Nebuchadnezzar. From Persiac roots, meaning either "Nebo, the chief of the gods," or, "Nebo, the god of fire." He was son of Nabopolassar, who committed the command of the army against Egypt, at Carchemish, and against Judea, to the Brown prince.
according to all his wondrous works--Zedekiah hopes for God's special interposition, such as was vouchsafed to Hezekiah against Sennacherib (Kg2 19:35-36).
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he--Nebuchadnezzar.
go up from us--rise up from the siege which he sat down to lay (Jer 37:5, Jer 37:11, Margin; Num 16:24, Num 16:27; Kg1 15:19, Margin).
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 vv1–2 THE KING’S QUESTION, Jer_21:1-2.
THE KING’S QUESTION, Jer_21:1-2.
1. The word… from the Lord — The historical heading of the following prediction. For a better view of the historical setting of this whole passage, see chapters 37 and 38, between which this would fall.
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When King Zedekiah sent — The embassy here mentioned was sent after the siege of the city had actually commenced. That in this time of extremity and peril the king should send distinguished men to consult Jeremiah, shows not only the consternation of the court, but also the recognition vouchsafed to this prophet of evil. Corrupt and wicked men oft-times have in their hearts a conviction deeper and purer than they express with their lips and lives; and under the pressure of a great danger or calamity it will reveal itself.
Pashur — Not the Pashur of the previous chapter, and not a priest, but probably a court official. His companion, Zephaniah, held a high position in the priesthood. See Jer_29:25; Jer_37:3; Jer_52:24 : and in Jer_38:1; Jer_38:4, he is mentioned as attempting to persuade the king to put Jeremiah to death.
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 vv1–2 1. Pashhur the son of Malchijah] See on Jer_20:1.
1. Pashhur the son of Malchijah] See on Jer_20:1.
Zephaniah] (see also on Jer_20:1) mentioned again Jer_29:25, Jer_37:3, Jer_52:24. Both he and Pashhur doubtless belonged to the party who were for refusing to recognise and submit to Nebuchadnezzar’s overwhelming power, and thus were politically hostile to Jeremiah. For the general situation cp. 2Ki_19:1 (Isa_37:1 ff.).
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the priest] These words belong to Zephaniah not Maaseiah. Cp. Jer_22:2.
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 vv1–2 (1) The word which came unto Jeremiah . .…
XXI.
(1) The word which came unto Jeremiah . . .—There is obviously a great gap at this point in the collection of the prophet’s utterances, and we enter on a new body or group of prophecies which extends to the close of Jeremiah 33. Thus far we have had his ministry under Jehoiakim, the roll which was read before that king, and formed the first part of his work. Now we pass to the later stage, which forms what has been called the roll of Zedekiah. The judgment predicted in the previous roll had come nearer. The armies of Nebuchadnezzar were gathering round the city. The prophet was now honoured and consulted, and the king sent his chief minister, Pashur (not the priest who had been the prophet’s persecutor, as in the preceding chapter, but the head of the family or course of Melchiah), and Zephaniah, the “second priest,” or deputy of Jer_52:24, to ask his intercession. We learn from their later history that they were in their hearts inclined to the policy of resistance, and ready to accuse Jeremiah of being a traitor (Jer_38:1-4).
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 vv1–2 The chapter falls into three parts, two of which…
The chapter falls into three parts, two of which seem to be in some sort of connection, while the third is isolated. First comes a warning to the messengers of Zedekiah of the unfortunate issue of the rebellion against Babylon; this is followed by a counsel to the people to give up their futile resistance, and "fall away" to the Chaldeans. The last four verses contain an exhortation to the "house of David" to fulfill their high duties with greater conscientiousness, for fear of the judgment which had already begun to take effect when the former part of this chapter was written. Compare Zedekiah"s embassy to Jeremiah with that of Hezekiah to Isaiah on a similar emergency. (Isa_37:2) Pashur . A different Pashur from the one mentioned in Jer_20:1. This one reappears in Jer_38:1; he belonged to the fifteenth of the sacerdotal families, named after Melchiah. (comp. 1Ch_9:12) Zephaniah, mentioned again in Jer_29:25 Jer_37:3. He was of the priestly family or class of Maaseiah, (comp. 1Ch_24:18) and was next in rank to the high priest. (Jer_52:24)
Vers. 1, 2. God consulted in vain.
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I IT IS VAIN TO SEEK GOD"S HELP WITHOUT REPENTING OF OUR SIN. Zedekiah sends to Jeremiah in his alarm. But he gives no sign of repentance. The dread of coming trouble and the desire to escape it are not penitence; the fear of hell is not penitence. All men naturally desire to be safe from suffering. But God will only deliver those who also desire to be free from sin, who regret the evil they have done, not merely that which they endure.
II IT IS VAIN TO SEEK GOD"S HELP WITHOUT SUBMITTING TO HIS WILL. Zedekiah consults God as an oracle; he wants information. But he gives no indication of a willingness to obey the command of God. He would be glad of Divine aid for his own plans, but he has no thought of yielding himself up to the execution of God"s will. Many men would have God for their servant; their prayer is that God would do their will. Such presumptuous conduct must be rebuked by failure.
III IT IN VAIN TO SEEK GOD"S HELP FOR DELIVERANCE FROM THAT WHICH IS MORALLY NECESSARY. There is a moral necessity as well as a physical. No sane man would pray that two and two might make five. There are moral impossibilities equally impregnable. A just God cannot forgive the impenitent. All that God does must be for the best, and nothing can induce him to turn from what he knows is best. If men need chastisement God will give it them, though they may most earnestly desire to be delivered from it. It was good for the Jews as a discipline, as well as just as a punishment, that they should be carried captive to Babylon. Therefore, even if all thoughts of inflicting the penalties of justice were in abeyance, God"s merciful intentions to his people would make their prayers for escape vain.
HOMILIES BY A.F. MUIR Vers. 1, 2. Zedekiah"s message; or, the prayer of the ungodly.
I AN EXAMPLE TO BE IMITATED. Whatever might be said of the general behavior of the king, his conduct on this occasion appears at first highly sagacious and commendable.
1. For its acknowledgment of Jehovah as the only Deliverer. A tremendous danger threatened the state. Zedekiah "counted the cost" and sent to the representative of Jehovah. He did not waste his resources in useless expedients, but frankly accepted the calamity as sent from God, appealing through God"s prophet for deliverance. Most men in similar circumstances lose themselves in secondary causes. "It is this unfortunate accident or that. In time circumstances will be better, and we shall right ourselves.
2. Its respect for God. Great officers of state sent to a poor prophet. Religion after all may be the chief concern; at least a very important matter, and worthy the attention of the highest in the land.
II AN EXAMPLE TO BE AVOIDED.
1. It was tardy. The warning of the prophet had been given long before, but it was not believed. Not until the visible proof of his veracity appeared before the city was Zedekiah eager to come to terms with the God he had offended. However great the alacrity of men to betake themselves to the offices of religion in times of calamity, their earnestness has not the spontaneous character to which it pretends. They are spurred on by fear.
2. The power instead of the grace of God was appealed to. A compliment to Jehovah"s past achievements is delicately suggested. No potty business would bring him to ask a favor of God, but this trouble is great and urgent, and beyond human means of dealing with it; therefore God is called in. "It is worthy of his interference who always "doeth wondrously. Now, there is no real humiliation here. Recognition of God"s claims is grudgingly and of necessity made, but no word is mentioned of sin or repentance from it; no appeal is made to the forgiving love of God. Human nature is proud even in its necessities and prayers. "Help me now, at this juncture, and afterwards I shall be able to help myself." God wilt not accept us unless we come humbly as well as prayerfully. Sin must be confessed.
3. It contained no promise of amendment. Jehovah is summoned as a Dens ex machina for the solution of a humanly impossible problem; but there is no indication that the "desperate resort" will grow into a course of constant waiting upon God.
4. The duty which ought to have been personal was delegated to others. Under the garb of respect religion is often really evaded. The Bible teaches the great doctrine of mediation, but it does not tell us how to perform our religious duties by proxy.
5. Certainty, the note of Divine faith, is conspicuous by its absence. "If so be that." The case is stated as a distant possibility. The language sounds respectful; it is so diffident, so unpresuming; but it really veils a profound skepticism. There ought to be, there is, no "perhaps" in believing prayer. The king was told that if he and his people repented, God would instantly avert the calamity or convert it into blessing. Perhaps like this are profanities. Besides, the suggestion is dishonoring to God, viz. that he should stay his judgments and the sinner nevertheless continue impenitent,
6. The whole tone of the message is false and unsatisfactory. It is that of one driven up into a corner by an unexpected exigency, but resolved that what he is obliged to do shall be barely done, and in such a manner as to give it quite another aspect to those who look on. A moral distance is observed, as of one who is unwilling to allow that religious duties are of personal as well as official and conventional obligation. It is the courtly language of diplomacy, and does not come hot-burning from a heart full of sorrow, faith, and love. What wonder it should not be answered save in scorn and added severity? The sarcasm is sublime. M.
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY Vers. 1-14. Saved so as by fire.
This chapter has been by some means put out of its proper place; for it treats of King Zedekiah, whilst in later chapters circumstances connected with the reigns of the kings who preceded him are given. But being placed here it serves to show how God"s servants, despised at first, come to be honored at last. The stocks had been good enough for Jeremiah so the last chapter tells-and his enemies had smitten him as if he were a common felon. Here we find the king and high officers of the court coming and beseeching his intercession and help to avert the calamity which was so fast coming upon them and the nation at large. "Give us of your oil," said the foolish virgins to the wise. And again and again has it been and will it be that the ungodly shall come to covet earnestly the place in God"s favor which his servants only enjoy, but which, together with them who sought it when they did not, they have heretofore despised. Those who honor God he will honor, and will cause their enemies to come and confess that God is with them of a truth. Thus did the enemies of Jeremiah at this time acknowledge him as the true servant of God. But it was too late to secure what they desired. "The door was shut." But as the foolish virgins were bidden go to them that sell and buy for themselves, so the prophet of God has one counsel to give them whereby they might be "saved, yet so as by fire." "Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death" (ver. 8). But when we come to see what that way of life was, we see how far different it was from what the king and his people would have chosen for themselves. Note, therefore
I WHAT THIS WAY OF LIFE WAS.
1. It was bare life life only. They were to suffer defeat; their weapons to be of no avail, their strong fortress to be taken, their city and their temple in which they gloried to be burnt with fire, and they themselves led into captivity. That now was all that was possible for them. It was too late to avert their calamities, much less to gain victory, or honor, or glory in the war which they were waging. A glorious deliverance such as Hezekiah had known was out of the question.
2. And ever, this bare life on hard conditions. They must surrender themselves to their enemies when the summons came, and meanwhile they must reform their ways (ver. 12). On these terms they should be allowed to live. Refuse them, as many did, and they perished miserably. It was indeed a salvation "so as by fire.
II ITS MOURNFULNESS. How full of this it was is seen by the plaintive psalms of the Captivity: "By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept," etc. And that which made it so mournful was the remembrance of how different their lot might have been. Had they but hearkened to the pleadings of those prophets of God, whose prayers when it was too late they importunately sought, how happy had it been with them then! Salvation in fullness, as their fathers had experienced and rejoiced in again and again, they too might have known. But now
III ITS PLAIN TEACHING FOR OURSELVES. Life may be retained, but made so wretched that only one thing could be worse to have lost it altogether. This certainly true of the present life, it is probably true of the life after this. Beware of that false doctrine which encourages men to believe, that if only they can get within what they are pleased to call "the door of heaven," they need desire no more. This is not humility, but the evil desire to escape that faithful following of Christ which alone will win "the prize of our high calling." And since salvation in fullness is offered to us and God desires it to be ours, let us be content with nothing less, lest we be "ashamed before him at his coming," and have "with shame to take a lower place." To any now suffering under judgment of God this history says, "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God." Accept his terms, see in them your only hope. C.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG Vers. 1-7. A king appealing for a prophet"s intercession.
I A KING"S ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT HUMAN RESOURCES ARE UNAVAILING. The hour and the danger so long and often predicted, referred to all the more earnestly as the hour draws nigh, has come at last. No time is here taken up in narrating the attempts Zedekiah may have made himself to repel the invader. The Scriptures were not meant to give us details of sieges. The likelihood is, however, that it was long before Zedekiah reached anything like an extremity that he made this appeal to the prophet. When all unusual danger comes close at hand it is easy to exaggerate. The man who has been indifferent, imprudent, heedless of all hints that have been given him to make provision for the future, is the very man who, when peril comes, rushes into panic and becomes unable to use the resources he has.
II A KING"S PRESUMPTUOUS ATTEMPT TO AVAIL HIMSELF OF DIVINE RESOURCES. Nothing is more beautiful than to see one who has found out the vanity of human help turning to God. Only he must come in a right spirit, having made a clear discovery of why it is that man could not help him. Anything of this sort was utterly lacking in Zedekiah"s approach. There is no sign of repentance, no word of confession, no resolution of amendment. The only thing in the shape of acknowledgment is that Jehovah is the God who does wondrous works. This is an acknowledgment which we find often in the Old Testament, but it is acceptable to God only when accompanied with a sense of why it is that God does his wondrous works. The more we consider Zedekiah"s request, the more will the blindness and audacity of it appear. Here is the king in Jerusalem, bound, if any man ever was, to know the significance of the history of Israel as a whole; and yet he can only see certain great manifestations of power which encourage him to hope that a similar manifestation may now come for his own deliverance. There is no real coming to God, unless we come for things that are according to his will. His power cannot wait upon our selfish needs. There is no telling what might have happened, even at this more than eleventh hour, if Zedekiah had only come with something of true penitence. God knew beforehand that this could not be expected; and thus there is no clearer evidence of the righteousness of Jerusalem"s doom and of Israel"s expatriation than is furnished from Zedekiah"s own lips. He shows that he has lost all sense of the meaning and the necessity of God"s great covenant with his people. If only they had been obedient they would never have lacked the benefit of many wondrous works.
III THE PLAIN AND NECESSARY ANSWER OF JEHOVAH. We see through all that God here says a purpose to make plain that he is now full of activity against his apostate people. The object was not to be attained simply by leaving them, in their natural resources, to the natural resources of the Chaldeans. The contest is not of man against man, but of the man who has forsaken God against the man whom God has taken to be the instrument of his righteous indignation. God must specially intervene and make his presence manifest, to show that all this visitation of suffering is from him. If God has, for a time, to forsake his people, he must needs oppose them. If God be not for us, be is against us; and so here the defenders of Jerusalem are represented as having difficulties to deal with such as have arisen through God"s own operation. Their weapons of war do not produce the usual effect. God turns them back upon those who wield them. This may be more than a mere general figure of speech. It is quite possible that either the arm wielding the heavy, sharp sword becomes as the arm of the little child, or else, that remaining strong, the weapon becomes but as the child"s toy. Thus the Chaldeans themselves would learn that some mysterious power was at work, and that the glory of the victory was not theirs. Furthermore, God was to fight against these apostates with a weapon of his own. He can make the wicked and the ambitious his sword, but pestilence is of his own sending. Not all the might of the Chaldeans could bring a pestilence, nor take it away once it had come. Thus we see how all this dread combination of events was intended to impress on all, alike amongst besiegers and besieged, who had minds to understand that God himself was terribly at work. He was indeed dealing with the people according to his wondrous works; works necessitated in order to prevent his holy and reasonable wrath from being nothing more than empty wind. Y.
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 v1 Inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us.
Jer_21:1-2
Inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us.
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A distressed king seeks Divine counsel
Of Galba the emperor, as also of our Richard III, it is recorded that they were bad men but good princes. We cannot say so much of Zedekiah. Two things he is chiefly charged with--
1. That he brake his oath and faith plighted to the King of Babylon (Eze_17:16).
2. That he humbled not himself before Jeremiah, speaking from the mouth of the Lord. Hitherto he had not: but now in his distress he seeketh to this prophet; yea, sendeth an embassage. Kings care not for soldiers, said a great commander, till their crowns hang on the one side of their heads. Sure it is that some of them slight Gods ministers till they cannot tell what to do without them. (John Trapp.)
Kings have their cares
Kingdoms have their cares, and thrones their thorns. Antigonus cried of his diadem, O base rag, not worth taking up at a mans feet. Julian complained of his own unhappiness in being made emperor. Diocletian laid down the empire as weary of it. Thirty of the ancient kings of this our land, said Capgrave, resigned their crowns; such were their cares, crosses, and emulations. Zedekiah now could gladly have done as much. But since that might not be, he sendeth to Jeremiah, whom in his prosperity he had slighted, and, to gratify his wicked counsellors, wrongfully imprisoned. (John Trapp.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 Jer_21:1-10, Jeremiah 34, Jer_37:1-10
CHAPTER XI
A BROKEN COVENANT
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Jer_21:1-10, Jeremiah 34, Jer_37:1-10
"All the princes and peoplechanged their minds and reduced to bondage again all the slaves whom they had set free." Jer_34:10-11
IN our previous chapter we saw that, at the point where the fragmentary record of the abortive conspiracy in the fourth year of Zedekiah came to an abrupt conclusion, Jeremiah seemed to have regained the ascendency he enjoyed under Josiah. The Jewish government had relinquished their schemes of rebellion and acquiesced once more in the supremacy of Babylon. We may possibly gather from a later chapter that Zedekiah himself paid a visit to Nebuchadnezzar to assure him of his loyalty. If so, the embassy of Elasah ben Shaphan and Gemariah ben Hilkiah was intended to assure a favourable reception for their master.
The history of the next few years is lost in obscurity, but when the curtain again rises everything is changed and Judah is once more in revolt against the Chaldeans. No doubt one cause of this fresh change of policy was the renewed activity of Egypt. In the account of the conspiracy in Zedekiahs fourth year, there is a significant absence of any reference to Egypt. Jeremiah succeeded in baffling his opponents partly because their fears of Babylon were not quieted by any assurance of Egyptian support. Now there seemed a better prospect of a successful insurrection.
About the seventh year of Zedekiah, Psammetichus II of Egypt was succeeded by his brother Pharaoh Hophra, the son of Josiahs conqueror, Pharaoh Necho. When Hophra-the Apries of Herodotus-had completed the reconquest of Ethiopia, he made a fresh attempt to carry out his fathers policy and to reestablish the ancient Egyptian supremacy in Western Asia; and, as of old, Egypt began by tampering with the allegiance of the Syrian vassals of Babylon. According to Ezekiel, {Eze_17:15} Zedekiah took the initiative: "he rebelled against him (Nebuchadnezzar) by sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people."
The knowledge that an able and victorious general was seated on the Egyptian throne, along with the secret intrigues of his agents and partisans, was too much for Zedekiahs discretion. Jeremiahs advice was disregarded. The king surrendered himself to the guidance-we might almost say, the control-of the Egyptian party in Jerusalem; he violated his oath of allegiance to his suzerain, and the frail and battered ship of state was once more embarked on the stormy waters of rebellion. Nebuchadnezzar promptly prepared to grapple with the reviving strength of Egypt in a renewed contest for the lordship of Syria. Probably Egypt and Judah had other allies, but they are not expressly mentioned. A little later Tyre was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar; but as Ezekiel {Eze_26:2} represents Tyre as exulting over the fall of Jerusalem, she can hardly have been a benevolent neutral, much less a faithful ally. Moreover, when Nebuchadnezzar began his march into Syria, he hesitated whether he should first attack Jerusalem or Rabbath Ammon:-
"The king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way to use divination: he shook the arrows to and fro, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver." {Eze_21:21}
Later on Baalis, king of Ammon, received the Jewish refugees and supported those who were most irreconcilable in their hostility to Nebuchadnezzar. Nevertheless the Ammonites were denounced by Jeremiah for occupying the territory of Gad, and by Ezekiel {Eze_25:1-7} for sharing the exultation of Tyre over the ruin of Judah. Probably Baalis played a double part. He may have promised support to Zedekiah, and then purchased his own pardon by betraying his ally.
Nevertheless the hearty support of Egypt was worth more than the alliance of any number of the petty neighbouring states, and Nebuchadnezzar levied a great army to meet this ancient and formidable enemy of Assyria and Babylon. He marched into Judah with "all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion, and all the peoples," and "fought against Jerusalem and all the cities thereof."
At the beginning of the siege Zedekiahs heart began to fail him. The course of events seemed to confirm Jeremiahs threats, and the king, with pathetic inconsistency, sought to be reassured by the prophet himself. He sent Pashhur ben Malchiah and Zephaniah ben Maaseiah to Jeremiah with the message:-
"Inquire, I pray thee, of Jehovah for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us: peradventure Jehovah wilt deal with us according to all His wondrous works, that he may go up from us."
The memories of the great deliverance from Sennacherib were fresh and vivid in mens minds. Isaiahs denunciations had been as uncompromising as Jeremiahs, and yet Hezekiah had been spared. "Peradventure," thought his anxious descendant, "the prophet may yet be charged with gracious messages that Jehovah repents Him of the evil and will even now rescue His Holy City." But the timid appeal only called forth a yet sterner sentence of doom. Formidable as were the enemies against whom Zedekiah craved protection, they were to be reinforced by more terrible allies; man and beast should die of a great pestilence, and Jehovah Himself should be their enemy:-
"I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans
I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a strong arm, in anger and fury and great wrath."
The city should be taken and burnt with fire, and the king and all others who survived should be carried away captive. Only on one condition might better terms be obtained:-
"Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.
He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, the famine, and the pestilence; but he that goeth out, and falleth to the besieging Chaldeans, shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey." {Jer_21:1-10}
On another occasion Zephaniah ben Maaseiah with a certain Tehucal ben Shelemiah was sent by the king to the prophet with the entreaty, "Pray now unto Jehovah our God for us." We are not told the sequel to this mission, but it is probably represented by the opening verses of chapter 34. This section has the direct and personal note which characterises the dealings of Hebrew prophets with their sovereigns. Doubtless the partisans of Egypt had had a severe struggle with Jeremiah before they captured the ear of the Jewish king, and Zedekiah was possessed to the very last with a half superstitious anxiety to keep on good terms with the prophet. Jehovahs "iron pillar and brasen wall" would make no concession to these royal blandishments: his message had been rejected, his Master had been slighted and defied, the Chosen People and the Holy City were being betrayed to their ruin; Jeremiah would not refrain from denouncing this iniquity because the king who had sanctioned it tried to flatter his vanity by sending deferential deputations of important notables. This is the Divine sentence:-
"I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon,
And he shall burn it with fire.
Thou shalt not escape out of his hand;
Thou shalt assuredly be taken prisoner;
Thou shalt be delivered into his hand.
Thou shalt see the king of Babylon, face to face;
He shall speak to thee, mouth to mouth,
And thou shalt go to Babylon."
Yet there should be one doubtful mitigation of his punishment:-
"Thou shalt not die by the sword;
Thou shalt die in peace:
With the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings that were before thee,
So shall they make a burning for thee;
And they shall lament thee, saying, Alas lord!
For it is I that have spoken the word-it is the utterance of Jehovah."
King and people were not proof against the combined terrors of the prophetic rebukes and the besieging enemy. Jeremiah regained his influence, and Jerusalem gave an earnest of the sincerity of her repentance by entering into a covenant for the emancipation of all Hebrew slaves. Deuteronomy had reenacted the ancient law that their bondage should terminate at the end of six years, {Deu_15:12; Cf. Exo_21:2; Exo_23:10} but this had hot been observed: "Your fathers hearkened not unto Me, neither inclined their ear." {Jer_34:14} A large proportion of those then in slavery must have served more than six years; {Jer_34:13} and partly because of the difficulty of discrimination at such a crisis, partly by way of atonement, the Jews undertook to liberate all their slaves. This solemn reparation was made because the limitation of servitude was part of the national Torah, "the covenant that Jehovah made with their fathers in the day that He brought them forth out of the land of Egypt"-i.e., the Deuteronomic Code. Hence it implied the renewed recognition of Deuteronomy, and the restoration of the ecclesiastical order established by Josiahs reforms.
Even Josiahs methods were imitated. He had assembled the people at the Temple and made them enter into "a covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, to keep His commandments and testimonies and statutes with all their heart and soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant." {2Ki_23:3} So now Zedekiah in turn caused the people to make a covenant before Jehovah, "in the house which was called by His name," {Jer_34:14} "that every one should release his Hebrew slaves, male and female, and that no one should enslave a brother Jew." {Jer_34:9} A further sanction had been given to this vow by the observance of an ancient and significant rite. When Jehovah promised to Abraham a seed countless as the stars of heaven, He condescended to ratify His promise by causing the symbols of His presence-a smoking furnace and a burning lamp-to pass between the divided halves of a heifer, a she-goat, a ram, and between a turtle dove and a young pigeon. {Genesis 15} Now, in like manner, a calf was cut in twain, the two halves laid opposite each other, and "the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land passed between the parts of the calf." {Jer_34:19} Similarly, after the death of Alexander the Great, the contending factions in the Macedonian army ratified a compromise by passing between the two halves of a dog. Such symbols spoke for themselves: those who used them laid themselves under a curse; they prayed that if they violated the covenant they might be slain and mutilated like the divided animals.
This covenant was forthwith carried into effect, the princes and people liberating their Hebrew slaves according to their vow. We cannot, however, compare this event with the abolition of slavery in British colonies or with Abraham Lincolns Decree of Emancipation. The scale is altogether different: Hebrew bondage had no horrors to compare with those of the American plantations; and moreover, even at the moment, the practical results cannot have been great. Shut up in a beleaguered city, harassed by the miseries and terrors of a siege, the freedmen would see little to rejoice over in their new found freedom. Unless their friends were in Jerusalem they could not rejoin them, and in most cases they could only obtain sustenance by remaining in the households of their former masters, or by serving in the defending army. Probably this special ordinance of Deuteronomy was selected as the subject of a solemn covenant, because it not only afforded an opportunity of atoning for past sin, but also provided the means of strengthening the national defence. Such expedients were common in ancient states in moments of extreme peril. In view of Jeremiahs persistent efforts, both before and after this incident, to make his countrymen loyally accept the Chaldean supremacy, we cannot doubt that he hoped to make terms between Zedekiah and Nebuchadnezzar. Apparently no tidings of Pharaoh Hophras advance had reached Jerusalem; and the nonappearance of his "horses and much people" had discredited the Egyptian party, and enabled Jeremiah to overthrow their influence with the king and people. Egypt, after all her promises, had once more proved herself a broken reed; there was nothing left but to throw themselves on Nebuchadnezzars mercy.
But the situation was once more entirely changed by the news that Pharaoh Hophra had come forth out of Egypt "with a mighty army and a great company." {Eze_17:17} The sentinels on the walls of Jerusalem saw the besiegers break up their encampment, and march away to meet the relieving army. All thought of submitting to Babylon was given up. Indeed, if Pharaoh Hophra were to be victorious, the Jews must of necessity accept his supremacy. Meanwhile they revelled in their respite from present distress and imminent danger. Surely the new covenant was bearing fruit. Jehovah had been propitiated by their promise to observe the Torah; Pharaoh was the instrument by which God would deliver His people; or even if the Egyptians were defeated, the Divine resources were not exhausted. When Tirhakah advanced to the relief of Hezekiah, he was defeated at Eltekeh, yet Sennacherib had returned home baffled and disgraced. Naturally the partisans of Egypt, the opponents of Jeremiah, recovered their control of the king and the government. The king sent, perhaps at the first news of the Egyptian advance, to inquire of Jeremiah concerning their prospects of success. What seemed to every one else a Divine deliverance was to him a national misfortune; the hopes he had once more indulged of averting the ruin of Judah were again dashed to the ground. His answer is bitter and gloomy:-
"Behold, Pharaohs army, which is come forth to help you,
Shall return to Egypt into their own land.
The Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city;
They shall take it, and burn it with fire.
Thus saith Jehovah: Do not deceive yourselves, saying,
The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us:
They shall not depart.
Though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you,
And there remained none but wounded men among them,
Yet should they rise up every man in his tent,
And burn this city with fire."
Jeremiahs protest was unavailing, and only confirmed the king and princes in their adherence to Egypt. Moreover Jeremiah had now formally disclaimed any sympathy with this great deliverance, which Pharaoh-and presumably Jehovah-had wrought for Judah. Hence it was clear that the people did not owe this blessing to the covenant to which they had submitted themselves by Jeremiahs guidance. As at Megiddo, Jehovah had shown once more that He was with Pharaoh and against Jeremiah. Probably they would best please God by renouncing Jeremiah and all his works-the covenant included. Moreover they could take back their slaves with a clear conscience, to their own great comfort and satisfaction. True, they had sworn in the Temple with solemn and striking ceremonies, but then Jehovah Himself had manifestly released them from their oath. "All the princes and people changed their mind, and reduced to bondage again all the slaves whom they had set free." The freedmen had been rejoicing with their former masters in the prospect of national deliverance; the date of their emancipation was to mark the beginning of a new era of Jewish happiness and prosperity. When the siege was raised and the Chaldeans driven away, they could use their freedom in rebuilding the ruined cities and cultivating the wasted lands. To all such dreams there came a sudden and rough awakening: they were dragged back to their former hopeless bondage-a happy augury for the new dispensation of Divine protection and blessing!
Jeremiah turned upon them in fierce wrath, like that of Elijah against Ahab when he met him taking possession of Naboths vineyard. They had profaned the name of Jehovah, and-
"Therefore thus saith Jehovah:
Ye have not hearkened unto Me to proclaim
A release every one to his brother and his neighbour:
Behold, I proclaim a release for you-it is the utterance of Jehovah-
Unto the sword, the pestilence, and the famine;
And I will make you a terror among all the kingdoms of the earth."
The prophet plays upon the word "release" with grim irony. The Jews had repudiated the "release" which they had promised under solemn oath to their brethren, but Jehovah would not allow them to be so easily quit of their covenant. There should be a "release" after all, and they themselves should have the benefit of it-a "release" from happiness and prosperity, from the sacred bounds of the Temple, the Holy City, and the Land of Promise-a "release" unto "the sword, the pestilence, and the famine."
"I will give the men that have transgressed My covenant into the hands of their enemies . . .
Their dead bodies shall be meat for the fowls of heaven . . .
And for the beasts of the earth, Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of . . .
The host of the king of Babylon, which are gone up from you.
Behold, I will command-it is the utterance of Jehovah-
And will bring them back unto this city:
They shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire.
I will lay the cities of Judah waste, without inhabitant."
Another broken covenant was added to the list of Judahs sins, another promise of amendment speedily lost in disappointment and condemnation. Jeremiah might well say with his favourite Hosea:-
"Oh Judah, what shall I do unto thee?
Your goodness is as a morning cloud,
And as the dew that goeth early away." {Hos_6:4}
This incident has many morals; one of the most obvious is the futility of the most stringent oaths and the most solemn symbolic ritual. Whatever influence oaths may have in causing a would be liar to speak the truth, they are very poor guarantees for the performance of contracts. William the Conqueror profited little by Harolds oath to help him to the crown of England, though it was sworn over the relics of holy saints. Wulfnoths whisper in Tennysons drama-
"Swear thou today, tomorrow is thine own"-
states the principle on which many oaths have been taken. The famous "blush of Sigismund" over the violation of his safe conduct to Huss was rather a token of unusual sensitiveness than a confession of exceptional guilt. The Christian Church has exalted perfidy into a sacred obligation. As Milman says:-
"The fatal doctrine, confirmed by long usage, by the decrees of Pontiffs, by the assent of all ecclesiastics, and the acquiescence of the Christian world, that no promise, no oath, was binding to a heretic, had hardly been questioned, never repudiated."
At first sight an oath seems to give firm assurance to a promise; what was merely a promise to man is made into a promise to God. What can be more binding upon the conscience than a promise to God? True; but He to whom the promise is made may always release from its performance. To persist in what God neither requires nor desires because of a promise to God seems absurd and even wicked. It has been said that men "have a way of calling everything they want to do a dispensation of Providence." Similarly, there are many Nays by which a man may persuade himself that God has cancelled his vows, especially if he belongs to an infallible Church with a Divine commission to grant dispensations. No doubt these Jewish slaveholders had full sacerdotal absolution from their pledge. The priests had slaves of their own. Failing ecclesiastical aid, Satan himself will play the casuist-it is one of his favourite parts-and will find the traitor full justification for breaking the most solemn contract with Heaven. If a mans whole soul and purpose go with his promise, oaths are superfluous; otherwise, they are useless.
However, the main lesson of the incident lies in its added testimony to the supreme importance which the prophets attached to social righteousness. When Jeremiah wished to knit together again the bonds of fellowship between Judah and its God, he did not make them enter into a covenant to observe ritual or to cultivate pious sentiments, but to release their slaves. It has been said that a gentleman may be known by the way in which he treats his servants; a mans religion is better tested by his behaviour to his helpless dependents than by his attendance on the means of grace or his predilection for pious conversation. If we were right in supposing that the government supported Jeremiah because the act of emancipation would furnish recruits to man the walls, this illustrates the ultimate dependence of society upon the working classes. In emergencies, desperate efforts are made to coerce or cajole them into supporting governments by which they have been neglected or oppressed. The sequel to this covenant shows how barren and transient are concessions begotten by the terror of imminent ruin. The social covenant between all classes of the community needs to be woven strand by strand through long years of mutual helpfulness and goodwill, of peace and prosperity, if it is to endure the strain of national peril and disaster.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES.—1. Chronology of the Chapter. Beginning…
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES.—1. Chronology of the Chapter. Beginning of Zedekiah’s reign. Vide Notes, and especially Personal Allusions to chap. 1. Usher dates the chapter B.C. 589; Hales B.C. 587.
2. Contemporary Scriptures.—2Ki_24:17 to 2Ki_25:2. Daniel had been prophesying at Babylon from the time of the first captivity of Judah under Jehoiakim, and his book runs on over to the reign of Zedekiah. Ezekiel also appears as a prophet (at Babylon) when he sat among the captives by the river Chebar (Eze_1:1).
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3. National Affairs.—Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, was deposed by the Chaldean king after three months’ reign. Mattaniah (named by Nebuchadnezzar Zedekiah), the brother of Jehoiakim, had been placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar as his vassal. Against this Chaldean power Zedekiah early revolted in favour of Egypt, then growing into a first-class power. Nebuchadnezzar thereupon sends invaders against Jerusalem; and apprehending this attack, Zedekiah sends the embassy to Jeremiah recorded in this chapter.
4. Contemporary History.—Pharaoh-Hophra reigned in Egypt: Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon: Solon at Athens. At this time Jehoiachin (his other names were Jeconiah and Coniah), with his queen-mother Nehushia, and the highest families of Judah, pined in captivity in Babylon. It is not wonderful, therefore, that Zedekiah, led by his nobles, revolted against the Chaldean power which now dominated from Babylon the centre of the Chaldean sway.
5. Geographical References.—Jer_21:4. “Babylon and Chaldeans.” Chaldea is properly only the southerly division of Babylonia; but the Chaldea over which Nebuchadnezzar was king comprised the entire tract of country which lay between the Euphrates and the Tigris, and an equal breadth of country on the Arabian desert side of the Euphrates capable of irrigation from that river, and extending along the course of the Euphrates for over 400 miles, and measuring in average breadth 100 miles. Jer_21:13. “Valley and plain:” Vide the note in loc. on chap. Jer_17:3. The valley means that which ran between Mount Zion and Mount Moriah; and the rock, Mount Zion itself.
6. Personal Allusions.—Jer_21:1. “Zedekiah:” Vide note above, under National Affairs, and also Personal Allusions to chap. 1. “Pashur the son of Melchiah:” this was the fifth order of the priesthood, and Pashur was the head of this order (1Ch_24:9-14). [This is not the Pashur mentioned in previous chapter]. “Zephaniah,” &c., connected with the twenty-fourth priestly family (1Ch_24:18). This Zephaniah was afterwards put to death by Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah (Jer_52:24). Jer_21:2. “Nebuchadrezzar.” This is more nearly the Chaldean spelling of his name than Nebuchadnezzar. He was the son of Nabopolassar, and led the army against Egypt and conquered it at Charchemish. See further in Literary Criticisms below. Jer_21:4. “Chaldeans.” Vide Geog. Ref., supra.
7. Natural History.—Jer_21:14. “The forest thereof.” “A city is a forest of houses.”—Keil. A reference here to the dense mass of residences and edifices built of the cedar trees from Lebanon (comp. Jer_22:7 with Jer_52:13, and 2Ki_25:9).
8. Manners and Customs.—Jer_21:12. “Execute judgment in the morning.” Kings sat in judgment at this time of the day. (Comp. 2Sa_4:5; Job_20:27; Psa_101:8). See Lit. Crit. below.
9. Literary Criticisms.—Jer_21:2. “Nebuchadrezzar:” a noticeable spelling: with ר instead of נ. Jeremiah uses this form twenty-six times; but the form with נ ten times. Jeremiah used the more correct Chaldean form of the name until current usage among the Jews settled the spelling with the נ instead of with the ר. The LXX. write the name thus, Ναβουχοδονόσορ; and Berosus thus, Ναβουχοδονόσορος; the recently discovered Assyrian cylinders thus, Nabu-Rudurri-uzur. Professor Rawlinson interprets this last to mean Nebo protects the landmarks; and Schrader, Nebo, protect thou the crown. The name, interpreted from Persian roots, had been supposed to mean, Nebo deorum princeps, or Nebo deus ignis.
Jer_21:4. “I will assemble them,” &c. The antecedent of them is doubtful, whether “weapons” or “Chaldeans;” but the latter is the nearer and more probable antecedent.
Jer_21:7. “And such as are left:” וְאֵת; the Vaw may be regarded as explicative—even such as are left, namely, of the people.
Jer_21:9. “His life for a prey:” i.e., shall make his escape with it.
Jer_21:12. “In the morning.” לַבֹּקֶר Keil regards as a distributive adverb, every morning; while Henderson regards it as here used idiomatically, as in Psa_90:14; Psa_143:8, where בַּבֹּקר means early, soon, quickly: implying urgency; for the opportunity would quickly end.
SECTIONAL SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 21
GOD’S FINAL OFFER OF DELIVERANCE
The siege of Jerusalem had begun. Zedekiah in alarm sent to ask of Jeremiah respecting the event.
I. Times of distress drive men to seek God’s servants whom amid their prosperity they despised.
1. Apprehensive of evil, they crave counsel and prayers (Jer_21:2). Zedekiah sent two of the priests who were in highest office to ask Jeremiah’s interposition with Jehovah! What a humbling of their arrogant disregard of this hitherto reviled prophet!
2. Yet they crave counsels and prayers only to avert punishment (Jer_21:2). Their sole desire was that Jeremiah’s prayers would prevail with God to thwart Nebuchadnezzar. There was no humiliation for the sin which brought this visitation on the nation.
See Addenda: SEEKING COUNSEL.
II. Messages of wrath will meet those who refuse to seek God except in times of distress.
1. Professors of religion may presume upon their outward privileges until God be angered and wholly alienated. These priests, this king, and indeed the whole nation, had so presumed upon their being God’s people; but their presumption would now be checked (Jer_21:5).
2. Resources of self-reliance will be rendered powerless in the day of adversity (Jer_21:4).
3. Overwhelming disaster shall avenge the iniquities which have long called for Divine punishment. God had been slow to anger and of great kindness, but the time for mercy was now irrecoverably past (Jer_21:6-7).
The messenger of God has woful messages to declare against such as despise His gracious warnings and weary out His longsuffering.
III. A way of mercy is still opened to such as will regard Divine counsels. The king and princes would not surrender to Nebuchadnezzar: they trusted their own counsels, and would not heed God’s; but some among the people might be found ready to heed God’s word and thereby secure immunity from imminent ruin.
1. Even to the latest hour salvation is offered (Jer_21:8); although the enemy was at the very gates.
2. The way of life consists in trustfully submitting to God’s directions (Jer_21:9). It required prompt obedience, and the performance of a part which would be humiliating and seemed painful—“falleth to the Chaldeans,” whom they hated.
God leaves no sinner on earth without “a way of escape;” but it depends on his implicit surrender to His counsels whether he be saved. Happily now we may find a more gracious salvation than was offered to those people.
IV. To those eminent in sin God sends special warnings of doom.
1. God recognises the circumstances which aggravate individual disobedience. There was special heinousness in the conduct of “the king of Judah” (Jer_21:11), since he belonged to the “house of David” (Jer_21:12).
2. A final appeal is made to even greatest transgressors (Jer_21:12).
3. Yet God will show no further mercy when His warnings are rejected with self-confident pride. The reply of the king (Jer_21:13) virtually was, “We have a strong city,” we dwell in “the rock of the plain:” he boasted in his security. Further, he despised the forces of destruction which were gathering—“Who shall come down against us? who shall enter into our habitation?” But God was against the king of Judah; and therefore no hope of safety was left.
HOMILIES AND COMMENTS ON VERSES OF CHAPTER 21
Jer_21:2. Theme: WILFUL INQUIRERS SEEKING COUNSEL.
I. In what mind they came.
1. Their own counsels were determined and fixed; so that they were not in a teachable mood. This Pashur belonged to the party who counselled that Nebuchadnezzar be resisted by force of arms, for he endeavoured to persuade King Zedekiah to put Jeremiah to death as a traitor (chap. Jer_38:1-4). Zephaniah likewise (from Nebuchadnezzar having slain him at Riblah, chap. Jer_52:24) was manifestly hostile to any surrender to the Chaldean force. Thus they came with predetermined opinions.
2. They declared what counsels they wished to receive. Asking Jeremiah to “inquire of the Lord for them,” they yet specified the kind of reply they expected to be returned—that Nebuchadnezzar “may go up from us;” i.e., be compelled to raise the siege, and so give these inquirers the gratification they sought.
This is not inquiry; it is dictation. Such inquiry is insolent to God. All supplication for Divine leading which is prompted by predetermination and wilfulness is self-delusive in the inquirer and offensive to God.
II. In what delusion they reposed.
“If so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all His wondrous works.”
1. Their own demerits were conveniently ignored. It would almost seem that they were unconscious of their flagrant impiety and wickedness. Certainly God’s actions towards them were not to be regulated by righteousness, not to be affected by their crying iniquities, not to be swayed by their defiance of Divine pleadings and warnings, but only “according to His wondrous works.”
2. Their exclusive request was for miraculous interposition. Not that God would exert His gracious power to reform them; but that, leaving them still in their sins, and unpunished for their sins, He would exert His miraculous power to protect them. Panic prayers, such as these, are rarely inspired by sincere contrition for sin, but rather by sudden realisation of penalty.
Note:
i. Sinners often have clear recollection of God’s marvellous works. These men had. At the prayer of Isaiah God delivered Jerusalem when Sennacherib besieged it (2Ch_32:20-21). And as they have clear recollections, so often they have
ii. Strange expectations of like merciful interpositions on their own behalf. Doubtless these messengers anticipated for Jeremiah a similar answer to that which Isaiah gave (Isa_37:6). But
iii. God always keeps vivid recognition of men’s sinful ways. And He makes a difference accordingly. So that “His wondrous works” are not repeated to men who deserved, not wondrous deliverances, but wondrous judgments.
See Addenda: SEEKING COUNSEL.
Jer_21:3. Theme: INTREPID DENUNCIATIONS. “Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah.”
Since the days of Jehoiakim, under whose reign Jeremiah betrayed much fickleness, temerity, and repining; of all which the previous chapter (20) furnishes too ample proof—what a change has come upon God’s servant! How altered now is the tone of his address. Regard this reply as evidence of
I. Great personal courage. Note the circumstances:
1. He is confronted with men of highest state dignity. This embassy was chosen from among the foremost officers in the ranks of the priesthood, so that Jeremiah had to address men of pride and power.
2. He has to send a message direct to the king. His words are “to Zedekiah.” He is under special temptation therefore to be apprehensive of royal disfavour, and concerned to be conciliatory.
3. He is for the first time sought as state-adviser. Never before had he been recognised by king and princes in this special manner as God’s vicegerent and oracle. They had heretofore “derided” him (Jer_20:7-8). Now he is treated with highest respect: an embassy of marked importance is sent him; he is consulted at a crucial moment on a matter of vast seriousness—would he accept the flattery, and prize the sweet gratification so highly, as to lead him to mild speech and even partial suppression of his message? (Compare Jer_20:9.) No: he spoke out all God’s word, forcibly and fearlessly, and sent back these powerful messengers to the king with burning words of denunciation.
II. Grand prophetic confidence.
1. He is conscious of the Divinity of his inspiration. Had he been in any doubt that God’s Spirit moved him as he spake, he would certainly have spoken with more deference and some equivocation. But his words are decisive and authoritative. He knew that he had God’s word to utter. So as truly do preachers of Divine truth.
Here, too, let it be noted that the coming of this embassy to him was “a silent testimony and tribute to his inspiration” (Wordsworth). They accepted the fact as undoubted: and came to ask God’s word at his lips.
2. He is confident of the certainty of his prophecies. The moment was critical. The Chaldeans were at the walls, the city was besieged, the message was for that very hour. What he said would be verified or refuted forthwith. It was different when a prophecy was being uttered which related to distant days. Yet though a few hours would suffice to prove or disprove his words, Jeremiah spoke with emphasis and confidence. He risks his credit as a prophet on the assurance he sends back, that if the king would promptly execute judgment and justice, the besiegers should be thwarted (Jer_21:12). We have reason to believe that had Zedekiah acted on Jeremiah’s counsel he would have been saved from the Chaldeans as Hezekiah was from the Assyrians.
Note:
i. This progress from temerity (chap. Jer_1:6) to courage was the progressively of God’s promise of qualification for his work. (See chap. Jer_1:17-18.) It was only progressively fulfilled, for often the prophet showed a craven spirit (Jer_20:7-9); but now it was completely fulfilled. So God’s words of promise will find ultimate vindication in us.
ii. This development of courage and confidence marks the perfection of his prophetic equipment. Jeremiah’s sorest testing was at hand; in the travail and calamities which accumulated, he would need now the full confidence and fearless courage which here for the first time he evinced. God knows the hour when we need largest grace, and “as our day is, so shall our strength be.”
See Addenda: COURAGE.
Jer_21:8. Theme: A PITIABLE DILEMMA. “I have set before thee the way of life and death.”
In this instance how different the circumstances amid which Jeremiah made this appeal from those amid which Moses used the same words! (Deu_30:19.) Here it is—
I. Not a gracious contrast: “Life and death.”
It was a gracious contrast that Moses proposed: a choice between
1. A life blessed with Jehovah’s favour; or
2. A death in sin and the miseries which follow disobedience.
But that propitious hour for the nation was gone for ever. The offer could not be made on those beneficent terms. “They had slighted the life” (says Henry) “which would have made them truly happy; to upbraid them with which the prophet uses the same expression.”
Note: The same offer may not mean the same when it is renewed, after it has once been rejected.
II. But a melancholy alternative.
Here the choice lay between two possibilities well-nigh equally distressing.
1. A life only saved by deserting to the enemy, and to be spent in wretched and shameful captivity; or
2. A death of famine, pestilence, and the sword within their own city’s walls.
See Addenda: OPPORTUNITY.
Theme: A FAITHFUL MINISTER’S APPEAL.
It ought to be possible for every messenger of God to say among his people that during his ministry he has persistently and faithfully “set before them life and death.”
I. This summarises the preacher’s work.
1. The alternative which God offers to men through the preacher—“life and death.”
2. The fidelity which marks the preacher’s messages to men. “I have set before you.” Not engaging you with speculative theories, but solemn truths and revealed facts.
II. This indicates the hearer’s duty.
1. A free choice is left to each (Eze_33:11).
2. A wise choice is possible with each (Pro_8:36; Luk_10:42).
III. This narrows the sinner’s outlook.
1. There are but two possibilities before the soul: no third course.
2. There are great responsibilities upon the soul (Joh_15:22).
See further: NOTICEABLE TOPICS at end of chapter.
Jer_21:11-12. Theme: COUNSEL TO A KING.
Because it was the king who sent the message to him, he sends a particular message to the king. He advises the king and princes to reform, and to make conscience of the duty from their place. “Execute judgment in the morning”—carefully, diligently, promptly. “Deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor”—if you would be delivered from the Chaldeans who distress you.
i. This intimates that it was their neglect to do their duty which brought all this desolation upon the people. The “evil of their doings” kindled the fire of God’s wrath.
ii. This directs them to take the right direction for a national reformation. The princes must begin and set the people a good example. He reminds them that they are of the “house of David,” and therefore should tread in his righteous steps.
iii. This gives them some encouragement to hope that there may yet be a lengthening of their tranquillity (Deu_4:27). If anything will recover their state from the brink of ruin, this will.—M. Henry.
See Addenda: “EXECUTE JUDGMENT.”
NOTICEABLE TOPIC IN CHAPTER 21
Topic: GOD’S MESSAGE OF LIFE AND DEATH (Jer_21:8).
The conduct of God towards Israel is the model of His conduct towards us: and the conduct of Israel towards God closely resembles the conduct of mankind in all subsequent ages. Here is a glass in which we may see ourselves revealed.
When Nebuchadnezzar advanced to the siege, the state dignitaries urged Jeremiah to inquire of God for them what the result would be. He did so. And this was the answer—Life in submission to the Chaldeans: death by continuance in the city. The result was—they despised the warning, they clung to their own devices—the city was destroyed.
(a.) Many learn religion’s worth amid threatening or actual calamities.
(b.) Many prize the comfort of the prayers of God’s people who never pray themselves.
I. That it is God’s prerogative to mark the path in which He would have us go for both worlds. God who knows our wants has provided for their supply.
He has “set before us life and death.”
1. In His written Word—i. By doctrinal statements. ii. By warnings and invitations.
2. By Providence and mercies: examples and instances.
The way to heaven is faith and holiness, the way to hell is unbelief and sin. Jesus says (Mar_16:16). John, bearing witness to the Divinity and Messiahship of Christ, says (Joh_3:36). Our Lord also declares concerning Himself in terms too plain to be misunderstood (Joh_14:6).
It is evident that all who receive Christ by faith—in His atoning sacrifice and sanctifying grace—are in the way of life: and all those who reject and disown Him—refuse His salvation and disobey His commands—are in the way of death.
II. That the path to life is clothed with many attractions.
Our Lord speaks of “the strait gate and narrow way,” and the “few that find it.” The difficulty arises not from the road itself, but from the nature of those who walk in it. It is
1. A plain way. The way though narrow is plain—the way to the wicket gate is straight as a line can make it. It is only difficult and perplexed to those who are reluctant to renounce the burden of their sins and the corruptions of this evil world, or would fain invent some method to reconcile the discordant claims of God and mammon, earth and heaven. But though the first entrance may be difficult to the awakened sinner, owing to the abounding evils of his heart, yet grace enables him to overcome these deep workings of corruption and to pass by true repentance and humble faith through the strait gate towards the blessed region of eternal felicity.
Both of these paths have numerous travellers—but the broad way and the green have had a fearful majority hitherto. Yet the votaries of religion have not been few in reality, though few as compared with the world—and in every age the number of these has increased, and will increase. Of the path to heaven observe
2. That it is an old way and well trodden. “Stand ye in the old way, inquire for the good paths.” From Abel’s time. “The way the holy prophets went.”
3. That it is a safe way: for though much contested it is yet divinely guarded: “No lion shall be there.” “No weapon,” &c.
4. That it is a pleasant way. “Wisdom’s ways are ways of pleasantness.” “The way of life is above to the wise,” &c.
III. That we are daily advancing in one or other of these paths.
There can be amidst the diversities of the race but two broad divisions: wise and foolish, wheat and tares.
God sees how you forget Him and your latter end, and how light you make of everlasting things: how bold you are in sin, how fearless of His threatenings—careless of your souls—doing the work of infidels in your lives while the creed of Christians is in your mouth. He sees the dreadful day near at hand when your sorrows will begin. “Behold the judge standeth.” Death will bring such an argument in favour of truth and religion as you will never be able to answer, and then you will be an unbeliever no longer. There is nothing but a slender veil of flesh between thee and that amazing sight of God and eternity which will silence your presumption for ever. But let us mark the contrast between the righteous and the wicked in present life.
A worldly man is one that has his chief treasure upon earth, while God and eternity are forgotten. Though he does not say that earth is better than heaven, and sin than holiness, he acts as if he did; and if he could have enough of earth and time he would let go heaven, and never think of being removed thither—for a holy God and a holy heaven have never been comprehended within the circle of his joys. Whereas the Christian is one who has been converted from the error of his ways—his mind has been enlightened to discern the evil of sin and the love and loveliness of Christ, and is anxious to lay up his treasure and hopes in heaven.
A worldly man is one who neglects the great salvation, who never truly valued the mystery of redemption, nor truly applied to the Physician of souls, nor thankfully entertained in his heart the great Redeemer; and though he might not object to be outwardly religious, he was never concerned to be inwardly renewed, neither seeking to be delivered from the guilt and dominion of sin, nor to be conformed to the image and likeness of God. Whereas the Christian, having been savingly convinced of his undone state by sin, and apprehending the mercy of God in Christ, thankfully entertains the glad tidings of redemption, flees to Christ for pardon and salvation—desires to experience more the daily renewal of the Holy Spirit.
To which of these do you belong? Think thus;—I am a dying creature, on the verge of an awful eternity; heaven and hell are before me, and to one of these states I am advancing every day as another day’s journey. Ask, Whither am I going? What reception shall I meet at last? What award does conscience now make? Have I believed with the heart unto righteousness? Is the life I now live in the flesh a life of faith? Will the course I am in do to die by?
IV. That the doom of the impenitent will be aggravated by weighty considerations.
1. That the path of life and death was clearly set before you, and rejected by deliberate choice. It will be eternally true that Christ was set forth crucified, that you were invited, summoned, and entreated in His name to be reconciled to God. God Himself calls
2. From the solemn Providences and warnings you have abused.
3. From the vanity and worthlessness of pursuits for which salvation was rejected.
4. From the changeless eternity of the state to which you go.
—Samuel Thodey, A.D. 1845.
ADDENDA TO CHAPTER 21: ILLUSTRATIONS AND SUGGESTIVE EXTRACTS
Jer_21:2. SEEKING COUNSEL.
“Consult your friend on all things, especially on those which respect yourself.
His counsel may then be useful, where your own self-love might impair your judgment.”—Seneca.
“Good counsels observed are chains to grace.”—Fuller.
“Mid pleasure plenty, and success,
Freely we take from Him who lends:
We boas the blessings we possess,
Yet scarcely thank the One who sends.
“But let affliction pour its smart,
How soon we quail beneath the rod!
With shattered pride, and prostrate heart,
We seek the long-forgotten God.”
—Eliza Cook.
Jer_21:3. COURAGE.
“A minister without boldness is like a smooth file, a knife without an edge, a sentinel that is afraid to let off his gun. If men will be bold in sin, ministers must be bold to reprove.”
—Gurnall.
Think of that Reformer, who, when some one said to him, “The whole world is against you,” calmly replied, “Then I am against the world.”
“This is true courage, not the brutal force
Of vulgar heroes, but the firm resolve
Of virtue and of reason.”—Whitehead.
“True valour
Lies in the mind, the never-yielding purpose,
Nor owns the blind award of giddy fortune.
—Thomson.
Jer_21:8. OPPORTUNITY.
“The mill cannot grind with the water that is past.”—Proverb.
Herod—those who offered to follow Christ (Luk_9:57-62)—Felix—Agrippa—Simon Magus—how many characters seem to flash before our eyes in Scripture as having been visited with convictions and opportunities of grace, but only, it has been said, “like ships, which, when night is spread over the sea, emerge for a moment from the darkness as they cross the pathway of the moonbeams, and then are lost in utter gloom.”
Opportunities are importunities.
“There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows, and in miseries;
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.”—Shakespeare.
Jer_21:12. EXECUTE JUDGMENT.
“What is justice? To give to every man his own.”—Aristotle.
“It often falls in course of common life,
That right sometimes is overborne of wrong;
The avarice of power, or guile, or strife,
That weakens her, and makes her party strong.
But Justice, tho’ her doom she do prolong,
Yet at the last will make her own cause rife.”—Spenser.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 Jeremiah's Twelfth Prophecy (Reign of Zedekiah during the Siege).…
Jeremiah's Twelfth Prophecy (Reign of Zedekiah during the Siege). Zedekiah's Roll
This chapter commences a new division of the book extending to the end of Jeremiah 24. We pass from the time of Jehoiakim to that of the last king of Judah, when Jerusalem was attacked by the Chaldeans. The city must be taken, but surrender may still ensure safety.
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1-10. The king's appeal to the prophet, and the reply.
1. Pashur] see on Jer_20:2. Zephaniah] mentioned again Jer_29:25; Jer_37:3; Jer_52:24. In Jeremiah 52 he is spoken of as 'the second priest,' meaning next in rank to the high priest. Both men were for resisting Nebuchadnezzar.
2. Nebuchadrezzar] meaning, 'O Nebo, defend the landmark'. It is a more correct spelling than 'Nebuchadnezzar' in Jer_34:1.
4. The defenders will be driven back into the city.
9. He that goeth out, etc.] Many acted upon this suggestion: see Jer_39:9; Jer_52:16. His life shall be unto him for a prey] i.e. he shall snatch it from destruction.
10. He shall burn it with fire] see Jer_52:13.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 The Prophetic Warning
CHAPTER 21
The Prophetic Warning
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1. Zedekiah’s inquiry (Jer 21:1-2)
2. Jehovah’s answer through Jeremiah (Jer 21:3-14)
Jer 21:1-2. It has been said that this chapter is historically misplaced and therefore must be considered an evidence of the composite authorship of this book. The Spirit of God for some reason unknown to us has put it in this place. Zedekiah sent unto Jeremiah Pashur (a different one from the Pashur in the preceding chapter) to inquire as to Nebuchadrezzar, the King of Babylon. This is of course Nebuchadnezzar. The form of his name found in Jeremiah is derived more correctly from the Babylonian, which is “Nabukudurri-usur.” Here the great king is mentioned for the first time in Jeremiah. The wicked Zedekiah may have remembered God’s dealing with Hezekiah when the Lord annihilated the army of Sennacherib, the Assyrian. Then Zedekiah said: “Peradventure the LORD will deal with us according to all His wondrous works, that he may go up from US.”
Jer 21:3-14. Zedekiah (whose name was Mattaniah), the ungodly king, who had been made king by Nebuchadrezzar after he had carried away captives from Jerusalem, heard a message of judgment from Jeremiah. The Babylonian king’s army was again before the city, because Zedekiah had revolted and broken his agreement with the king. How could Zedekiah even imagine that a righteous Lord had a message of peace for him? The Lord Himself will now fight against Jerusalem and its wicked king. The enemy will do the appointed judgment work: “he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.” The king is to be taken captive. Then he addresses the people and the house of David in no uncertain words, which need no further comment.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 Zedekiah’s Question and its Answer
Zedekiah’s Question and its Answer
v. 1. The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur, the son of Melchiah, not the same Pashur who was mentioned in the last chapter, but the man listed with other prominent men of the kingdom in 38:1, and Zephanlah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying,
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v. 2. Enquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us, to find out what attitude Jehovah would take, and whether they could count on His assistance on the basis of a special revelation; for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, maketh war against us, this incident taking place at the time when the invaders were already near the city or about to enter; if so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all His wondrous works, the fact that the true God is almighty coming to their remembrance at the time of this affliction, that he, the invading king, may go up from us, discontinue his advance or raise the siege which he had even then begun. It has ever been thus, that affliction drove people to seek the Lord and His mercy, much as the same people otherwise ignored Him.
v. 3. Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah,
v. 4. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the one true God, of whose existence the people and their king seemed to be aware only as it suited their needs and their fancy. Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans which besiege you without the walls, so that their entire defense would be rendered vain, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city, so that its defenders, who were still attempting to repel the invaders outside the walls, would be compelled to take refuge in the city, their weapons having proved powerless against the enemy.
v. 5. And I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, exhibiting His almighty power in punishing them, even in anger and in fury and in great wrath, the climax presented by the synonyms indicating that He was possessed with the highest degree of indignation,
v. 6. and I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast, in a general sentence of punishment; they shall die of a great pestilence, this being the first part of the destruction decided upon by the Lord.
v. 7. And afterward, saith the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, the inhabitants in general, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, the survivors after the coming of these great scourges, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life, the inevitable doom being brought out in these expressions, and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword, in a relentless slaughter; he shall not spare them, neither have pity nor have mercy. Cf Deu 29:29; 2Ki 25:6-7; Eze 12:13. Thus did Zedekiah receive his answer in agreement with his actions and his state of mind, for he did evil in the sight of the Lord.
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 vv1, 3 The word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh
The word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh
This idiom is used to introduce a special message from God. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 7:1, and make any changes as needed. AT: "Yahweh gave a message to Jeremiah" or "Yahweh spoke a message to Jeremiah" (See: Idiom)
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Pashhur
This is not the same Pashhur that was mentioned in Jeremiah 20:1.
Pashhur ... Malkijah ... Maaseiah
These are names of men. (See: How to Translate Names)
and they said
"Pashhur and Zephaniah said to Jeremiah"
Seek advice from Yahweh on our behalf ... making war on us
This was a polite, but urgent request. AT: "Please speak to Yahweh for us ... attacking us"
as in times past
"as he did in the past"
will make him withdraw from us
"will make him go away"
translationWords
word
Yahweh
Jeremiah
king
Zedekiah
Zephaniah
priest
Nebuchadnezzar
Babylon
miracle
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 vv1–3 21:1–28:17 From this point forward in the book of…
21:1–28:17 From this point forward in the book of Jeremiah, there is specific information about the last several kings of Judah, particularly Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. The narratives are mostly written in prose and are not always in exact chronological sequence.
21:1-10 This section moves to the beginning of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 588 BC (cp. 52:1-23; 2 Kgs 24:18–25:21; 2 Chr 36:11-21). The Lord communicated with Judah through his messenger Jeremiah.
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21:1 The reign of King Zedekiah spanned 597–586 BC. • The Pashhur mentioned here is not the one mentioned in 20:1-6 because they had different fathers. He and Zephaniah bore the full authority of the king, yet when they met the prophet, they begged Jeremiah for the Lord’s help. Clearly, they regarded Jeremiah as a man of great authority. Zedekiah recognized Jeremiah’s prophetic authority, but he lacked the courage or the moral integrity to do what Jeremiah directed him to do in the Lord’s name.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.