12Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed. They couldn’t blush. Therefore they will fall among those who fall. In the time of their visitation they will be cast down, says Yahweh.
13“ ‘I will utterly consume them, says Yahweh. No grapes will be on the vine, no figs on the fig tree, and the leaf will fade. The things that I have given them will pass away from them.’ ”
14“Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves! Let’s enter into the fortified cities, and let’s be silent there; for Yahweh our God has put us to silence, and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against Yahweh.
12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed. They couldn’t blush. Therefore they will fall among those who fall. In the time of their visitation they will be cast down, says Yahweh.
13 “ ‘I will utterly consume them, says Yahweh. No grapes will be on the vine, no figs on the fig tree, and the leaf will fade. The things that I have given them will pass away from them.’ ”
14 “Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves! Let’s enter into the fortified cities, and let’s be silent there; for Yahweh our God has put us to silence, and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against Yahweh.
KJVKing James Version
12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
13 I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.
14 Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.
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JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
12 They shall be put to shame because they have committed abomination; yea, they are not at all ashamed, neither know they how to blush; therefore shall they fall among them that fall, in the time of their visitation they shall stumble, saith the LORD.
13 I will utterly consume them, saith the LORD; there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig-tree, and the leaf is faded; and I gave them that which they transgress.
14 'Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities, and let us be cut off there; for the LORD our God hath cut us off, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.
Matthew 21:19(v13)Seeing a fig tree by the road, he came to it, and found nothing on it but leaves. He said to it, “Let there be no fruit from you forever!”…
Jeremiah 23:15(v14)Therefore Yahweh of Armies says concerning the prophets: “Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink poisoned water; for…
Jeremiah 3:3(v12)Therefore the showers have been withheld and there has been no latter rain; yet you have had a prostitute’s forehead and you refused to be…
Jeremiah 9:15(v14)Therefore Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says, “Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood and give them poisoned…
Joel 1:7(v13)He has laid my vine waste, and stripped my fig tree. He has stripped its bark, and thrown it away. Its branches are made white.
Show all 51 cross-references
Deuteronomy 32:35(v12)Vengeance is mine, and recompense, at the time when their foot slides; for the day of their calamity is at hand. Their doom rushes at them.”
Psalms 1:3-4(v13)He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he…
Psalms 52:7(v12)“Behold, this is the man who didn’t make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his…
Psalms 69:21(v14)They also gave me poison for my food. In my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.
Isaiah 3:9(v12)The look of their faces testify against them. They parade their sin like Sodom. They don’t hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have…
Jeremiah 6:15(v12)Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush. Therefore they will fall…
Jeremiah 17:8(v13)For he will be as a tree planted by the waters, who spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes, but its leaf…
Jeremiah 35:11(v14)But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, we said, ‘Come! Let’s go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans,…
Lamentations 3:19(v14)Remember my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the bitterness.
Deuteronomy 29:18(v14)lest there should be among you man, woman, family, or tribe whose heart turns away today from Yahweh our God, to go to serve the gods of…
Deuteronomy 32:32(v14)For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, of the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are poison grapes. Their clusters are bitter.
2 Samuel 20:6(v14)David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your lord’s servants, and pursue after him,…
Psalms 52:1(v12)Why do you boast of mischief, mighty man? God’s loving kindness endures continually.
Zephaniah 3:5(v12)Yahweh, within her, is righteous. He will do no wrong. Every morning he brings his justice to light. He doesn’t fail, but the unjust know…
Haggai 2:17(v13)I struck you with blight, mildew, and hail in all the work of your hands; yet you didn’t turn to me,’ says Yahweh.
Matthew 27:34(v14)they gave him sour wine to drink mixed with gall. When he had tasted it, he would not drink.
Leviticus 10:3(v14)Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what Yahweh spoke of, saying, ‘I will show myself holy to those who come near me, and before all the…
Leviticus 26:20(v13)Your strength will be spent in vain; for your land won’t yield its increase, neither will the trees of the land yield their fruit.
Numbers 5:18-24(v14)The priest shall set the woman before Yahweh, and let the hair of the woman’s head go loose, and put the meal offering of memorial in her…
Deuteronomy 28:39-42(v13)You will plant vineyards and dress them, but you will neither drink of the wine, nor harvest, because worms will eat them. You will have…
2 Kings 7:3-4(v14)Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate. They said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die? If we say, ‘We…
Psalms 39:2(v14)I was mute with silence. I held my peace, even from good. My sorrow was stirred.
Isaiah 5:4-6(v13)What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Why, when I looked for it to yield grapes, did it yield wild…
Isaiah 5:10(v13)For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield an ephah.”
Isaiah 9:13-17(v12)Yet the people have not turned to him who struck them, neither have they sought Yahweh of Armies. Therefore Yahweh will cut off from Israel…
Isaiah 24:2(v12)It will be as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with…
Isaiah 24:21-22(v13)It will happen in that day that Yahweh will punish the army of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth on the earth. They will be…
Jeremiah 4:5-6(v14)Declare in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, ‘Blow the trumpet in the land!’ Cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble yourselves! Let’s go into…
Jeremiah 5:17(v13)They will eat up your harvest and your bread, which your sons and your daughters should eat. They will eat up your flocks and your herds.…
Jeremiah 14:20(v14)We acknowledge, Yahweh, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against you.
Lamentations 3:27-28(v14)It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone and keep silence, because he has laid it on him.
Ezekiel 22:19-21(v13)Therefore the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the middle of Jerusalem. As…
Ezekiel 22:25-31(v12)There is a conspiracy of her prophets within it, like a roaring lion ravening the prey. They have devoured souls. They take treasure and…
Ezekiel 24:3-11(v13)Utter a parable to the rebellious house, and tell them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says, “Put the cauldron on the fire. Put it on, and also pour…
Hosea 2:8-9(v13)For she didn’t know that I gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and multiplied to her silver and gold, which they used for Baal.…
Hosea 4:5-6(v12)You will stumble in the day, and the prophet will also stumble with you in the night; and I will destroy your mother. My people are…
Hosea 5:9(v12)Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke. Among the tribes of Israel, I have made known that which will surely be.
Joel 1:10-12(v13)The field is laid waste. The land mourns, for the grain is destroyed, The new wine has dried up, and the oil languishes. Be confounded, you…
Amos 6:10(v14)“When a man’s relative carries him, even he who burns him, to bring bodies out of the house, and asks him who is in the innermost parts of…
Habakkuk 2:20(v14)But Yahweh is in his holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before him!”
Habakkuk 3:17(v13)For though the fig tree doesn’t flourish, nor fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield no food; the flocks are…
Zechariah 2:13(v14)Be silent, all flesh, before Yahweh; for he has roused himself from his holy habitation!”
Luke 13:6-9(v13)He spoke this parable. “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none. He said to…
Philippians 3:19(v12)whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who think about earthly things.
James 1:11(v13)For the sun arises with the scorching wind and withers the grass, and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So…
Haggai 1:11(v13)I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on that which the ground produces, on men,…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv12–14The Prophet in these words shews still more clearly…
The Prophet in these words shews still more clearly that they were wholly irreclaimable; for they had divested themselves of every shame. It is no doubt a proof of a wickedness past all remedy, when no shame remains. This verse has been also explained in the sixth chapter; it forms the fifteenth verse. But we must bear in mind the design of the Prophet. It is then briefly this, — to shew that the wickedness of the people was unhealable, and for this reason, because they had an iron front.
Hence he asks, Have they been ashamed, because they have committed abomination? as though he had said, “They have been proved guilty of wickedness, can they be made to feel any shame?” To this he answers, Even in their shame they are not ashamed The particle גם, gam, even, is emphatic, Then the meaning may be thus given, — that when God brought against them their shameful conduct, and proved them guilty, so that they could not escape by any evasion — that when they were thus convicted, they yet had no feeling of shame. At the same time, this passage may be explained as referring to what is commonly called actual conviction; for they were well — nigh consumed with miseries, through their untamable perverseness, while contending with God’s judgment. Even then in shame itself they had no feeling of shame
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Added is the reason, They know not how to blush By this want of shame, then, Jeremiah proves that they were men past remedy. And on this account he adds, Fall therefore shall they among those who fall, and in the time of their visitation they shall perish, or stumble. By these words he intimates that they were no longer to be reasoned with, and that God’s vengeance would be just in wholly destroying them, for he had in vain spoken to them, he had in vain contended with them, he had in vain tried to bring them to the right way. The import of the whole then is, — that the only thing that remained for them was destruction; for they had without shame rejected all instruction and every warning.
And he says, among the fallen, because every one, as it is commonly the case, encouraged others in their contempt of God, and in their perverseness. When therefore they saw others to be like themselves, they entertained hope of impunity; and hence they were allured to sin by this deception. On this account the Prophet says, that ruin was nigh them all. They shall fall, he says, among the fallen, and stumble in the time of their visitation. He shews that God had fixed a day in which they were to be destroyed. But if he deferred the time, there was no reason for them to think that it would be to their advantage; for they would by their obstinacy procure for themselves a heavier judgment. In short, though God might spare them for a time, yet the Prophet warns them, that this would avail them nothing, as God’s time of visitation was fixed. Then follows a confirmation —
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 translators1599 · Public DomainOn v14That is, hath brought us into extreme affliction, and…
That is, hath brought us into extreme affliction, and thus they shall not attribute this plague to fortune, but to God’s just judgment, Jer. 9:15 and 23:15.
He speaketh in the person of the people, who when the enemy cometh, will turn about to hide themselves, and acknowledge that it is God’s hand.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv12–14Jer 8:12 Were they ashamed when they had committed…
Jer 8:12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
Ver. 12. Were they ashamed?] See Jer 6:15.
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 Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv13–14I will surely consume them; or, In gathering I…
I will surely consume them; or, In gathering I will consume them: q.d. I will so gather them together into their several cities to be besieged, that it shall be no hard matter to destroy them, Jer 8:16, viz. the body of the people; not every one, for there was a remnant that did escape.
There shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree: these fruits, grapes and figs, it is probable, were of greatest account and use among them, Isa 36:16, and so may be put for all other things, either for necessity or delight, which God threatens he will deprive them of by reason of the siege, which a famine shall succeed, Jer 5:17 Joe 1:7; Hab 3:17. See the like Zep 1:2,3. Or possibly it may be spoken by way of similitude: q.d. They shall be wasted, as when there is no grapes on the vine, &c.; the land shall be left as bare as when by tempests or other violence there is neither leaf nor fruit left upon the tree, Psa 78:47.
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And the things that I have given them shall pass away: if this refer to the further punishment, as some, then it is as much as to say, what they have already received from me and laid up, they shall also be deprived of, Hos 2:8,9; or, though I have given it to them, yet they shall not enjoy it, it shall be taken away by their enemies: if it relate.to the reason of the punishment, as others, then the copulative is put for the causal: q.d. Because the things that I gave them, viz. my laws, pass away, i.e. they have transgressed, Isa 24:4,5; either sense lies fair.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry1710 · Public DomainOn v13In these verses we have,
In these verses we have,
I. God threatening the destruction of a sinful people. He has borne long with them, but they are still more and more provoking, and therefore now their ruin is resolved on: I will surely consume them (Jer 8:13), consuming I will consume them, not only surely, but utterly, consume them, will follow them with one judgment after another, till they are quite consumed; it is a consumption determined, Isa 10:23. 1. They shall be quite stripped of all their comforts (Jer 8:13): There shall be no grapes on the vine. Some understand this as intimating their sin; God came looking for grapes from this vineyard, seeking fruit upon this fig-tree, but he found none (as Isa 5:2, Luk 13:6); nay, they had not so much as leaves, Mat 21:19. But it is rather to be understood of God's judgments upon them, and may be meant literally - The enemy shall seize the fruits of the earth, shall pluck the grapes and figs for themselves and beat down the very leaves with them; or, rather, figuratively - They shall be deprived of all their comforts and shall have nothing left them wherewith to make glad their hearts. It is expounded in the last clause: The things that I have given them shall pass away from them. Note, God's gifts are upon condition, and revocable upon non-performance of the condition. Mercies abused are forfeited, and it is just with God to take the forfeiture. 2. They shall be set upon by all manner of grievances, and surrounded with calamities (Jer 8:17): I will send serpents among you, the Chaldean army, fiery serpents, flying serpents, cockatrices; these shall bite them with their venomous teeth, give them wounds that shall be mortal; and they shall not be charmed, as some serpents used to be, with music. These are serpents of another nature, that are not so wrought upon, or they are as the deaf adder, that stops her ear, and will not hear the voice of the charmer. The enemies are so intent upon making slaughter that it will be to no purpose to accost them gently, or offer any thing to pacify them, or mollify them, or to bring them to a better temper. No peace with God, therefore none with them.
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II. The people sinking into despair under the pressure of those calamities. Those that were void of fear (when the trouble was at a distance) and set it at defiance, are void of hope now that it breaks in upon them, and have no heart either to make head against it or to bear up under it, Jer 8:14. They cannot think themselves safe in the open villages: Why do we sit still here? Let us assemble, and go into a body into the defenced cities. Though they could expect no other than to be surely cut off there at last, yet not so soon as in the country, and therefore, "Let us go, and be silent there; let us attempt nothing, nor so much as make a complaint; for to what purpose?" It is not a submissive, but a sullen silence, that they here condemn themselves to. Those that are most jovial in their prosperity commonly despond most, and are most melancholy, in trouble. Now observe what it is that sinks them.
1. They are sensible that God is angry with them: "'The Lord our God has put us to silence, has struck us with astonishment, and given us water of gall to drink, which is both bitter and stupifying, or intoxicating. Psa 60:3, Thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment. We had better sit still than rise up and fall; better say nothing than say nothing to the purpose. To what purpose is it to contend with our fate when God himself has become our enemy and fights against us? Because we have sinned against the Lord, therefore we are brought to the plunge." This may be taken as the language, (1.) Of their indignation. They seem to quarrel with God as if he had dealt hardly with them in putting them to silence, not permitting them to speak for themselves, and then telling them that it was because they had sinned against him. Thus men's foolishness perverts their way, and then their hearts fret against the Lord. Or rather, (2.) Of their convictions. At length they begin to see the hand of God lifted up against them, and stretched out in the calamities under which they are now groaning, and to own that they have provoked him to contend with them. Note, Sooner or later God will bring the most obstinate to acknowledge both his providence and his justice in all the troubles they are brought into, to see and say both that it is his hand and that he is righteous.
2. They are sensible that the enemy is likely to be too hard for them, Jer 8:16. They are soon apprehensive that it is to no purpose to make head against such a mighty force; they and their people are quite dispirited; and, when the courage of a nation is gone, their numbers will stand them in little stead. The snorting of the horses was heard from Dan, that is, the report of the formidable strength of their cavalry was soon carried all the nation over and every body trembled at the sound of the neighing of his steeds; for they have devoured the land and all that is in the city; both town and country are laid waste before them, not only the wealth, but the inhabitants, of both, those that dwell therein. Note, When God appears against us, every thing else that is against us appears very formidable; whereas, if he be for us, every thing appears very despicable, Rom 8:31.
3. They are disappointed in their expectations of deliverance out of their troubles, as they had been surprised when their troubles came upon them; and this double disappointment very much aggravated their calamity. (1.) The trouble came when they little expected it (Jer 8:15): We looked for peace, the continuance of our peace, but no good came, no good news from abroad; we looked for a time of health and prosperity to our nation, but, behold, trouble, the alarms of war; for, as it follows (Jer 8:16), the noise of the enemies' horses was heard from Dan. Their false prophets had cried Peace, peace, to them, which made it the more terrible when the scene of war opened on a sudden. This complaint will occur again, ch. 14:19. (2.) The deliverance did not come when they had long expected it (Jer 8:20): The harvest is past, the summer is ended; that is, there is a great deal of time gone. Harvest and summer are parts of the year, and when they are gone the year draws towards a conclusion; so the meaning is, "One year passes after another, one campaign after another, and yet our affairs are in as bad a posture as ever they were; no relief comes, nor is any thing done towards it: We are not saved." Nay, there is a great deal of opportunity lost, the season of action is over and slipped, the summer and harvest are gone, and a cold and melancholy winter succeeds. Note, The salvation of God's church and people often goes on very slowly, and God keeps his people long in the expectation of it, for wise and holy ends. Nay, they stand in their own light, and put a bar in their own door, and are not saved because they are not ready for salvation.
4. They are deceived in those things which were their confidence and which they thought would have secured their peace to them (Jer 8:19): The daughter of my people cries, cries aloud, because of those that dwell in a far country, because of the foreign enemy that invades them, that comes from a far country to take possession of ours; this occasions the cry; and what is the cry? It is this: Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not her king in her? These were the two things that they had all along buoyed up themselves with and depended upon, (1.) That they had among them the temple of God, and the tokens of his special presence with them. The common cant was, "Is not the Lord in Zion? What danger then need we fear?" And they held by this when the trouble was breaking in upon them. "Surely we shall do well enough, for have we not God among us?" But, when it grew to an extremity, it was an aggravation of their misery that they had thus flattered themselves. (2.) That they had the throne of the house of David. As they had a temple, so they had a monarchy, jure divino - by divine right: Is not Zion's king in her? And will not Zion's God protect Zion's king and his kingdom? Surely he will; but why does he not? "What" (say they) "has Zion neither a God nor a king to stand by her and help her, that she is thus run down and likely to be ruined?" This outcry of theirs reflects upon God, as if his power and promise were broken or weakened; and therefore he returns an answer to it immediately: Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images? They quarrel with God as if he had dealt unkindly by them in forsaking them, whereas they by their idolatry had driven him from them; they have withdrawn from their allegiance to him, and so have thrown themselves out of this protection. They fret themselves, and curse their king and their God (Isa 8:21), when it is their own sin that separates between them and God (Isa 59:2); they feared not the Lord, and then what can a king do for them? Hos 10:3.
III. We have here the prophet himself bewailing the calamity and ruin of his people; for there were more of the lamentations of Jeremiah than those we find in the book that bears that title. Observe here, 1. How great his griefs were. He was an eyewitness of the desolations of his country, and saw those things which by the spirit of prophecy he had foreseen. In the foresight, much more in the sight, of them, he cries out, "My heart is faint in me, I sink, I die away at the consideration of it, Jer 8:18. When I would comfort myself against my sorrow, I do but labour in vain; nay, every attempt to alleviate the grief does but aggravate it." It is our wisdom and duty, under mournful events, to do what we can to comfort ourselves against our sorrow, by suggesting to ourselves such considerations as are proper to allay the grief and balance the grievance. But sometimes the sorrow is such that the more it is repressed the more strongly it recoils. This may sometimes be the case of very good men, as of the prophet here, whose soul refused to be comforted and fainted at the cordial, Psa 77:2, Psa 77:3. He tells us (Jer 8:21) what was the matter: "It is for the hurt of the daughter of my people that I am thus hurt; it is for their sin, and the miseries they have brought upon themselves by it; it is for this that I am black, that I look black, that I go in black as mourners do, and that astonishment has taken hold on me, so that I know not what to do nor which way to turn." Note, The miseries of our country ought to be very much the grief of our souls. A gracious spirit will be a public spirit, a tender spirit, a mourning spirit. It becomes us to lament the miseries of our fellow-creatures, much more to lay to heart the calamities of our country, and especially of the church of God, to grieve for the affliction of Joseph. Jeremiah had prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem, and, though the truth of his prophecy was questioned, yet he did not rejoice in the proof of the truth of his prophecy was questioned, yet he did not rejoice in the proof of the truth of it by the accomplishment of it, preferring the welfare of his country before his own reputation. If Jerusalem had repented and been spared, he would have been far from fretting as Jonah did. Jeremiah had many enemies in Judah and Jerusalem, that hated, and reproached, and persecuted him; and in the judgments brought upon them God reckoned with them for it and pleaded his prophet's cause; yet he was far from rejoicing in it, so truly did he forgive his enemies and desire that God would forgive them. 2. How small his hopes were (Jer 8:22): "Is there no balm in Gilead - no medicine proper for a sick and dying kingdom? Is there no physician there - no skilful faithful hand to apply the medicine?" He looks upon the case to be deplorable and past relief. There is no balm in Gilead that can cure the disease of sin, no physician there that can restore the health of a nation quite overrun by such a foreign army as that of the Chaldeans. The desolations made are irreparable, and the disease has presently come to such a height that there is no checking it. Or this verse may be understood as laying all the blame of the incurableness of their disease upon themselves; and so the question must be answered affirmatively: Is there no balm in Gilead - no physician there? Yes, certainly there is; God is able to help and heal them, there is a sufficiency in him to redress all their grievances. Gilead was a place in their own land, not far off. They had among themselves God's law and his prophets, with the help of which they might have been brought to repentance, and their ruin might have been prevented. They had princes and priests, whose business it was to reform the nation and redress their grievances. What could have been done more than had been done for their recovery? Why then was not their health restored? Certainly it was not owing to God, but to themselves; it was not for want of balm and a physician, but because they would not admit the application nor submit to the methods of cure. The physician and physic were both ready, but the patient was wilful and irregular, would not be tied to rules, but must be humoured. Note, If sinners die of their wounds, their blood is upon their own heads. The blood of Christ is balm in Gilead, his Spirit is the physician there, both sufficient, all-sufficient, so that they might have been healed, but would not.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv13–14Why do we sit still?.... In the country, where…
Why do we sit still?.... In the country, where were barrenness and want of provisions; in the villages and unwalled towns, where they were exposed to the spoils and ravages of the enemy. These words, with what follow, are the words of the prophet, in the language of the Israelites, as Kimchi observes.
Assemble yourselves; this is the gathering together, in order to be consumed, before threatened, which they themselves were made to do:
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and let us enter into the defenced cities; such as Jerusalem, where they thought they should be safe from their enemies:
and let us be silent there; either promising themselves rest, quietness, and security; or suggesting that it would be right in them to say nothing by way of complaint; having no reason to murmur at their afflictions, since they were no other than what their own sins had brought upon them:
for the Lord our God hath put us to silence; stopped their mouths that they could not complain, being convicted in their consciences of their sins; and brought them into a state of destruction and death, which makes silent:
and given us water of gall to drink; afflictions bitter and deadly. The Targum is,
"and hath made us drink the cup of an evil curse, as the heads of serpents;''
a poisonous and deadly potion:
because we have sinned against the Lord; which they were obliged to own; though it does not appear that they had true repentance for their sins, or amended their ways; sometimes confession of sin is made without either of these.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv13–14Pass away - Shall be taken away by their…
Pass away - Shall be taken away by their enemies.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv13–14Jer 8:13. There shall be no grapes on the…
Jer 8:13. There shall be no grapes on the vine — A figurative expression, to signify that there should be none of them left. And the leaf shall fade, &c. — As both leaves and fruit wither and fade when a tree is blasted or killed, so will I utterly deprive this people of all the blessings I had given them, of those which are for use, as well as those which are for ornament.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv13–14Or, “I will gather and sweep them away, saith…
Or, “I will gather and sweep them away, saith Jehovah: there are no grapes on the vine, and no figs on the fig-tree, and the leaf is dry: therefore will I appoint those that shall pass over them.” Judah is a vine which bears no fruit: a tree which makes even no profession of life, for her leaf is dry. Many explain the last words of an army sweeping over the land like a flood.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
They are. Or, "are they?" &c. (St. Jerome) --- No, they are too hardened, chap. vi. 14.
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 Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv13–14surely consume--literally, "gathering I will gather," or "consuming I…
surely consume--literally, "gathering I will gather," or "consuming I will consume."
no grapes . . . nor figs-- (Joe 1:7; Mat 21:19).
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things that I have given . . . shall pass away--rather, "I will appoint to them those who shall overwhelm (pass over) them," that is, I will send the enemy upon them [MAURER]. English Version accords well with the context; Though their grapes and figs ripen, they shall not be allowed to enjoy them.
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. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv13–14THE HORRORS OF THE VISITATION, Jer_8:13-17.
THE HORRORS OF THE VISITATION, Jer_8:13-17.
13. There shall be no grapes — The italic words in the Authorized Version, as is indeed often the case, pervert the sense. The middle portion of the verse is not a threat, but a descriptive statement. The whole verse may be rendered: I will utterly sweep them away, (literally, I will gather, I will sweep,) saith Jehovah; there are no grapes on the vines, and no figs on the fig tree, and the leaf is withered. So I will appoint unto them those that shall pass over them.
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 Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv13–1413. there shall be] better, there are. The people…
13. there shall be] better, there are. The people in their present state are likened to a lifeless vine or fig tree. We are reminded of the comparison of the righteous man, Jer_17:8; Psa_1:1 ff. The last clause can scarcely bear the sense given it either in the text or mg. (I have appointed them those that shall pass over them), and it is not in LXX. As it stands it is perhaps the corruption of an interpolation. There is, however, some reason for conjecturing, if it be genuine, that its original form ran, I will not give them their produce (i.e. the yield of the ground).
13–17. See summary at commencement of section.
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 Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv13–14(13) I will surely consume.—Literally, Gathering, I will sweep…
(13) I will surely consume.—Literally, Gathering, I will sweep away—i.e., I will gather and sweep away, the two verbs being all but identical in sound and spelling, so that the construction has almost the force of the emphatic Hebrew reduplication.
There shall be.—These words are not in the Hebrew, and the verse describes, not the judgment of Jehovah on the state of Israel, but that state itself. There are no grapes on the vine, no figs on the fig-tree, the leaf fadeth. The words are figurative rather than literal, after the manner of Jer_2:21; Isa_5:2. Israel is a degenerate vine, a barren fig-tree. Here, again, we find an echo of the teaching of Jeremiah in that of Jesus (Mat_21:19; Luk_13:6-9). In Mic_7:1 we have another example of the same figurative language.
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The things that I have given them . . .—The words have been differently rendered, (1) I gave them that which they transgress—i.e., the divine law of righteousness; and (2) therefore I will appoint those that shall pass over them—i.e., the invaders who shall overrun their country. The former seems on the whole best suited to the context.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv13–14Ver. 13-Jer_2:21) here the vine does not even pretend…
Ver. 13-Jer_2:21) here the vine does not even pretend to bear fruit. Another figure is that of a barren fig tree. (comp. Mat_21:19) And the things that I have given them, etc.; rather, and I gave them that which they transgress (viz. laws). The construction, however, which this rendering implies is not perfectly natural, though supported by most of the ancient versions (except the Septuagint, which omits the words), and it is better to alter a single vowel-point, and render "And I will give them to those who shall pass over them." The phrase to pass away is constantly used of an invading host; e.g. Isa_8:7 Dan_11:10, Dan_11:40.
Vers. 13-15. False hopes ministering despair.
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The lessons of life are not readily learned by most men. They require to be frequently repeated ere they produce an impression. God, therefore, deals severely with his people, whose delusion is the more unpardonable because of the piety of their fathers and the light of revelation which had been given. He will, therefore, make to "pass away from them" one by one the things that he had given: the fruits of the earth shall be cut off; the comforts of life shall be at an end; trouble and sorrow shall seize upon them.
I HOW HARD IT IS FOR MEN TO REALIZE THAT THE OUTWARD BLESSINGS OF LIFE DO NOT OF THEMSELVES SATISFY, AND CANNOT BE RELIED UPON! Each of US can remember how, one by one, the things of life had to be taken from him ere he learnt their real littleness and insufficiency. This is often the way God seeks to bless us. He takes away the object whose possession is misunderstood and whose properties are abused, that he may remove the temptation from the heart and leave it free for heavenly affections. "We can do without happiness, and instead thereof find blessedness." But to only a few is it given to know this. The multitude are as foolish scholars, "ever learning, and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.
II HOPE WHICH HAS BEEN SO MISPLACED AND BETRAYED TOO FREQUENTLY INTRODUCES TO DESPAIR. AS the lesson has not been learned, there is no perception of the real mistake. The old blunders are repeated until, in the sweeping away of all that we had held dear, we feel that life itself is not worth living, because we can see no real good within our reach. "Who will show us any good?" We are convicted, too, of unpardonable folly. The dissatisfaction with the things of life is gradually equaled, if not surpassed, by dissatisfaction with ourselves. We are conscious of needs that are not met and yearnings that refuse to be stilled. And beneath all these is the miserable consciousness that, in pursuits so trifling and tastes so mean, our true nature is being degraded. We grieve over our shattered idols and our vanished comforts, and yet more, are angry with ourselves that we should so grieve. The question will at last come, "If these things be our chief good, what security is left of ultimate happiness? If the real end of life has not been sought, we are not only unfortunate we must be culpable." For to seek the truth, etc., of life is not only a possible enjoyment we have missed, but a duty we have neglected. And yet of our own selves we feel unable to retrace our steps. Having the desires we have, which have been strengthened by years of indulgence, we cannot all at once or of our own motion replace them with better ones. A feeling of helplessness, convicted folly and sin, and indefinite denudation gradually dawns upon our affrighted conscience. How shall we escape from the consequences of our own actions? Whither shall we flee who, in seeking our good always in material things, have been living in practical atheism? We can do nothing else but, like the smitten Israelites, betake ourselves to our closets and sit still.
III BUT THE JUDGMENTS OF HEAVEN UPON THE SINNER, HOWEVER TERRIBLE IN THEMSELVES, ARE NOT MEANT TO PRODUCE THIS DESPAIR. The false trust is removed, that we may find the true one. The worst calamities of life, and its grievous disappointments, will be more than compensated for if they lead us to the Savior. The prophet, speaking representatively for Israel, says, "Let us submit to God"s judgment, and confess our sin as its cause." "Silence before the Lord" is the sure way to his restored favor and help. M.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann1924 · Public DomainOn v13Further Description of the Impending Punishment
Further Description of the Impending Punishment
v. 13. I will surely consume them, saith the Lord, making a clean sweep of them all; there shall be no grapes on the vine nor figs on the fig-tree, both of these plants representing unfruitful Israel, and the leaf shall fade. As it had been at the time of Isaiah, Isa 5:2, and as it later was at the time of Christ, Mat 21:19, so it was emphatically stated of Israel in the last years before the Chaldean invasion that the Lord was deeply disappointed in the fruit which He expected of the people as such. And the things that I have given them shall pass away from them, rather, "I will give them to those who shall overrun them," overwhelming and subduing them in the invasion which was here predicted.
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v. 14. Why do we sit still? So the prophet hears the people of Judah cry out in view of the impending calamity. Assemble yourselves, so they are represented as urging one another, and let us enter into the defensed cities, seeking security behind their buttressed walls, and let us be silent there, to perish after but a little respite; for the Lord, our God, hath put us to silence, having definitely determined their destruction, and given us water of gall to drink, a poisonous draught, which would surely result in their extermination, because we have sinned against the Lord, a realization which came to them when it was too late.
v. 15. We looked for peace, still expecting deliverance, but no good came, their hope of blessing being utterly vain; and for a time of health, when healing would come to them, and behold trouble! So all the promises of the false prophets upon which the people had depended were found to be vain.
v. 16. The snorting of his, the invader’s, horses was heard from Dan, on the extreme northern border of Canaan, the prophet here seeing the Chaldean hordes advancing to subdue the country; the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones, of the proud chargers of the Chaldean cavalry; for they are come and have devoured the land and all that is in it, the food and the treasures and everything of value, the city and those that dwell therein.
v. 17. For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, reptiles of a most poisonous kind, which will not be charmed, rendered harmless by soothing music, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord. The Chaldeans are here represented as cruel and destructive enemies, whose power no means could counteract. With this fate of his beloved nation before his eyes, the prophet breaks forth in a bitter lamentation.
v. 18. When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me, literally, "O my exhilaration in sorrow! My heart very ill!" His sorrow was so great that he despaired of finding consolation. He hears the bitter complaint of his people,
v. 19. Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of My people because of them that dwell in a far country, a lament from the people in exile in distant lands: Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not her King in her? namely, to deliver His people from their captivity and to lead them back to Jerusalem. But the divine justice asks in turn. Why have they provoked Me to anger with their graven images and with strange vanities, with foreign gods? so that He was compelled, as it were, to carry out His punishment upon them.
v. 20. The harvest is past, so the people continue to lament, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. As the farmer who expects a good harvest and is disappointed sees only failure and ruin before his eyes, so Israel despaired of deliverance.
v. 21. For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt, so the prophet once more cries out in bitter grief; I am black, deeply sad and mournful, his face expressing dark despair; astonishment hath taken hold on me, a horror and dread of the ultimate consequences.
v. 22. Is there no balm in Gilead? the reference being to a balsam which was in wide use in the Orient for the cooling and healing of wounds. Is there no physician there? Because this balsam, found chiefly in the country east of Jordan, drawn from the terebinth-tree and similar plants, was considered so very healthful, many persons established themselves in that territory and practiced the profession of physician. But for the wound of the daughter of Zion no physician of the body was sufficient. Why, then, is not the health of the daughter of My people recovered? Why could not the healing of her illness proceed? For the wounds of the soul, for the illness of sin, there is no healing except by the Word of God’s grace.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v14Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Yahweh continues his message by telling us what the people of Judah will say at the time of their punishment.
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General Information:
The words "we," "us" and "our" refer to the people of Judah.
Why are we sitting here?
This question is asked to motivate action. It can be translated as a statement. AT: "We should not stay here." (See: Rhetorical Question)
Come together; let us go to the fortified cities
The "fortified cities" were cities with high walls and strong defenses. See how you translated the similar phrases in Jeremiah 4:5.
we will become silent there in death
Here "become silent" means to die. AT: "let us die there" or "let us wait for our enemies to kill us there" (See: Metaphor)
For Yahweh our God will silence us
Here "silence" is a metaphor for condemning to death. AT: "because Yahweh our God has condemned us to die" (See: Metaphor)
He will make us drink poison
This is an idiom for Yahweh's judgment on his people. (See: Idiom)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv13–148:13 Having presented the evidence (see study note on…
8:13 Having presented the evidence (see study note on 8:4-7), the Lord now decreed the punishment of the elite sinners. They would be consumed, along with the land’s produce. • I, the Lord, have spoken: The Lord placed his authority behind his decree.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv12–14 The Prophet in these words shews still more clearly…
The Prophet in these words shews still more clearly that they were wholly irreclaimable; for they had divested themselves of every shame. It is no doubt a proof of a wickedness past all remedy, when no shame remains. This verse has been also explained in the sixth chapter; it forms the fifteenth verse. But we must bear in mind the design of the Prophet. It is then briefly this, — to shew that the wickedness of the people was unhealable, and for this reason, because they had an iron front.
Hence he asks, Have they been ashamed, because they have committed abomination? as though he had said, “They have been proved guilty of wickedness, can they be made to feel any shame?” To this he answers, Even in their shame they are not ashamed The particle גם, gam, even, is emphatic, Then the meaning may be thus given, — that when God brought against them their shameful conduct, and proved them guilty, so that they could not escape by any evasion — that when they were thus convicted, they yet had no feeling of shame. At the same time, this passage may be explained as referring to what is commonly called actual conviction; for they were well — nigh consumed with miseries, through their untamable perverseness, while contending with God’s judgment. Even then in shame itself they had no feeling of shame
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Added is the reason, They know not how to blush By this want of shame, then, Jeremiah proves that they were men past remedy. And on this account he adds, Fall therefore shall they among those who fall, and in the time of their visitation they shall perish, or stumble. By these words he intimates that they were no longer to be reasoned with, and that God’s vengeance would be just in wholly destroying them, for he had in vain spoken to them, he had in vain contended with them, he had in vain tried to bring them to the right way. The import of the whole then is, — that the only thing that remained for them was destruction; for they had without shame rejected all instruction and every warning.
And he says, among the fallen, because every one, as it is commonly the case, encouraged others in their contempt of God, and in their perverseness. When therefore they saw others to be like themselves, they entertained hope of impunity; and hence they were allured to sin by this deception. On this account the Prophet says, that ruin was nigh them all. They shall fall, he says, among the fallen, and stumble in the time of their visitation. He shews that God had fixed a day in which they were to be destroyed. But if he deferred the time, there was no reason for them to think that it would be to their advantage; for they would by their obstinacy procure for themselves a heavier judgment. In short, though God might spare them for a time, yet the Prophet warns them, that this would avail them nothing, as God’s time of visitation was fixed. Then follows a confirmation —
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 v14 That is, hath brought us into extreme affliction, and…
That is, hath brought us into extreme affliction, and thus they shall not attribute this plague to fortune, but to God’s just judgment, Jer. 9:15 and 23:15.
He speaketh in the person of the people, who when the enemy cometh, will turn about to hide themselves, and acknowledge that it is God’s hand.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv12–14 Jer 8:12 Were they ashamed when they had committed…
Jer 8:12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
Ver. 12. Were they ashamed?] See Jer 6:15.
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 vv13–14 I will surely consume them; or, In gathering I…
I will surely consume them; or, In gathering I will consume them: q.d. I will so gather them together into their several cities to be besieged, that it shall be no hard matter to destroy them, Jer 8:16, viz. the body of the people; not every one, for there was a remnant that did escape.
There shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree: these fruits, grapes and figs, it is probable, were of greatest account and use among them, Isa 36:16, and so may be put for all other things, either for necessity or delight, which God threatens he will deprive them of by reason of the siege, which a famine shall succeed, Jer 5:17 Joe 1:7; Hab 3:17. See the like Zep 1:2,3. Or possibly it may be spoken by way of similitude: q.d. They shall be wasted, as when there is no grapes on the vine, &c.; the land shall be left as bare as when by tempests or other violence there is neither leaf nor fruit left upon the tree, Psa 78:47.
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And the things that I have given them shall pass away: if this refer to the further punishment, as some, then it is as much as to say, what they have already received from me and laid up, they shall also be deprived of, Hos 2:8,9; or, though I have given it to them, yet they shall not enjoy it, it shall be taken away by their enemies: if it relate.to the reason of the punishment, as others, then the copulative is put for the causal: q.d. Because the things that I gave them, viz. my laws, pass away, i.e. they have transgressed, Isa 24:4,5; either sense lies fair.
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 v13 In these verses we have,
In these verses we have,
I. God threatening the destruction of a sinful people. He has borne long with them, but they are still more and more provoking, and therefore now their ruin is resolved on: I will surely consume them (Jer 8:13), consuming I will consume them, not only surely, but utterly, consume them, will follow them with one judgment after another, till they are quite consumed; it is a consumption determined, Isa 10:23. 1. They shall be quite stripped of all their comforts (Jer 8:13): There shall be no grapes on the vine. Some understand this as intimating their sin; God came looking for grapes from this vineyard, seeking fruit upon this fig-tree, but he found none (as Isa 5:2, Luk 13:6); nay, they had not so much as leaves, Mat 21:19. But it is rather to be understood of God's judgments upon them, and may be meant literally - The enemy shall seize the fruits of the earth, shall pluck the grapes and figs for themselves and beat down the very leaves with them; or, rather, figuratively - They shall be deprived of all their comforts and shall have nothing left them wherewith to make glad their hearts. It is expounded in the last clause: The things that I have given them shall pass away from them. Note, God's gifts are upon condition, and revocable upon non-performance of the condition. Mercies abused are forfeited, and it is just with God to take the forfeiture. 2. They shall be set upon by all manner of grievances, and surrounded with calamities (Jer 8:17): I will send serpents among you, the Chaldean army, fiery serpents, flying serpents, cockatrices; these shall bite them with their venomous teeth, give them wounds that shall be mortal; and they shall not be charmed, as some serpents used to be, with music. These are serpents of another nature, that are not so wrought upon, or they are as the deaf adder, that stops her ear, and will not hear the voice of the charmer. The enemies are so intent upon making slaughter that it will be to no purpose to accost them gently, or offer any thing to pacify them, or mollify them, or to bring them to a better temper. No peace with God, therefore none with them.
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II. The people sinking into despair under the pressure of those calamities. Those that were void of fear (when the trouble was at a distance) and set it at defiance, are void of hope now that it breaks in upon them, and have no heart either to make head against it or to bear up under it, Jer 8:14. They cannot think themselves safe in the open villages: Why do we sit still here? Let us assemble, and go into a body into the defenced cities. Though they could expect no other than to be surely cut off there at last, yet not so soon as in the country, and therefore, "Let us go, and be silent there; let us attempt nothing, nor so much as make a complaint; for to what purpose?" It is not a submissive, but a sullen silence, that they here condemn themselves to. Those that are most jovial in their prosperity commonly despond most, and are most melancholy, in trouble. Now observe what it is that sinks them.
1. They are sensible that God is angry with them: "'The Lord our God has put us to silence, has struck us with astonishment, and given us water of gall to drink, which is both bitter and stupifying, or intoxicating. Psa 60:3, Thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment. We had better sit still than rise up and fall; better say nothing than say nothing to the purpose. To what purpose is it to contend with our fate when God himself has become our enemy and fights against us? Because we have sinned against the Lord, therefore we are brought to the plunge." This may be taken as the language, (1.) Of their indignation. They seem to quarrel with God as if he had dealt hardly with them in putting them to silence, not permitting them to speak for themselves, and then telling them that it was because they had sinned against him. Thus men's foolishness perverts their way, and then their hearts fret against the Lord. Or rather, (2.) Of their convictions. At length they begin to see the hand of God lifted up against them, and stretched out in the calamities under which they are now groaning, and to own that they have provoked him to contend with them. Note, Sooner or later God will bring the most obstinate to acknowledge both his providence and his justice in all the troubles they are brought into, to see and say both that it is his hand and that he is righteous.
2. They are sensible that the enemy is likely to be too hard for them, Jer 8:16. They are soon apprehensive that it is to no purpose to make head against such a mighty force; they and their people are quite dispirited; and, when the courage of a nation is gone, their numbers will stand them in little stead. The snorting of the horses was heard from Dan, that is, the report of the formidable strength of their cavalry was soon carried all the nation over and every body trembled at the sound of the neighing of his steeds; for they have devoured the land and all that is in the city; both town and country are laid waste before them, not only the wealth, but the inhabitants, of both, those that dwell therein. Note, When God appears against us, every thing else that is against us appears very formidable; whereas, if he be for us, every thing appears very despicable, Rom 8:31.
3. They are disappointed in their expectations of deliverance out of their troubles, as they had been surprised when their troubles came upon them; and this double disappointment very much aggravated their calamity. (1.) The trouble came when they little expected it (Jer 8:15): We looked for peace, the continuance of our peace, but no good came, no good news from abroad; we looked for a time of health and prosperity to our nation, but, behold, trouble, the alarms of war; for, as it follows (Jer 8:16), the noise of the enemies' horses was heard from Dan. Their false prophets had cried Peace, peace, to them, which made it the more terrible when the scene of war opened on a sudden. This complaint will occur again, ch. 14:19. (2.) The deliverance did not come when they had long expected it (Jer 8:20): The harvest is past, the summer is ended; that is, there is a great deal of time gone. Harvest and summer are parts of the year, and when they are gone the year draws towards a conclusion; so the meaning is, "One year passes after another, one campaign after another, and yet our affairs are in as bad a posture as ever they were; no relief comes, nor is any thing done towards it: We are not saved." Nay, there is a great deal of opportunity lost, the season of action is over and slipped, the summer and harvest are gone, and a cold and melancholy winter succeeds. Note, The salvation of God's church and people often goes on very slowly, and God keeps his people long in the expectation of it, for wise and holy ends. Nay, they stand in their own light, and put a bar in their own door, and are not saved because they are not ready for salvation.
4. They are deceived in those things which were their confidence and which they thought would have secured their peace to them (Jer 8:19): The daughter of my people cries, cries aloud, because of those that dwell in a far country, because of the foreign enemy that invades them, that comes from a far country to take possession of ours; this occasions the cry; and what is the cry? It is this: Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not her king in her? These were the two things that they had all along buoyed up themselves with and depended upon, (1.) That they had among them the temple of God, and the tokens of his special presence with them. The common cant was, "Is not the Lord in Zion? What danger then need we fear?" And they held by this when the trouble was breaking in upon them. "Surely we shall do well enough, for have we not God among us?" But, when it grew to an extremity, it was an aggravation of their misery that they had thus flattered themselves. (2.) That they had the throne of the house of David. As they had a temple, so they had a monarchy, jure divino - by divine right: Is not Zion's king in her? And will not Zion's God protect Zion's king and his kingdom? Surely he will; but why does he not? "What" (say they) "has Zion neither a God nor a king to stand by her and help her, that she is thus run down and likely to be ruined?" This outcry of theirs reflects upon God, as if his power and promise were broken or weakened; and therefore he returns an answer to it immediately: Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images? They quarrel with God as if he had dealt unkindly by them in forsaking them, whereas they by their idolatry had driven him from them; they have withdrawn from their allegiance to him, and so have thrown themselves out of this protection. They fret themselves, and curse their king and their God (Isa 8:21), when it is their own sin that separates between them and God (Isa 59:2); they feared not the Lord, and then what can a king do for them? Hos 10:3.
III. We have here the prophet himself bewailing the calamity and ruin of his people; for there were more of the lamentations of Jeremiah than those we find in the book that bears that title. Observe here, 1. How great his griefs were. He was an eyewitness of the desolations of his country, and saw those things which by the spirit of prophecy he had foreseen. In the foresight, much more in the sight, of them, he cries out, "My heart is faint in me, I sink, I die away at the consideration of it, Jer 8:18. When I would comfort myself against my sorrow, I do but labour in vain; nay, every attempt to alleviate the grief does but aggravate it." It is our wisdom and duty, under mournful events, to do what we can to comfort ourselves against our sorrow, by suggesting to ourselves such considerations as are proper to allay the grief and balance the grievance. But sometimes the sorrow is such that the more it is repressed the more strongly it recoils. This may sometimes be the case of very good men, as of the prophet here, whose soul refused to be comforted and fainted at the cordial, Psa 77:2, Psa 77:3. He tells us (Jer 8:21) what was the matter: "It is for the hurt of the daughter of my people that I am thus hurt; it is for their sin, and the miseries they have brought upon themselves by it; it is for this that I am black, that I look black, that I go in black as mourners do, and that astonishment has taken hold on me, so that I know not what to do nor which way to turn." Note, The miseries of our country ought to be very much the grief of our souls. A gracious spirit will be a public spirit, a tender spirit, a mourning spirit. It becomes us to lament the miseries of our fellow-creatures, much more to lay to heart the calamities of our country, and especially of the church of God, to grieve for the affliction of Joseph. Jeremiah had prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem, and, though the truth of his prophecy was questioned, yet he did not rejoice in the proof of the truth of his prophecy was questioned, yet he did not rejoice in the proof of the truth of it by the accomplishment of it, preferring the welfare of his country before his own reputation. If Jerusalem had repented and been spared, he would have been far from fretting as Jonah did. Jeremiah had many enemies in Judah and Jerusalem, that hated, and reproached, and persecuted him; and in the judgments brought upon them God reckoned with them for it and pleaded his prophet's cause; yet he was far from rejoicing in it, so truly did he forgive his enemies and desire that God would forgive them. 2. How small his hopes were (Jer 8:22): "Is there no balm in Gilead - no medicine proper for a sick and dying kingdom? Is there no physician there - no skilful faithful hand to apply the medicine?" He looks upon the case to be deplorable and past relief. There is no balm in Gilead that can cure the disease of sin, no physician there that can restore the health of a nation quite overrun by such a foreign army as that of the Chaldeans. The desolations made are irreparable, and the disease has presently come to such a height that there is no checking it. Or this verse may be understood as laying all the blame of the incurableness of their disease upon themselves; and so the question must be answered affirmatively: Is there no balm in Gilead - no physician there? Yes, certainly there is; God is able to help and heal them, there is a sufficiency in him to redress all their grievances. Gilead was a place in their own land, not far off. They had among themselves God's law and his prophets, with the help of which they might have been brought to repentance, and their ruin might have been prevented. They had princes and priests, whose business it was to reform the nation and redress their grievances. What could have been done more than had been done for their recovery? Why then was not their health restored? Certainly it was not owing to God, but to themselves; it was not for want of balm and a physician, but because they would not admit the application nor submit to the methods of cure. The physician and physic were both ready, but the patient was wilful and irregular, would not be tied to rules, but must be humoured. Note, If sinners die of their wounds, their blood is upon their own heads. The blood of Christ is balm in Gilead, his Spirit is the physician there, both sufficient, all-sufficient, so that they might have been healed, but would not.
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 vv13–14 Why do we sit still?.... In the country, where…
Why do we sit still?.... In the country, where were barrenness and want of provisions; in the villages and unwalled towns, where they were exposed to the spoils and ravages of the enemy. These words, with what follow, are the words of the prophet, in the language of the Israelites, as Kimchi observes.
Assemble yourselves; this is the gathering together, in order to be consumed, before threatened, which they themselves were made to do:
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and let us enter into the defenced cities; such as Jerusalem, where they thought they should be safe from their enemies:
and let us be silent there; either promising themselves rest, quietness, and security; or suggesting that it would be right in them to say nothing by way of complaint; having no reason to murmur at their afflictions, since they were no other than what their own sins had brought upon them:
for the Lord our God hath put us to silence; stopped their mouths that they could not complain, being convicted in their consciences of their sins; and brought them into a state of destruction and death, which makes silent:
and given us water of gall to drink; afflictions bitter and deadly. The Targum is,
"and hath made us drink the cup of an evil curse, as the heads of serpents;''
a poisonous and deadly potion:
because we have sinned against the Lord; which they were obliged to own; though it does not appear that they had true repentance for their sins, or amended their ways; sometimes confession of sin is made without either of these.
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 vv13–14 Pass away - Shall be taken away by their…
Pass away - Shall be taken away by their enemies.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv13–14 Jer 8:13. There shall be no grapes on the…
Jer 8:13. There shall be no grapes on the vine — A figurative expression, to signify that there should be none of them left. And the leaf shall fade, &c. — As both leaves and fruit wither and fade when a tree is blasted or killed, so will I utterly deprive this people of all the blessings I had given them, of those which are for use, as well as those which are for ornament.
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 vv13–14 Or, “I will gather and sweep them away, saith…
Or, “I will gather and sweep them away, saith Jehovah: there are no grapes on the vine, and no figs on the fig-tree, and the leaf is dry: therefore will I appoint those that shall pass over them.” Judah is a vine which bears no fruit: a tree which makes even no profession of life, for her leaf is dry. Many explain the last words of an army sweeping over the land like a flood.
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 vv12–14 They are. Or, "are they?" &c. (St. Jerome) ---…
They are. Or, "are they?" &c. (St. Jerome) --- No, they are too hardened, chap. vi. 14.
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 vv13–14 surely consume--literally, "gathering I will gather," or "consuming I…
surely consume--literally, "gathering I will gather," or "consuming I will consume."
no grapes . . . nor figs-- (Joe 1:7; Mat 21:19).
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things that I have given . . . shall pass away--rather, "I will appoint to them those who shall overwhelm (pass over) them," that is, I will send the enemy upon them [MAURER]. English Version accords well with the context; Though their grapes and figs ripen, they shall not be allowed to enjoy them.
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 vv13–14 THE HORRORS OF THE VISITATION, Jer_8:13-17.
THE HORRORS OF THE VISITATION, Jer_8:13-17.
13. There shall be no grapes — The italic words in the Authorized Version, as is indeed often the case, pervert the sense. The middle portion of the verse is not a threat, but a descriptive statement. The whole verse may be rendered: I will utterly sweep them away, (literally, I will gather, I will sweep,) saith Jehovah; there are no grapes on the vines, and no figs on the fig tree, and the leaf is withered. So I will appoint unto them those that shall pass over them.
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 vv13–14 13. there shall be] better, there are. The people…
13. there shall be] better, there are. The people in their present state are likened to a lifeless vine or fig tree. We are reminded of the comparison of the righteous man, Jer_17:8; Psa_1:1 ff. The last clause can scarcely bear the sense given it either in the text or mg. (I have appointed them those that shall pass over them), and it is not in LXX. As it stands it is perhaps the corruption of an interpolation. There is, however, some reason for conjecturing, if it be genuine, that its original form ran, I will not give them their produce (i.e. the yield of the ground).
13–17. See summary at commencement of section.
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 vv13–14 (13) I will surely consume.—Literally, Gathering, I will sweep…
(13) I will surely consume.—Literally, Gathering, I will sweep away—i.e., I will gather and sweep away, the two verbs being all but identical in sound and spelling, so that the construction has almost the force of the emphatic Hebrew reduplication.
There shall be.—These words are not in the Hebrew, and the verse describes, not the judgment of Jehovah on the state of Israel, but that state itself. There are no grapes on the vine, no figs on the fig-tree, the leaf fadeth. The words are figurative rather than literal, after the manner of Jer_2:21; Isa_5:2. Israel is a degenerate vine, a barren fig-tree. Here, again, we find an echo of the teaching of Jeremiah in that of Jesus (Mat_21:19; Luk_13:6-9). In Mic_7:1 we have another example of the same figurative language.
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The things that I have given them . . .—The words have been differently rendered, (1) I gave them that which they transgress—i.e., the divine law of righteousness; and (2) therefore I will appoint those that shall pass over them—i.e., the invaders who shall overrun their country. The former seems on the whole best suited to the context.
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 vv13–14 Ver. 13-Jer_2:21) here the vine does not even pretend…
Ver. 13-Jer_2:21) here the vine does not even pretend to bear fruit. Another figure is that of a barren fig tree. (comp. Mat_21:19) And the things that I have given them, etc.; rather, and I gave them that which they transgress (viz. laws). The construction, however, which this rendering implies is not perfectly natural, though supported by most of the ancient versions (except the Septuagint, which omits the words), and it is better to alter a single vowel-point, and render "And I will give them to those who shall pass over them." The phrase to pass away is constantly used of an invading host; e.g. Isa_8:7 Dan_11:10, Dan_11:40.
Vers. 13-15. False hopes ministering despair.
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The lessons of life are not readily learned by most men. They require to be frequently repeated ere they produce an impression. God, therefore, deals severely with his people, whose delusion is the more unpardonable because of the piety of their fathers and the light of revelation which had been given. He will, therefore, make to "pass away from them" one by one the things that he had given: the fruits of the earth shall be cut off; the comforts of life shall be at an end; trouble and sorrow shall seize upon them.
I HOW HARD IT IS FOR MEN TO REALIZE THAT THE OUTWARD BLESSINGS OF LIFE DO NOT OF THEMSELVES SATISFY, AND CANNOT BE RELIED UPON! Each of US can remember how, one by one, the things of life had to be taken from him ere he learnt their real littleness and insufficiency. This is often the way God seeks to bless us. He takes away the object whose possession is misunderstood and whose properties are abused, that he may remove the temptation from the heart and leave it free for heavenly affections. "We can do without happiness, and instead thereof find blessedness." But to only a few is it given to know this. The multitude are as foolish scholars, "ever learning, and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.
II HOPE WHICH HAS BEEN SO MISPLACED AND BETRAYED TOO FREQUENTLY INTRODUCES TO DESPAIR. AS the lesson has not been learned, there is no perception of the real mistake. The old blunders are repeated until, in the sweeping away of all that we had held dear, we feel that life itself is not worth living, because we can see no real good within our reach. "Who will show us any good?" We are convicted, too, of unpardonable folly. The dissatisfaction with the things of life is gradually equaled, if not surpassed, by dissatisfaction with ourselves. We are conscious of needs that are not met and yearnings that refuse to be stilled. And beneath all these is the miserable consciousness that, in pursuits so trifling and tastes so mean, our true nature is being degraded. We grieve over our shattered idols and our vanished comforts, and yet more, are angry with ourselves that we should so grieve. The question will at last come, "If these things be our chief good, what security is left of ultimate happiness? If the real end of life has not been sought, we are not only unfortunate we must be culpable." For to seek the truth, etc., of life is not only a possible enjoyment we have missed, but a duty we have neglected. And yet of our own selves we feel unable to retrace our steps. Having the desires we have, which have been strengthened by years of indulgence, we cannot all at once or of our own motion replace them with better ones. A feeling of helplessness, convicted folly and sin, and indefinite denudation gradually dawns upon our affrighted conscience. How shall we escape from the consequences of our own actions? Whither shall we flee who, in seeking our good always in material things, have been living in practical atheism? We can do nothing else but, like the smitten Israelites, betake ourselves to our closets and sit still.
III BUT THE JUDGMENTS OF HEAVEN UPON THE SINNER, HOWEVER TERRIBLE IN THEMSELVES, ARE NOT MEANT TO PRODUCE THIS DESPAIR. The false trust is removed, that we may find the true one. The worst calamities of life, and its grievous disappointments, will be more than compensated for if they lead us to the Savior. The prophet, speaking representatively for Israel, says, "Let us submit to God"s judgment, and confess our sin as its cause." "Silence before the Lord" is the sure way to his restored favor and help. M.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v13 Further Description of the Impending Punishment
Further Description of the Impending Punishment
v. 13. I will surely consume them, saith the Lord, making a clean sweep of them all; there shall be no grapes on the vine nor figs on the fig-tree, both of these plants representing unfruitful Israel, and the leaf shall fade. As it had been at the time of Isaiah, Isa 5:2, and as it later was at the time of Christ, Mat 21:19, so it was emphatically stated of Israel in the last years before the Chaldean invasion that the Lord was deeply disappointed in the fruit which He expected of the people as such. And the things that I have given them shall pass away from them, rather, "I will give them to those who shall overrun them," overwhelming and subduing them in the invasion which was here predicted.
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v. 14. Why do we sit still? So the prophet hears the people of Judah cry out in view of the impending calamity. Assemble yourselves, so they are represented as urging one another, and let us enter into the defensed cities, seeking security behind their buttressed walls, and let us be silent there, to perish after but a little respite; for the Lord, our God, hath put us to silence, having definitely determined their destruction, and given us water of gall to drink, a poisonous draught, which would surely result in their extermination, because we have sinned against the Lord, a realization which came to them when it was too late.
v. 15. We looked for peace, still expecting deliverance, but no good came, their hope of blessing being utterly vain; and for a time of health, when healing would come to them, and behold trouble! So all the promises of the false prophets upon which the people had depended were found to be vain.
v. 16. The snorting of his, the invader’s, horses was heard from Dan, on the extreme northern border of Canaan, the prophet here seeing the Chaldean hordes advancing to subdue the country; the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones, of the proud chargers of the Chaldean cavalry; for they are come and have devoured the land and all that is in it, the food and the treasures and everything of value, the city and those that dwell therein.
v. 17. For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, reptiles of a most poisonous kind, which will not be charmed, rendered harmless by soothing music, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord. The Chaldeans are here represented as cruel and destructive enemies, whose power no means could counteract. With this fate of his beloved nation before his eyes, the prophet breaks forth in a bitter lamentation.
v. 18. When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me, literally, "O my exhilaration in sorrow! My heart very ill!" His sorrow was so great that he despaired of finding consolation. He hears the bitter complaint of his people,
v. 19. Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of My people because of them that dwell in a far country, a lament from the people in exile in distant lands: Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not her King in her? namely, to deliver His people from their captivity and to lead them back to Jerusalem. But the divine justice asks in turn. Why have they provoked Me to anger with their graven images and with strange vanities, with foreign gods? so that He was compelled, as it were, to carry out His punishment upon them.
v. 20. The harvest is past, so the people continue to lament, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. As the farmer who expects a good harvest and is disappointed sees only failure and ruin before his eyes, so Israel despaired of deliverance.
v. 21. For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt, so the prophet once more cries out in bitter grief; I am black, deeply sad and mournful, his face expressing dark despair; astonishment hath taken hold on me, a horror and dread of the ultimate consequences.
v. 22. Is there no balm in Gilead? the reference being to a balsam which was in wide use in the Orient for the cooling and healing of wounds. Is there no physician there? Because this balsam, found chiefly in the country east of Jordan, drawn from the terebinth-tree and similar plants, was considered so very healthful, many persons established themselves in that territory and practiced the profession of physician. But for the wound of the daughter of Zion no physician of the body was sufficient. Why, then, is not the health of the daughter of My people recovered? Why could not the healing of her illness proceed? For the wounds of the soul, for the illness of sin, there is no healing except by the Word of God’s grace.
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 v14 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Yahweh continues his message by telling us what the people of Judah will say at the time of their punishment.
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General Information:
The words "we," "us" and "our" refer to the people of Judah.
Why are we sitting here?
This question is asked to motivate action. It can be translated as a statement. AT: "We should not stay here." (See: Rhetorical Question)
Come together; let us go to the fortified cities
The "fortified cities" were cities with high walls and strong defenses. See how you translated the similar phrases in Jeremiah 4:5.
we will become silent there in death
Here "become silent" means to die. AT: "let us die there" or "let us wait for our enemies to kill us there" (See: Metaphor)
For Yahweh our God will silence us
Here "silence" is a metaphor for condemning to death. AT: "because Yahweh our God has condemned us to die" (See: Metaphor)
He will make us drink poison
This is an idiom for Yahweh's judgment on his people. (See: Idiom)
but there will be nothing good
"but nothing good will happen"
but see
"but understand"
translationWords
die
sin
peace
cure
terror
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 vv13–14 8:13 Having presented the evidence (see study note on…
8:13 Having presented the evidence (see study note on 8:4-7), the Lord now decreed the punishment of the elite sinners. They would be consumed, along with the land’s produce. • I, the Lord, have spoken: The Lord placed his authority behind his decree.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.