“Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, “Yahweh has made you priest in the place of Jehoiada the priest, that there may be officers in Yahweh’s house, for every man who is crazy, and makes himself a prophet, that you should put him in the stocks and in shackles. Now therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who makes himself a prophet to you, because he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, The captivity is long. Build houses, and dwell in them. Plant gardens, and eat their fruit?” ’ ”
Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv25, 26, 28, 29 He afterwards mentioned the priest and all the priests…
He afterwards mentioned the priest and all the priests The word priest, in the singular number, meant the high-priest: then the priests were not only those descended from Aaron, but all the Levites. There was the high-priest, and then the descendants of Aaron were the chief, and, as it were, the colleagues of the high priest; but the Levites were an inferior order, though here by the priests he means also the Levites.
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 v26 Shemaiah the false prophet flattereth Zephaniah the chief Priest,…
Shemaiah the false prophet flattereth Zephaniah the chief Priest, as though God had given him the spirit and zeal of Jehoiada to punish whosoever trespassed against the word of God, of the which he would have made Jeremiah one, calling him a raver and a false prophet.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv25–29 Jer 29:25 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the…
Jer 29:25 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that [are] at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,
Ver. 25. Because thou hast sent letters in thy name.] Such as Sadoletus, a Popish bishop, sent to Geneva in Calvin’s absence, to bring them back again to the obedience of the see of Rome; and as we have many from the Romish factors sent hither, to the seducing of not a few, a subtle and shrewd way of deceiving the simple.
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And to Zephaniah.] The second under the high priest Seraiah, and successor likely to that Pashur {Jer 20:1} who was deposed for some misdemeanour, like as Dr Weston was here in Queen Mary’s days, put by all his Church dignities for being taken in bed with a harlot. {a} Of this Zephaniah, see 2Ki 25:18, his office was to judge of prophecies, and to punish such as he found to be false prophets.
And to all the priests.] Who were much too forward of themselves to bandy against God’s true prophets, {Jer 26:8} and did as little need by letter to be excited thereunto, as Bishop Bonner did to be stirred up to persecute Protestants; and yet to him were letters sent from King Philip and Queen Mary, complaining that heretics were not so reformed as they should be, and exhorting him to more diligence, {b} &c.
{a} Acts and Mon.
{b} Clarke’s Martyrol., 136.
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 vv26–29 Priest, that is, high priest, as some have thought;…
Priest, that is, high priest, as some have thought; but it appears from 2Ki 25:18, that Seraiah was at this time the high priest, and this Zephaniah was the second priest, as he is there styled, as also Jer 52:24; nor must any think that the Jehoiada here meant was the immediate predecessor of Zephaniah, for besides that Jehoiada was high priest, which Zephaniah never was, there were near two hundred years betwixt the death of Jehoiada and this time; in the stead therefore here signifieth, that thou shouldst be like the good high priest Jehoiada; unless some other Jehoiada was meant, who was turned out, and this Zephaniah put in his room.
That ye should be officers in the house of the Lord, for every man that is mad; that thou mightest have a care of religion, and particularly take care of persons who being mad or phrenetic make themselves prophets. The priests had a power to restrain such persons by imprisoning them, or putting them in the stocks, by which most agree a particular punishment is expressed, but for the nature and way of it is not determined. Those who in so uncertain a thing have a mind to read what hath been said, may find it both in Mr. Pool’s Synopsis Criticorum, and the English Annotations upon this verse, but the learned author of them reciting what authors have said, concludes it at last not with any certainty to be determined.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv25–29 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of…
Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying,.... See Gill on Jer 29:4;
because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem; not in the name of the captives, whom he consulted not; nor with Ezekiel the prophet of the Lord, who was of the captivity; but in his own name, taking upon him to direct and order what should be done in Jerusalem. These letters were sent, very probably, by the hands of the king's messengers, when they returned, whose names are mentioned, Jer 29:3; some of them were sent to the people, to set them against the prophet of the Lord, Jeremiah, that they might not give any heed and credit to him; and others to the priests, as follows:
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and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest; not the high, priest, but his sagan or deputy; the second priest, as he is called, Jer 52:24; for Seraiah was high priest, unless he was now become high priest in his room. This Maaseiah was either his immediate parent, or else the head of that course to which Zephaniah belonged, as a common priest, which was the twenty fourth in order, Ch1 24:18;
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 v26 Priest - Zephaniah was the second priest. In the…
Priest - Zephaniah was the second priest. In the stead - In the stead signifies, that thou shouldest be like the good high priest Jehoiada. Mad - That thou mightest take care of persons, who being mad or frantick make themselves prophets.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v26 Verse 26. For every man that is mad, and…
Verse 26. For every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet] Mad, משגע meshugga, in ecstatic rapture; such as appeared in the prophets, whether true or false, when under the influence, the one of God, the other of a demon. See 2Kg 9:11; Ho 9:7.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv25, 26, 28 The second priest, (4 Kings xxv. 18.) a chief…
The second priest, (4 Kings xxv. 18.) a chief officer of the temple, chap. xxi. 1.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv25–29 in thy name--without sanction of "the Lord of hosts,…
in thy name--without sanction of "the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel," which words stand in antithesis to "thy name" (Joh 5:43).
Zephaniah--the second priest, or substitute (Sagan) of the high priest. He was one of those sent to consult Jeremiah by Zedekiah (Jer 21:1). Slain by Nebuchadnezzar at the capture of Jerusalem (Kg2 25:18-21). Zephaniah was in particular addressed, as being likely to take up against Jeremiah the prophet's prediction against his brother Zedekiah at Babylon (Jer 29:21). Zephaniah was to read it to the priests, and in the presence of all the people, in the temple.
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 vv26, 27, 29 26. The Lord hath made thee priest — An…
26. The Lord hath made thee priest — An adroit appeal to his fanatical zeal. Jeremiah charges his failure to punish him as ingratitude to God.
Officers — Literally, overseers, men in charge; the police force of the temple.
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Prison, and in the stocks — As Pashur had already done to Jeremiah. Jer_20:2.
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 vv25, 26, 27, 29 25. in thine own name] not, as Jeremiah spoke,…
25. in thine own name] not, as Jeremiah spoke, in the name of the Lord.
unto all the people that are at Jerusalem] LXX rightly omit.
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Zephaniah] See on Jer_21:1 (which however belongs to a somewhat later time than this). In ch. Jer_52:24 = 2Ki_25:18 he is called “second priest,” i.e. next in rank to the high-priest.
and to all the priests] LXX rightly omit.
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 vv25, 26, 28, 29 (25) Because thou hast sent letters in thy name…
(25) Because thou hast sent letters in thy name . . .—The letters were probably sent through the envoys named in Jer_29:3 on their return from Babylon. Their object was to urge Zephaniah, who appears in 2Ki_25:18 as the Sagan, or second priest, to exercise his authority to restrain Jeremiah from prophesying, and to punish him as a false prophet. It was an attempt to turn the tables on him for the manner in which he had thwarted the plans of the party of revolt at Babylon. The part taken by Zephaniah in acting for the king when he wished to consult Jeremiah (Jer_21:1), and imploring his intercession (Jer_37:3), makes it probable that he endeavoured to maintain a neutral Gamaliel-like position between the two parties, and had seemed so lukewarm and temporising that he was open to the influence of threats. On the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuzaradan he was taken prisoner and slain (Jer_52:24-27).
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 vv26–29 In the stead of Jehoiada the priest. Some (Grotius,…
In the stead of Jehoiada the priest. Some (Grotius, Hitzig, Graf) think that this Jehoiada was the famous high priest of that name, who is said to have "appointed officers over the house of the Lord". (2Ki_11:18 2Ch_23:18) It is true that Zephaniah was not literally the successor of Jehoiada, but he was so in the same metaphorical sense in which the scribes are said by our Lord to "sit in Moses" seat". (Mat_23:2) It is safer, however, to suppose that another Jehoiada is meant, of whom we have no further information. It is not said that either Jehoiada or Zephaniah was high priest, and as the special object of the elevation of the latter is said to be the supervision of the temple police, it is more probable that Jehoiada and he were successively "second priests," or, to use a phrase which seems to be synonymous, "deputy governors in the house of the Lord". (Jer_20:1) The passage may thus without violence be harmonized with Jer_52:24 2Ki_25:18, where Seraiah is called "the chief priest" and Zephaniah "the second priest." It is possible that Jehoiada "had been favorable to the better class of prophets. In this case there will be a delicate hint to Zephaniah that God had his own purpose in promoting him to honor, viz. that unruly prophets like Jeremiah might be held in with a tighter hand (Ewald). That ye should be officers; rather, that there should be officers. Zephaniah himself was an "officer" or "deputy" (see above); but he was also "chief in the house of the Lord," and had the appointment of inferior "officers," whose duty it was to preserve order in the temple. To understand the following words, we must remember that the outer court of the temple was a favorite place for prophetic teaching. (comp. Jer_7:2 Jer_26:2) For every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet; i.e. to keep an eye upon "madmen" and prophetizers. The term "mad" is used in a disparaging sense, (as 2Ki_9:11; comp. Hos_9:7) with regard to the apparently senseless behavior of those who were overpowered by the spirit of prophecy. In earlier times, no doubt, the phenomena of prophecy were more violently opposed to everyday life than in Jeremiah"s time; but such symbolic acts as appearing in public with a yoke upon his neck would at least excuse the application of the epithet even to Jeremiah. It is more than probable, however, that it was not so much the abnormal actions as the contents of Jeremiah"s prophecies which stirred up such vehement opposition; observe how in the next verse only the sound of these descriptive nouns is retained ("which maketh himself a prophet"). It was the making prophecy a reality which disturbed the men of routine, and Shemaiah well knew this when he made this appeal to Zephaniah. There was no harm in being nominally a "prophet," but to "make," or rather, "show one"s self as a prophet," to be an energetic prophet, a prophetizer (if the word may be invented), this was wormwood to those who cried, "Peace, peace," when there was no peace. In prison, and in the stocks; rather, in the stocks (see on Jer_20:2) and in the collar. The meaning seems to be that Jeremiah was subjected to both forms of punishment at once.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v27 General Information:
General Information:
This finishes the letter by Shemaiah that he sent out to the people in Jerusalem.
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why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth ... against you?
Shemaiah uses a rhetorical question to scold the people of Jerusalem for not rebuking Jeremiah. This can be translated as a statement. AT: "I want you to rebuke Jeremiah of Anathoth ... against you." (See: Rhetorical Question)
he has sent to us
You may need to make explicit what it was that Jeremiah sent. AT: "he has sent a message to us" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their fruit
See how you translated similar words in Jeremiah 29:5.
in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet
"so that Jeremiah the prophet could hear him read it." See how you translated similar words in Jeremiah 2:2.
translationWords
rebuke
life
fruit
Zephaniah
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 v29 29:29 Zephaniah had enough good sense to show Jeremiah…
29:29 Zephaniah had enough good sense to show Jeremiah the letter from Shemaiah.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.