Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “Hear Yahweh’s word, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt!
Parallel Translations
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Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “Hear Yahweh’s word, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt!
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Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:
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Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women: 'Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Jeremiah 44:24 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Jeremiah 43:7 and they came into the land of Egypt; for they didn’t obey Yahweh’s voice: and they came to Tahpanhes.
- Jeremiah 42:15 now therefore hear Yahweh’s word, O remnant of Judah: Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘If you indeed set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to live there;
- Jeremiah 44:15-16 Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, even all the people who lived in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, “As for the word that you have spoken to us in Yahweh’s name, we will not listen to you.
- Jeremiah 44:26 “Therefore hear Yahweh’s word, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, I have sworn by my great name,’ says Yahweh, ‘that my name will no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “As the Lord Yahweh lives.”
- 1 Kings 22:19 Micaiah said, “Therefore hear Yahweh’s word. I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
- Isaiah 1:10 Hear Yahweh’s word, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
- Isaiah 28:14 Therefore hear Yahweh’s word, you scoffers, that rule this people in Jerusalem:
- Ezekiel 2:7 You shall speak my words to them, whether they will hear, or whether they will refuse; for they are most rebellious.
- Ezekiel 20:32-33 “ ‘ “That which comes into your mind will not be at all, in that you say, ‘We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.’ As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, I will be king over you.
- Amos 7:16 Now therefore listen to Yahweh’s word: ‘You say, Don’t prophesy against Israel, and don’t preach against the house of Isaac.’
- Matthew 11:15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Jer 44:24 Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people,…
Jer 44:24 Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that [are] in the land of Egypt:
Ver. 24. Hear the word of the Lord.] Not my word only. See on Jer 44:20.
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 That is, all you men and women that belong…
That is, all you men and women that belong to Judah, and are now come to inhabit in the land of Egypt.
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 Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to…
Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women,.... To all the people in general, and to the women in particular, who had a principal concern in these idolatrous practices:
hear the word of the Lord, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt; all of the tribe of Judah that were in Egypt; not in Pathros only, but in other parts of Egypt; this distinguishes them from those of Judah that were in Babylon, and in other provinces; and tacitly points at their sin in going to Egypt, which was the leading step to then fresh acts of idolatry they had been guilty of; these are called upon to hear the word of the Lord: what the prophet had said before was what was upon his mind without immediate inspiration, or as a direct message from the Lord; but what follows is.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Jer 44:24-28. Jeremiah said, Hear all Judah that are…
Jer 44:24-28. Jeremiah said, Hear all Judah that are in the land of Egypt — That is, all you men and women that belong to Judah, and are now come to dwell in Egypt; ye and your wives have spoken — The Hebrew word תדברנה, rendered have spoken, is of the feminine gender, and implies that the women were first and principally concerned in this idolatry, and that the men’s guilt lay chiefly in conniving at them, and suffering themselves to be seduced by them; saying, We will surely perform our vows, &c. — They insist on their unlawful vows as obligations in conscience, which could not be dispensed with, just as Herod did on his unlawful oath, Mat 14:9 : as if, though to burn incense to the queen of heaven were a sin, yet their having vowed to do it were sufficient to justify them in the doing of it; whereas no man can, by his vow, make that lawful to himself, much less his duty, which God had before made sin. Ye will surely accomplish your vows, &c. — You are resolved upon it, and there is no moving you from your resolution. Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord — Hear what is God’s resolution. Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord — I also have made a solemn vow, in opposition to that wicked one of yours, and have confirmed it by an oath. I have sworn and will not repent: That my name shall no more be named by any man of Judah in the land of Egypt, &c. — “These Jews seem to have joined the worship of the true God with that of idols, as the Samaritans did before them, 2Ki 17:33. Thereupon God declares he will not receive any such polluted worship at their hands, (compare Eze 20:39,) nor suffer his name to be any longer profaned by such hypocrites, but will consume them by a sudden and general destruction” — Lowth. Behold, I will watch over them for evil — God here represents himself as one who would be solicitous and industrious to bring evil upon them, as men, who are so in any business, watch all opportunities for doing it: as if he had said, No opportunity shall be let slip to bring some judgment upon them, until there be an end of them, and they be quite rooted out. Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return, &c. — A very few, next to none in comparison of the great number that shall return out of the land of the Chaldeans: see note on Jer 44:14. And all the remnant of Judah shall know whose words shall stand, mine or theirs — They said they should recover themselves when they returned to worship the queen of heaven. God says they shall hereby ruin themselves: and now the event will show who was in the right. The contest between God and sinners is, whose word shall stand, whose will shall be done, who shall prevail? Sinners say, We shall have peace, though we go on in sin: God says, Ye shall have no peace. And when God judges, he will overcome: his word shall stand, and not the sinner’s.
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 Earnest as was the preceding expostulation, Jeremiah sees that…
Earnest as was the preceding expostulation, Jeremiah sees that it has produced no effect. He therefore utters his last warning, and with this last resistance to the sins of a debased and godless people, his earthly ministry closed.
Jer 44:25
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And fulfilled with your hand - Your hands. Jeremiah pointed to their hands, in which they were carrying the crescent-shaped cakes which they had vowed to the goddess. Their idolatry therefore was an accomplished deed, as the symbols held in their hands testified.
Ye will surely accomplish - Or, Accomplish then your vows. It is not a prediction, but is ironical, and means that as they will take no warning, they must needs have their way.
Jer 44:26
My name shall no more be named ... - God swears by His own great Name that He will be their national God no longer. Yahweh repudiates His covenant-relation toward them.
Jer 44:27
I will watch - I am watching over them, not for good, but for evil: like a panther Jer 5:6 lying in wait to spring upon passengers.
Shall be consumed - This is the result of Yahweh’s repudiation of thee covenant. When He was their God He watched over them for good: now His protection is withdrawn, and He is their enemy, because of the wickedness whereby their rejection was made necessary. See the Jer 6:9 note.
Jer 44:28
Literally, “And fugitives from the sword (see Jer 44:14) shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, mere of number, i. e., so few that they can be counted: and all the remnant of Jadah that are going etc.” So unendurable shall be their sufferings in Egypt, that the men now abandoning Judaea in the hope of finding an asylum there shall be glad to return like runaways from a lost battle.
Whose words ... - Whose word shall stand, from Me or from them, i. e., the one prediction, that their descent into Egypt would be their ruin, which they denied.
Jer 44:30
Pharaoh-Hophra came to the throne the year before Jerusalem was captured. He reigned for 19 years, probably the last 10 years as a prisoner. See the notes at Jer 37:5; notes at Jer 46:12.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain β. The Positive Announcement of Severest Punishment
β. The Positive Announcement of Severest Punishment
Jer_44:24-30
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24Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the 25word of the Lord [Jehovah’s word] all Judah that are in the land of Egypt. Thus saith the Lord of hosts [Jehovah Zebaoth] the God of Israel, saying: Ye and your wives have both25 spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her; ye will surely accomplish26 26your vows, and surely perform your vows. Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord [Jehovah’s word] all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The 27Lord God [Adonai Jehovah] liveth. Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good; and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed 28by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them. Yet a small number that escape27 the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of 29Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs.28 And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the Lord, that I will punish29 you in this place, 30that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil: Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will give Pharaoh-hophra, king of Egypt, into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah, king of Judah, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
As that which the land and people of Judah had experienced from the Chaldeans, was a punishment for their previous wickedness, so in the future also new calamities will be the recompense of their newly-repeated offences. The Jews persist in performing their idolatrous vows. Well, they shall do so (Jer_44:26). But they shall also hear, that there will soon be no longer a Jew in Egypt, who may even take the name of Jehovah into his mouth (Jer_44:26). For they shall be exterminated by sword and famine (Jer_44:27), and only a few shall return into the land of Judah, that this stubborn people may learn who is in a position to execute his will, Jehovah or they? (Jer_44:28). And this may serve for a token, that the Lord will make good His word, that Hophra, king of Egypt, will be given into the hand of his mortal enemies, just as Zedekiah was given into the hand of his enemy, the king of Babylon (Jer_44:29-30).
Jer_44:24-25. Moreover Jeremiah … your vows. The women are here also expressly mentioned (see rems. on Jer_44:15). In Jer_44:25 even the predicate to ye and your wives, as well as the predicates in the concluding sentence of the verse has the feminine form.—The sentence and fulfilled with your hand is to be regarded as a parenthesis, occasioned by the circumstance, that the discharge of the vows was already in progress at the very moment the prophet was speaking. We may conclude from this, that the words in Jer_44:24 sqq. were spoken later than the preceding context, viz., towards the close of the meeting.
Jer_44:26-28. Therefore hear … or theirs. As you obstinately carry out your will, hear what the Lord will do to effect His. He has sworn by His great Name (comp. Jer_22:5; Jer_49:13; Jer_51:14), that a time will yet come, when no Jew in Egypt will any more take the name of Jehovah into his mouth as an oath (comp. Jer_4:2; Jer_5:2; Jer_12:16), simply for this reason, that there will be none there (Jer_44:27). “In the form of asseveration the name of Jehovah would be still retained, although they had long since become devoted to the service of other gods. But Jehovah, who is an אֵל קֵנָּא [jealous God], rejects honor and acknowledgment which He must share with others; and so His name shall no longer be heard from the mouth of any Jews in Egypt.” Hitzig.—In Behold, I will watch, there is evidently a reminiscence of Jer_1:12, so that the close of the prophecies is thus connected with the beginning.—Only a few individuals will escape the sword and return home (comp. rems. on Jer_44:14).—A small number. Comp. Gen_34:30; Deu_4:27; Psa_105:12.—And thus Israel shall learn by this fact, whose word will stand (דְבַר מִי. Comp. Jer_8:9; Gen_24:23; יָקוּם, Isa_14:24; Isa_7:7; Isa_46:10), theirs (Jer_44:17-18) or Jehovah’s.
Jer_44:29-30. And this, shall be a sign … sought his life. The Jews might think that in Egypt they were out of sight of their God, whose throne was in Jerusalem. To expel this delusion the prophet announces to them a sign, that the Lord has them well in view. When they see this sign it will be a pledge that the punishments threatened in Jer_44:26-28 will really overtake them. The sign will consist in this, that Hophra, the Egyptian king, will be given into the hands of his enemies, as Zedekiah was into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. Now Herodotus certainly relates (II., 161 sqq.) that Apries [Manetho, Οὐάφρις, LXX., Οὐαφρῆ], (i.e., Hophra) whom he calls after Psammetichus the most fortunate of the earlier kings, in consequence of an unsuccessful battle with the Cyrenians, had to experience a revolt of the Egyptians. Amasis, who was sent to treat with them, himself went over to the rebels, and Apries was compelled to fight the Egyptians under Amasis with an army consisting only of foreign auxiliaries. He was so presumptuous as to think, says Herodotus, that no God could cast him from his throne, so firmly was he seated upon it. He was, however, vanquished and taken captive. Amasis now indeed treated him very well in the palace, but the Egyptians took it ill that ho was so indulgent to his and their greatest enemy. Therefore Amasis delivered Apries up to the Egyptians, who strangled him (II., 169). If we compare this narrative with the passage under consideration, we find that they agree perfectly, not only in speaking of a “surrender of Hophra into the hands of those who sought his life” (comp. אֹיְבָיו and נ׳ מְבַקְשֵׁי, Jer_44:30 a, with the singular in hemistich b) but also in this, that the circumstance of the surrender of the king being predicted as a sign, appears to be thus well accounted for, in Apries having by his obstinate arrogance challenged the divine Nemesis. But how about the chronology? It has been assumed that the surrender of Apries occurred at too late a date for it to have served as a sign, or that Jeremiah could have lived to any proximate period. The death of Apries must certainly be placed in B. C., 570 (comp. Duncker, S. 930; M. Niebuhr, Ass. u. Bab., S. 217). We have remarked above on Jer_44:1, that the Jews are still designated as having come into the country (Jer_44:8; Jer_44:12; Jer_44:14), and therefore not as born in it, and a strong longing for the land of their fathers is still ascribed to them (Jer_44:14). But does this prevent us from supposing that they have been already about sixteen years in the country? There is nothing opposed to this in the text. This simply records that they had settled down at different places, and were now assembled for a festival in Upper Egypt. This might happen as well after sixteen years as after two, but better then, than in the first year. A longing for home is not yet altogether extinguished in the Jews even at the present day. Comp. Psalms 137—As to the age of Jeremiah—if he was a נַעַר, about twenty, in the thirteenth year of Josiah (comp. Jer_1:2; Jer_1:6), he must have been about seventy-six or seventy-seven in the year B. C., 570. This is not impossible. What object could the subsequent insertion of this verse as a vaticinium post eventum, alleged by Hitzig and Graf, have had? There was no need for it (as there perhaps was for פְּלִטִּים אִם כִּי, Jer_44:14), and if it was not Jeremiah’s custom to offer tokens, this would all the more have deterred from such an interpolation. Even if we grant that there are no other tokens of this kind to be found in Jeremiah, this does not involve the impossibility of his ever having given such a one. He might have a special reason for doing so here. I think I can perceive such a reason in the presumptuous declaration on the part of the king, recorded by Herodotus. This prediction of the fate impending over the king was the answer of the true God to this provocation. The point of the prediction is evidently directed against this latter. That which Jeremiah loudly proclaimed in an open assembly of the Jewish people could not remain hid. The king could and should hear it, even though he hell the old Jewish soothsayer in disdain. Only thus is it explained why Jeremiah gave a token just now, and why he gave just this. He was obliged to predict his fate to the king, in order that when this came, the hand of God might be recognized in it, and at the same time this prediction was to be a pledge to the Jewish people for the fulfilment of the judgment threatened by him. Let us remember how the mighty hand of the Lord was once displayed through Moses on Egypt and its king, in order that they might perceive that He was the Lord, and His the earth (Exo_7:5; Exo_7:17; Exo_8:22; Exo_9:14; Exo_9:29; Exo_10:2). After the lapse of a thousand years the last remnant of the theocratic nation return as fugitives to the same Egypt, from which the Lord had so gloriously conducted them. Israel had failed of the high goal, appointed for it—but the Lord had remained the same, and His last prophet like His first was commissioned to be the medium of announcement to the proud empires of the just judgments of the only true God, who does not allow Himself to be despised with impunity.
How now was the threatening fulfilled that the remnant of Judah in Egypt should perish by sword and famine, except a few who should return home (Jer_44:28), and none should be left, in Egypt who could take the name of Jehovah for an oath, on his lips (Jer_44:26)? In the first place it may here be mentioned, that it is a matter of indifference to this question, whether Nebuchadnezzar really came to Egypt and fulfilled the prophecy in Jer_43:8-13, or not. I leave entirely out of account the fabulous record of Megasthenes (in Strabo, XVI., p. 687, a;Joseph., Antiqq., X., 11, 1; c. Ap., I., 20), that Nebuchadnezzar subjugated not only Egypt, but also Lybia and Iberia, and came to the pillars of Hercules, yea even to Thrace and the Pontus (comp. Haevernick, Comm. on Ezek., S. 496 sqq., and the narratives confirming the conquest of Egypt in Arabian authors: Abulfeda, Hist. ante-Islam, p. 102. Fleischer, Abdollatif, Rel. de Egyp., p. 184, 247; ed. de Sacy). But Josephus, as is well known, relates also (Antiqq., X., 9, 7) that Nebuchadnezzar in the fifth year after the capture of Jerusalem himself led an army to Cœlo-Syria, and after the conquest of this country, made war also on the Ammonites and Moabites, and invaded Egypt. On this occasion he killed the king then reigning in Egypt, set up another in his stead, and again led Jews away captive to Babylonia. Now if whatever in this account relates to the Egyptian king be decidedly erroneous (Comp. M. Niebuhr, Ass. u. Bab., S. 215, Anm. 3), it is, however, still possible that Nebuchadnezzar, during the thirteen years siege or blockade of Tyre, which began directly after the conquest of Jerusalem, had the desire and the leisure to make an expedition through Cœlo-Syria and the East-Jordanic countries to Egypt. It would make no essential difference if he entrusted this expedition to one of his generals. The prophecy in Jer_43:8-13, may then have been fulfilled. Captive Jews and Egyptians may also have been really carried away on this occasion. Comp. Jer_52:30; M. Niebuhr, S. 215, et passim. But, as we have said, the question, what happened to the Jews still living in Egypt B. C., 570, is not affected by an expedition of the Chaldeans to Egypt ten or twelve years earlier.
It is surprising that in Jeremiah 44 the extermination of the Jews living in Egypt is so definitely prophesied, while some centuries later we find the Jews in Egypt very numerous, and Egypt a centre of the Jewish diaspora (comp. Herzog, R.-Enc., XVII. S. 285) Alexander the Great finds so many Jews in Egypt, that he peoples the city founded by him, and named after him, chiefly with them (comp. Herzog, R.-Enc., I., S. 235). How did these Jews come into Egypt? Till the time of Nehemiah (about B.C., 444), Judea was so thinly populated, that it certainly could not afford to send out colonists. The many Persian expeditions to Egypt (B. C., 525, 484, 460, 458, 373), may indeed have carried many single Jews with them. The same may also be said of the brief occupation of Palestine by Taches, king of Egypt (B. C., 361). It is related of Ochus, that in his expedition, undertaken B. C., 350 for the reconquest of Egypt, he dragged many Jews with him to Egypt. It is, however, added that he afterwards took part of them back to Babylon, and part of them he banished to Hyrcania. Comp. Herzfeld, Gesch. d. V. Isr., etc., [History of the Israelitish nation from the completion of the Second Temple to Simon Maccabeus], I., S. 118. It is recorded of Alexander the Great himself that on his expedition to Egypt he incorporated many Jews and Samaritans in his army (comp. Herzfeld, S. 120, et pass.), but it is scarcely probable that he left all these warriors behind in Egypt. When in Babylon, he wished to rebuild the temple of Belus, he had Jews in his army, as is related by Hecatæus in Joseph., c. Ap., I., 22 (p. 1186 sqq., ed. Oberthuer). Whence then the great number of Jews that Alexander found already in Egypt? I believe we must seek them for the most part in the descendants of those who immigrated with Jeremiah. But then the prophecy was not fulfilled. May we not assume that the idolatrous practices ceased among the exiled Jews in Egypt, as well as among those in Babylon? And if this was the case, how can it be a question, what turning-point we must suppose between the idolatrous period, in which we still see them in Jeremiah 44, and the later one of fidelity to Jehovah? May not the powerful words of the aged and venerable Jeremiah, and the literal fulfilment of the prophecy uttered by him respecting the king (Jer_44:29-30) have produced an overpowering impression on their minds? According to tradition. (Hieron., adv. Jovin., 2, 37; Tertullian, Scorp. 8; Epiphan. περὶ τῶν προφητῶν, Opp., II., p. 239) Jeremiah was stoned by his countrymen in Tahpanhes. But this legend is surely without foundation. If they stoned him, they must have done it after the discourse in Jeremiah 44, which was not delivered in Tahpanhes (Jer_44:15). It is, however, also possible that the idolatrous inclination in them, as in their countrymen in Babylonia, was now exhausted, and that the Lord in view of their repentance, repented Him of the evil, which He had spoken against them (Jer_26:13; Jer_26:18).
Footnotes:
[25]Jer_44:25.—On the Vau consecutive comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 88, 7, and Jer_3:9; Jer_6:19; Jer_33:24.
[26]Jer_44:25.—On the form תָּקִימְנָה comp. Olsh., S 579; Ewald, § 196, c; Ges., § 72, 5, Anm.
[27]Jer_44:28.—חרב פליטי comp. Eze_6:8 : Naegelsb. Gr., § 64, 5, c.
[28]Jer_44:28.—The construction וּמֵהֶם מִמֶּנִּי (comp. analogies in Graf) is found in this form here only. The two pronouns analyze the idea שְׁנֵיניִ. Since, however, both members of the disjunctive question were to be distinctly expressed, the only way was either to say דְּבַרְכֶם וְאִם דְּבָרִי אִם (comp. Joe_1:2), or as there are no independent possessive pronouns, to use the personal pronouns, which, however, could be employed only in the form of suffixes to the partitive prepositions.
[29]Jer_44:29.—פָּקַר with עַל as in Jer_44:13.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. “Obfirment animum suum ministri ecclesiæ hujus capitis meditatione, ne pertinacia auditorum se territuri patiantur, sed ut potius dehortando, objurgando, comminando intrepide instent ex præcepto apostoli 2Ti_4:2.” Förster.
2. On Jer_44:2-13. A mirror of the stubborn heart of man! For centuries unceasingly warned by the prophets—and how warned! Not by sentimental talk, but by words of thunder and strokes of power,—think only of Elijah, Elisha, Hosea, Isaiah, etc.!—yet Judah bowed not his stubborn neck. Then at last when long-suffering love was exhausted, the judgment of just love was executed. And yet in the wretched remnant the old root of unbelief and disobedience remains still unbroken.
3. On Jer_44:9. “Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle as vetches, yet will his foolishness not depart from him (Pro_27:22). And he that sings songs to a heavy heart, it is like a torn garment in winter, and vinegar on nitre (Pro_25:20).” Cramer.
4. On Jer_44:15. “Hoc loco imaginem quandam conspicere licet seditionis, de qua Ethnicus: ἐν τῆστάσει πᾶσα ἰδέα κακον͂ ἔνεστιν,—itemque confusionis plus quam cyclopicæ, de qua notum est illud tritum: οὐδεὶς οὐδενὸς οὐδὲν ἀκούει.” Förster.
5. On Jer_44:16. “Ungodliness continually extends and even goes beyond itself. In the foregoing chapter they wish it to be considered as having to do only with Jeremiah’s private person, but now they are become bolder so that they contradict him officially and thus God Himself, not considering that they know what he says to be spoken not on his own, but on God’s account, which is a great blasphemy of God.” Cramer.
6. On Jer_44:17. “The ungodly are blind. For they ascribe all their good fortune to their idolatry. When, however, a misfortune comes God and His word must be to blame, and they say: It is vain to serve God (Mal_3:14). The charge of the Papists is used again now-a-days. when times are dear and the country suffers such like chastisements, that it is the fault of the Gospel; since on the other hand their mass is regarded as a regular Egyptian Meleket, by which they think to obtain temporal and eternal blessings both for the living and the dead.” Cramer.
7. On Jer_44:17. “Non ovum ovo tam simile est atque huic Judæorum orationi nostrorum hominum vox contendentium, sub papatu aureum fuisse sæculum, cum tamen contrarium testentur historæ de bellis, peste et fame in papatu, præsertim ea, quæ incidit in annum Christi 1315, quo tempore fere tertia pars Germaniæ partim fame, partim peste extincta. Hinc versus: Ut lateat nullum tempus famis, ecce cucullum” Förster.
8. On Jer_44:17. “Non mirum, quod urbes peste vexentur, cum Æsculapius et Dii ab iis procul absint, nam ex quo Jesus colitur, nihil jam utilitatis a Diis consequimur. Porphyrius.” MS. note in my copy of Cramer’s Bible.
9. On Jer_44:19. “There is no doubt that the inconstant, frivolous women were the first to be seduced into idolatry, as Eve (2Co_11:3). When these are taken captive, he then proceeds farther, and knows how to bring in the Adam also. Therefore keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom (Mic_7:5).” Cramer.
10. On Jer_44:19. “The harmony and complaisance of married people is never more easily secured than when it is against the Lord, and it is nothing unusual for domestic peace to be adduced as the cause of a lack of zeal in religion. It is an ancient custom; Ahab, Ahaziah and Solomon only followed Adam. The wife had to be deceived by a subtle serpent; the man was bound to keep peace in the family; she gave him and he ate.” Zinzendorf.
11. On Jer_44:20. “God remembers the good and the evil; the good that He may reward it, the evil that He may punish it.” Cramer. [“God will have the last word. The prophets may be run down, but God cannot.” Henry.—S. R. A]
12. On Jer_44:26. “This is the severest punishment of all, that God takes away His holy name and word, as He says in Deu_32:20 : I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be. And this is the famine, not of bread, but of the word of God which they seek and yet do not find (Amo_8:11).” Cramer.
13. On Jer_44:29-30. Between Moses and Jeremiah, between the exodus from Egypt and the return thither of the remnant, there lies a period of almost a thousand years, and what a history! But the Pharaoh, under whom Israel made the exodus, Menephthes (comp. Lepsius in Herz., R.-Enc, I., S. 146) is described by Herodotus as an arrogant and ungodly man (II., 111), just like Hophra. And at both times Israel was a poor despised heap in the land of Egypt. But the heathen were to know that the God of this despised heap is the only true God, and that their idols were naught, as also Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar and Darius the Mede had also to learn (Daniel 2-6.).
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1. On Jer_44:1-14. The holy love of God: 1. long-suffering; 2. just.
2. On Jer_44:9-14. How ruinous a course it is to forget the chastisements of the Lord. This will be shown, if we ponder that this forgetfulness 1. implies chastisement already suffered, 2. proves its want of good results, 3. calls forth severer chastisements from God.
3. On Jer_44:15-18. The utmost alienation of a people from their God, shown in the example of the Jews in Egypt. 1. They place the benefits received to the account of their idols. 2. The evils suffered they place to the account of the Lord. 3. They renounce their obedience to the Lord. 4. They vow their service to their idols.
4. On Jer_44:26-27. The severest punishment which the Lord can bring upon a people, who have hitherto served Him. 1. It consists in this, that the Lord removes the candlestick of His word from among this people, i.e. that by depriving them of the means of grace, He brings Himself into forgetfulness among the people. 2. It is founded in this, that this people on their part have striven to forget the Lord. 3. It has the effect, that this people is given up to the powers of evil to their complete destruction.
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.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 24. Here and in Jer_44:25 we return to Baruch’s…
24. Here and in Jer_44:25 we return to Baruch’s memoirs.
all Judah … Egypt] LXX, probably 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 (24-28) Hear the word of the Lord . .…
(24-28) Hear the word of the Lord . . .—The appeal to the experience of the past is followed by a prediction of the future, addressed to the wives as well as to the husbands. The new sin would lead to a new punishment. A tone of irony is perceptible in the words, “Ye will surely accomplish your vows.” That, at all events, was a promise they were likely to keep, however faithless they might have shown themselves in keeping their vows to the God of their fathers. But the Lord of Israel meets that vow by another. By that “great name” (Gen_22:16) of the Lord God (Jehovah Adonai), which they had slighted and profaned, He declares that it shall be profaned no more by the Egyptian exiles, not because they, of their own accord, would cease to use it, but because none of them should be left there. The small remnant that survived the sword and the famine should return to Judah as a witness of the judgment that had fallen on them, and of the truth of the prophet’s warning. The words of Jehovah should stand, while those of men should fail.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 all of Judah
all of Judah
Here "Judah" represents the people. AT: "all the people of Judah" (See: Metonymy)
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Yahweh of hosts ... says this
Jeremiah often uses these words to introduce an important message from Yahweh. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 6:6.
have said with your mouths and carried out with your hands what you said
Here "mouths" and "hands" represent the whole person. AT: "have done what you promised to do when you said" (See: Synecdoche)
carry out the vows
"fulfill the vows" or "complete the vows"
Now fulfill your vows; carry them out
This is an ironic statement. Yahweh does not really want them to fulfill their vow to a false goddess. Yahweh knows they will not listen to him so he tells them to go ahead and do what they want. AT: "Very well! If that is what you want to do, then go fulfill your vows and do what you promised to do" (See: Irony)
Now
The word "now" does not mean "at this moment," but is used to draw attention to the important point that follows.
translationWords
Jeremiah
word
Yahweh
Egypt
Yahweh of hosts
God
Israel
vow
worship
drink offering
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 44:24-25 The Lord released the people to serve the…
44:24-25 The Lord released the people to serve the Queen of Heaven; they would bear the consequences of their decision (cp. Rom 1:24, 28).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.