Jeremiah · Chapter 23

Verse 1. Wo be unto the pastors] There shall a curse fall on the kings, princes, priests, and prophets; who, by their vicious conduct and example, have brought desolation upon the people.

Verse 1. Wo be unto the pastors — Or, as ywh is by some rendered, Alas for the pastors! or, Ho the pastors! For it may be a particle of calling, as the LXX. and Syriac represent it, and not of commination, as in our translation. The word pastors comprehends both civil and ecclesiastical governors: see note on Jeremiah 2:8. This acceptation of the word agrees with the prophet’s complaint elsewhere, that their rulers, as well as their priests and prophets, were rather corrupters than reformers of the people’s manners. And the Messiah himself, whose coming is foretold, verse 5, for the rectifying of these disorders, was both a king and a priest.

Verse 1. Woe be to the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep. Princes are often called pastors, as Cyrus, Isaiah 44:28, because they enforce the laws and protect the people. Shallum, and the last kings of Judah, were the worst of shepherds, who scattered all the sheep. The degenerate priests and the false prophets flattered those princes in all their errors.

THE GATHERING AGAIN OF THE FLOCK, 1-8.

1. Pastors — Shepherds. The term seems sometimes to be used with reference to subordinate civil rulers, as in Jeremiah 2:8; 22:22, and yet, perhaps, more commonly in a generic sense, covering all leaders or persons of influence — prophets, priests, and civil rulers. Sheep of my pasture — My sheep. The flock belongs to God, who only is the true Shepherd; all others derive their authority from him.

V. 2. That feed-They are said to have fed this people, because it was their duty so to do.

Verse 2. Ye have scattered my flock] The bad government both in Church and State was a principal cause of the people’s profligacy.

Verses 2-4. Therefore thus saith the Lord against the pastors that feed my people — That undertake the care of my people, though they do not faithfully execute their trust. God calls them his people, his flock, the sheep of his pasture, with respect to the ancient covenant which he had made with their fathers. They are said to have fed this people, because it was their duty to have done so. Ye have scattered my flock — Namely, by acts of violence and oppression, driving them from their places to seek more safe and quiet abodes. Or, instead of looking after them, you have suffered them to be dispersed, and through your ill example they have gone astray to idolatry, and that, with your other sins, has brought upon them their expulsion from their own land and a general dispersion. Behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings — Will deal with you as your sins have deserved. They would not visit the flock in the way of duty, and therefore God will visit them in a way of vengeance. And I will gather the remnant of my flock — Though there be but a remnant of my flock, a little remnant left, that has narrowly escaped destruction, I will gather that remnant; will find them out wherever they are, and will find out ways and means to bring them back out of all countries whither I have driven them. It was the justice of God for the sins of their shepherds that dispersed them, but the mercy of God shall gather them when the shepherds that betrayed them are cut off. And being brought to their former habitations, as sheep to their folds, there they shall be fruitful, and increase in numbers. And I will set up shepherds over them — Who shall make it their business, not only to rule, but also to feed them, namely, with knowledge and understanding. They shall fear no more — As they formerly did, when they were continually exposed to the oppressions of their rulers at home, or the invasions and assaults of their enemies from abroad; but they shall be preserved in peace and safety, and none of them shall be lacking. Though the times may have been long bad with the church, it does not follow that they will be always so. Such pastors as Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, though they did not live in such pomp as Jehoiakim and Jeconiah lived in, nor made such a figure, were as great blessings to the people as the others were plagues to them. The peace and prosperity of the church are not connected with, much less do they depend upon, the pomp of her rulers.

2. The pastors — In the first verse the article is not in the original, and is incorrectly introduced into the Version. It is a general principle. Woe to shepherds — any and all shepherds — when they destroy and scatter the sheep; that is, when they themselves do that which they are specially set to prevent. But in this verse the article is used to identify those to whom this woe now applies. Scattered… driven — As the wolf does. The Eastern shepherd does not drive his flock, but “goeth before them.”

Verses 2-4. Therefore thus saith the Lord against the pastors that feed my people — That undertake the care of my people, though they do not faithfully execute their trust. God calls them his people, his flock, the sheep of his pasture, with respect to the ancient covenant which he had made with their fathers. They are said to have fed this people, because it was their duty to have done so. Ye have scattered my flock — Namely, by acts of violence and oppression, driving them from their places to seek more safe and quiet abodes. Or, instead of looking after them, you have suffered them to be dispersed, and through your ill example they have gone astray to idolatry, and that, with your other sins, has brought upon them their expulsion from their own land and a general dispersion. Behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings — Will deal with you as your sins have deserved. They would not visit the flock in the way of duty, and therefore God will visit them in a way of vengeance. And I will gather the remnant of my flock — Though there be but a remnant of my flock, a little remnant left, that has narrowly escaped destruction, I will gather that remnant; will find them out wherever they are, and will find out ways and means to bring them back out of all countries whither I have driven them. It was the justice of God for the sins of their shepherds that dispersed them, but the mercy of God shall gather them when the shepherds that betrayed them are cut off. And being brought to their former habitations, as sheep to their folds, there they shall be fruitful, and increase in numbers. And I will set up shepherds over them — Who shall make it their business, not only to rule, but also to feed them, namely, with knowledge and understanding. They shall fear no more — As they formerly did, when they were continually exposed to the oppressions of their rulers at home, or the invasions and assaults of their enemies from abroad; but they shall be preserved in peace and safety, and none of them shall be lacking. Though the times may have been long bad with the church, it does not follow that they will be always so. Such pastors as Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, though they did not live in such pomp as Jehoiakim and Jeconiah lived in, nor made such a figure, were as great blessings to the people as the others were plagues to them. The peace and prosperity of the church are not connected with, much less do they depend upon, the pomp of her rulers.

3. I have driven — Here God appropriates to himself the very term he had just applied to the evil shepherds to their blame. So we have brought into view two aspects of the same event. So Joseph said to his brethren, “Not you sent me hither, but God,” Genesis 45:8: a statement that seems the exact opposite of the truth, and yet was most profoundly and exactly true. The real meaning is, Not so much you as God. The event turns one of its faces toward those wicked men, Joseph’s brethren; but another, and a totally different one, toward God. So here. These shepherds, by their neglect, had scattered and destroyed the flock; on the other hand God, for the sins of this very flock, drove them into exile.

Verses 2-4. Therefore thus saith the Lord against the pastors that feed my people — That undertake the care of my people, though they do not faithfully execute their trust. God calls them his people, his flock, the sheep of his pasture, with respect to the ancient covenant which he had made with their fathers. They are said to have fed this people, because it was their duty to have done so. Ye have scattered my flock — Namely, by acts of violence and oppression, driving them from their places to seek more safe and quiet abodes. Or, instead of looking after them, you have suffered them to be dispersed, and through your ill example they have gone astray to idolatry, and that, with your other sins, has brought upon them their expulsion from their own land and a general dispersion. Behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings — Will deal with you as your sins have deserved. They would not visit the flock in the way of duty, and therefore God will visit them in a way of vengeance. And I will gather the remnant of my flock — Though there be but a remnant of my flock, a little remnant left, that has narrowly escaped destruction, I will gather that remnant; will find them out wherever they are, and will find out ways and means to bring them back out of all countries whither I have driven them. It was the justice of God for the sins of their shepherds that dispersed them, but the mercy of God shall gather them when the shepherds that betrayed them are cut off. And being brought to their former habitations, as sheep to their folds, there they shall be fruitful, and increase in numbers. And I will set up shepherds over them — Who shall make it their business, not only to rule, but also to feed them, namely, with knowledge and understanding. They shall fear no more — As they formerly did, when they were continually exposed to the oppressions of their rulers at home, or the invasions and assaults of their enemies from abroad; but they shall be preserved in peace and safety, and none of them shall be lacking. Though the times may have been long bad with the church, it does not follow that they will be always so. Such pastors as Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, though they did not live in such pomp as Jehoiakim and Jeconiah lived in, nor made such a figure, were as great blessings to the people as the others were plagues to them. The peace and prosperity of the church are not connected with, much less do they depend upon, the pomp of her rulers.

4. I will set up shepherds — Such men as Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah: but the higher fulfilment of this prophetic promise is reserved for Messianic times.

V. 5. Behold-Even the Jewish doctors, as well as the Christian interpreters, understand this as a prophecy of the Messiah who is called the branch, Isaiah 4:2 53:2. And here, he is called the righteous branch, not only because himself was righteous, but because he maketh his people righteous. Shall execute-Protecting the innocent, and defending his people throughout the world, judging the prince of the world, and by his spirit governing his people.

Verse 5. I will raise unto David a righteous Branch] As there has been no age, from the Babylonish captivity to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, in which such a state of prosperity existed, and no king or governor who could answer at all to the character here given, the passage has been understood to refer to our blessed Lord, Jesus Christ, who was a branch out of the stem of Jesse; a righteous king; by the power of his Spirit and influence of his religion reigning, prospering, and executing judgment and justice in the earth.

Verses 5, 6. I will raise unto David a righteous branch — The house of David seemed to be quite sunk and ruined by the threatening pronounced against Jeconiah, (Jeremiah 22:30,) that none of his seed should ever sit upon the throne of David: but here we have a promise which effectually secures the honour of the covenant made with David, notwithstanding that threatening; for by it his house will be raised out of its ruins to a greater lustre than ever, and shine brighter than it did even in the days of Solomon. We have not so many prophecies of Christ in this book as we had in that of the Prophet Isaiah. But here we have a very illustrious one. Of him, doubtless, the prophet here speaks, and of no other person. Even the Jewish doctors, as well as Christian interpreters, understand this as a prophecy of the Messiah, who is called the branch: Isaiah 4:2, and 53:2; and the man the branch, Zechariah 3:8. And here he is termed the righteous branch, not only because he himself was righteous, but because he makes his people righteous; and a king that shall reign and prosper — Not like kings that now were of the house of David, going backward in all their affairs, but one that shall set up a kingdom in the world, which shall be victorious over all opposition; one to whose hands the good pleasure of the Lord shall be committed, and under whose care and management it shall prosper; one who shall execute judgment and justice in the earth — All the world over, Psalm 96:13. The present kings of David’s line were unjust and oppressive, and their affairs therefore did not prosper; but this king shall break the usurped power of Satan, institute a perfect rule of holy living, and in due time make all the world righteous. In his days — That is, under his dominion, when his kingdom shall be set up and established upon earth; Judah shall be saved, &c. — The people of God, typified by Judah and Israel, shall be saved with a spiritual and eternal salvation, a salvation from the guilt and power of sin, into the favour and image of God here, and into the kingdom of his glory hereafter. At which kingdom, till they arrive, God will be a special protection to them, their refuge and strength, and very present help in trouble; so that they shall dwell safely — Confiding in the care of their strong helper, and preserved in perfect peace. And this is his name whereby he shall be called — Namely, by his people, and by God; the name whereby he shall be known, and which shall at once be descriptive both of his person and office. THE LORD, Hebrew, JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS — Though of the seed of David according to the flesh, he shall indeed be JEHOVAH, God in human nature, and OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS; namely, justifying us by his merits, sanctifying us by his Spirit, and directing us in every part of our duty by his doctrine and example; the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth in him with a faith that worketh by love.

Ver. 5. I will raise to David a righteous branch. The Messiah, as the Chaldaic reads. See Isaiah 4:2. The Hebrew word jmx tzamach, a shoot or branch, here used as a title of the Messiah, is by the LXX rendered by the Greek word anatolh anatole, which signifies not only a branch or shoot, but also the springing or rising of the day. Hence the variation in the quotation of this passage by Zacharias: “through the tender mercy of our God, the dayspring from on high hath visited us.” Luke 1:78. The word anatolh was applied to the Messiah by the Greek Jews, long before our Saviour’s time; and hence he was, by the Latin Jews, called Oriens.

5. In the midst of this fearful gloom, most unexpectedly and refreshingly are we favoured with a vision of supernal glory. The words of this passage break upon our ears sweetly and cheeringly as the angels’ song upon the ears of the shepherds. In this extremity of despair the light of God’s blessed consolation beams with ineffable beauty. In none of the prophets, not even in Isaiah, “the evangelic prophet,” is there a brighter gleam of the “latter-day glory.” Behold — A formal opening, indicating the importance of what is announced. Days come — Literally, days (are) coming: pointing to some indefinite future. Branch — See Isaiah 4:2; and, for the force of the word, Genesis 19:25; Isaiah 61:11; Ezekiel 16:7; 17:9; Hosea 8:7. The original in Isaiah 11:1, is a different word, and quite distinct in meaning. It is unfortunate that both are represented by the same word in the Authorized Version. The term here employed signifies a sprout or shoot sent up from the root, and is strikingly expressive of the Messiah’s relation to the Davidic dynasty. Of this line nothing was left but the vital root, and yet from this Christ came. The branches had been cut off, the stately trunk was prostrate and dead, but from the hidden root a new shoot came forth of supernal beauty and immortal vigour. A King shall reign — Rather, that shall reign as king, the sentence resting directly on the word “branch.” Isaiah 52:13; Dan. 9:24, etc.

V. 6. Judah-During the reign and kingdom of the Messiah the people of God typified by Judah and Israel shall be saved with a spiritual salvation, and God will be a special protection to them. And this-The name wherewith this branch shall be called, shall be, The Lord our righteousness. This place is an eminent proof of the Godhead of Christ, he is here called Jehovah, and what is proper to God alone, namely to justify, is here applied to Christ. He who knew no sin, was made sin, (that is, a sacrifice for sin) for us, that we might be made, the righteousness of God in him.

Verse 6. In his days Judah shall be saved] The real Jew is not one who has his circumcision in the flesh, but in the spirit. The real Israel are true believers in Christ Jesus; and the genuine Jerusalem is the Church of the first-born, and made free, with all her children, from the bondage of sin, Satan, death, and hell. All these exist only in the days of the Messiah. All that went before were the types or significators of these glorious Gospel excellencies.

And this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.] I shall give the Hebrew text of this important passage: wnqdx hwhy warqy rva wmv hzw vezeh shemo asher yikreo Yehovah tsidkenu, which the Septuagint translate as follows, Kai touto to onoma auton o kalesei auton Kuriov, Iwsedek, “And this is his name which the Lord shall call him Josedek.”

Dahler translates the text thus:—

Et voici le nom dont on l’appellera:

L’Eternel, Auteur de notre felicite.

“And this is the name by which he shall be called;

The Lord, the Author of our happiness.”

Dr. Blayney seems to follow the Septuagint; he translates thus, “And this is the name by which Jehovah shall call him, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” In my old MS. Bible, the first English translation ever made, it is thus:— And this is the name that thei schul clepen him: oure rigtwise Lord. Coverdale’s, the first complete English translation of the Scriptures ever printed, (1535,) has given it thus:—And this is the name that they shall call him: even the Lorde oure rightuous Maker.

Matthews (1549) and Becke (1549) follow Coverdale literally; but our present translation of the clause is borrowed from Cardmarden, (Rouen, 1566,) “Even the Lord our righteousness.”

Dr. Blayney thus accounts for his translation:— “Literally, according to the Hebrew idiom,—’And this is his name by which Jehovah shall call, Our Righteousness;’ a phrase exactly the same as, ‘And Jehovah shall call him so;’ which implies that God would make him such as he called him, that is, our Righteousness, or the author and means of our salvation and acceptance. So that by the same metonymy Christ is said to ‘have been made of God unto us wisdom, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,’ 1 Corinthians 1:30.

“I doubt not that some persons will be offended with me for depriving them, by this translation, of a favourite argument for proving the Divinity of our Saviour from the Old Testament. But I cannot help it; I have done it with no ill design, but purely because I think, and am morally sure, that the text, as it stands, will not properly admit of any other construction. The Septuagint have so translated before me, in an age when there could not possibly be any bias or prejudice either for or against the fore-mentioned doctrine, a doctrine which draws its devisive proofs from the New Testament only.”

Dahler paraphrases,—

“This Prince shall be surnamed by his people, ‘The Lord, the author of our happiness.’ The people shall feel themselves happy under him; and shall express their gratitude to him.”

I am satisfied that both the translation from Cardmarden downwards, and the meaning put on these words, are incorrect. I prefer the translation of Blayney to all others; and that it speaks any thing about the imputed righteousness of Christ, cannot possibly be proved by any man who understands the original text. As to those who put the sense of their creed upon the words, they must be content to stand out of the list of Hebrew critics. I believe Jesus to be Jehovah; but I doubt much whether this text calls him so. No doctrine so vitally important should be rested on an interpretation so dubious and unsupported by the text. That all our righteousness, holiness, and goodness, as well as the whole of our salvation, come by HIM, from HIM, and through HIM, is fully evident from the Scriptures; but this is not one of the passages that support this most important truth. See Clarke on “Jeremiah 33:16”.

Verses 5, 6. I will raise unto David a righteous branch — The house of David seemed to be quite sunk and ruined by the threatening pronounced against Jeconiah, (Jeremiah 22:30,) that none of his seed should ever sit upon the throne of David: but here we have a promise which effectually secures the honour of the covenant made with David, notwithstanding that threatening; for by it his house will be raised out of its ruins to a greater lustre than ever, and shine brighter than it did even in the days of Solomon. We have not so many prophecies of Christ in this book as we had in that of the Prophet Isaiah. But here we have a very illustrious one. Of him, doubtless, the prophet here speaks, and of no other person. Even the Jewish doctors, as well as Christian interpreters, understand this as a prophecy of the Messiah, who is called the branch: Isaiah 4:2, and 53:2; and the man the branch, Zechariah 3:8. And here he is termed the righteous branch, not only because he himself was righteous, but because he makes his people righteous; and a king that shall reign and prosper — Not like kings that now were of the house of David, going backward in all their affairs, but one that shall set up a kingdom in the world, which shall be victorious over all opposition; one to whose hands the good pleasure of the Lord shall be committed, and under whose care and management it shall prosper; one who shall execute judgment and justice in the earth — All the world over, Psalm 96:13. The present kings of David’s line were unjust and oppressive, and their affairs therefore did not prosper; but this king shall break the usurped power of Satan, institute a perfect rule of holy living, and in due time make all the world righteous. In his days — That is, under his dominion, when his kingdom shall be set up and established upon earth; Judah shall be saved, &c. — The people of God, typified by Judah and Israel, shall be saved with a spiritual and eternal salvation, a salvation from the guilt and power of sin, into the favour and image of God here, and into the kingdom of his glory hereafter. At which kingdom, till they arrive, God will be a special protection to them, their refuge and strength, and very present help in trouble; so that they shall dwell safely — Confiding in the care of their strong helper, and preserved in perfect peace. And this is his name whereby he shall be called — Namely, by his people, and by God; the name whereby he shall be known, and which shall at once be descriptive both of his person and office. THE LORD, Hebrew, JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS — Though of the seed of David according to the flesh, he shall indeed be JEHOVAH, God in human nature, and OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS; namely, justifying us by his merits, sanctifying us by his Spirit, and directing us in every part of our duty by his doctrine and example; the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth in him with a faith that worketh by love.

Ver. 6. In his days Judah shall be saved. The Chaldaic and LXX read, “In the days of the Messiah.”

And this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. wnqdyx hwhy warqy rva wmv hzw vezeh shemo asher yikreoo Jehovah tzidkenoo. “And this is his name by which he shall be called, [or they, or people, or Zion, or every one, shall call him] Jehovah our Just One,” or Hebraically, “the Lord our Righteousness.” This text is repeated, chap. 33:16, with a variation. “And this is his name by which SHE shall call him, the Lord our righteousness;” that is, Zion or the church shall glory to call him her JUST ONE, or her Righteousness. This is done in conformity to the analogy of faith. “Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength.” “Their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 45:24. So St. Paul, “Christ is made of God unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.” 1 Corinthians 1:30. When Jeremiah says that she, or the church, mostly put in the feminine, shall call him “JEHOVAH our righteousness,” the high and holy name which designates the Divine Essence, as existing of itself, and by consequence, incommunicable to any creature, the prophet completely supersedes the Socinian gloss, that “Jehovah shall call him our righteousness.” The LXX, so reading the text, are no authority against the undisputed words of the inspired prophet, who calls the Messiah, Jehovah our Just One, or righteousness. So also is the gloss of the rabbins on Daniel 7:13.

Professor Dahler, in his new version of Jeremiah, reads this text exactly as our Poole in his Synopsis.

Et voici le nom dont on l’ appellera;

L’ Eternel, Auteur de notre felicitè.

Which literally is, And behold the name by which they shall call him, The ETERNAL, the author of our felicity. In all versions of the French bible, L’ Eternel is the constant word for Jehovah, which designates the preëxistence and eternity of Christ, “the author and finisher of our faith.” Dr. Blaney, whose version and notes, now before me, sufficiently demonstrate that he was a Socinian, follows the LXX, whose only fault was ignorance of the glorious person of Christ. He reads, “And this is his name by which Jehovah shall call him, our righteousness.” If we adopt Dr. Blaney’s reading, then all the Nicene fathers, so ably defended by bishop Bull, were in error, and must be repudiated. The Hebrew text, which stands undisputed, must give way to the pride of socinian philosophy, which aims at the destruction of the Bible, as Dr. Priestley little less than avows. Such a word was formerly written differently, such a letter is lost, or such a word is wanting in the text! Thus

“They sport with scriptures at their ease,

And make them speak just what they please.”

We ask in defence of truth, Is it possible to separate the Messiah’s name from his character? If he be our righteousness, the Just—the Holy One of Israel—he must be Jehovah. If he be the righteous branch, to save Judah, and cause Israel to dwell safely, his incommunicable title must be correct. “In Jehovah (alone) shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.” Isaiah 45:25. No man can be the righteousness of a nation, except Jehovah. Therefore Paul is correct, “Let him that glorieth, glory in the Lord.”

Professor Cocceius, on this text, quotes Theodoret, who on Jeremiah 32:16, cites the LXX, O kuriov dikaiosunh hmwn, which he regards as an infraction, and that the LXX have not understood the words of Jeremiah. The Chaldaic paraphrase reads. yjwmwyb yy µdq ˆm ˆwkz anl ˆdb[ty Efficientur nobis merita in diebus hujus. In his days he shall efficiently merit for us the pardon of our sins. The comment of rabbi Solomoh is, “The Lord shall make us righteous in his days.” Cocceius next superadds his own comment. “These words contain,

(1) The renunciation of our own righteousness.

(2) The righteousness of God by which sinners in his sight are justified, against all accusing tongues.

(3) They define the righteousness of God to be the righteousness which the people have in Jehovah; that is, the righteousness by which they are made just, or are justified before God.

(4) They declare the open confession of the people in the days of David’s righteous BRANCH; which designates the righteousness of the germ, or Son of David, to be the righteousness of Jehovah.” This, continues our learned professor, “is the mystery which the stupid people of Israel could not perceive, though everywhere inculcated by the prophets.”—Reader, this is virgin honey from the ancient hive. Our righteousness. After the council of Trent had decreed in favour of works of supererogation, a warm controversy arose among protestant divines concerning the word RIGHTEOUSNESS. In the warmth of opposition to the popish doctrine of justification by human merit, they had made it in almost every place of the old testament to mean the righteousness of Christ. This offended many of the more sober divines, and contradicted the received glosses which antiquity had given of those texts. See Psalm 89:10. 48:18. Isaiah 54:17. On this latter text, “their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord,” Mr. Poole gives us five glosses which may serve as a key to other correspondent passages. Their righteousness is to me—of me— or with me. That is,

(1) The reward of righteousness.

(2) The benefit or blessings of their righteousness, as Psalm 24:5.

(3) Their right is of me, which imports that the Lord would openly maintain their right, account them innocent, and in open day.

(4) Their righteousness, that is their justification and applause, as Calvin asserts.

(5) Their defence is of me, which is peculiarly the work of my righteousness. This last gloss is from Piscator, and it seems the most natural and striking. Thus Israel could say, surely in the Lord have I righteousness and strength. In hating idols, and in worshipping the only true God, I shall be justified and saved in the eyes of the heathen. Such is the obvious connection of the text, as Poole fully allows. See Isaiah 44:24. Hence, in this text of Jeremiah, so glorious a pillar in the support of truth, we find the Messiah called JEHOVAH; as in a multitude of correspondent texts. See Isaiah 40:10. 45:24, 25. 48:17. Hosea 1:7. Zechariah 2:10, 11. Malachi 3:1. He is as to his humanity, David’s righteous branch, Israel’s judge and king, and he is Judah’s safety and defence. He shall be called, or rather, they shall call him throughout all future ages, the Lord our Just One, as the Vulgate and Pagninus read, taking the word indefinitely. But Montanus, following the Syriac, reads, The Lord our righteousness. The former reading is however preferred by my worthy friend, the late Rev. John Crosse, vicar of Bradford. “And he who shall be called to it [the great work of restoring peace and prosperity to the church] is the Lord our Just One.”—We must however associate this text, and all others of like import, with texts in the new testament, which affirm that Jesus Christ is made of God unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; that God hath made him to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Hence when God is said to be our righteousness, he is, according to Poole, Auctorem Justitiæ nostræ; the Author of our righteousness, whether of justification, of sanctification, or of the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, peace, righteousness.

6. Judah… Israel — The prophet writes as though Israel had not been destroyed; and this was true in a sense deeper and more spiritual than that in which she had been destroyed. The passing away of her political power was a mere incident. The spiritual results of the long centuries of divine tuition and discipline were still conserved. There had been reared a temple of spiritual truth which even the shock of war could not cast down. Israel and Judah are still complementary parts of God’s indestructible Church. Whereby he shall be called — Literally, he shall call him, or one shall call him. The subject is either Jehovah understood, or the verb is impersonal, which is the preferable view. The object “he” is clearly the Personage of the preceding verse. A few commentators, mainly because of Jeremiah 33:16, refer it to the Jewish people, but most unwarrantably. The Lord our Righteousness — “Though the Hebrew language admitted into ordinary appellations the name of the Deity, yet this is the case solely in compound, and never in uncompounded, names. Such are either memorials of some great event, (for instance, Genesis 6:14; 22:14; Exodus 17:15; Judges 6:24, etc.,) or virtual promises of some future deliverance, as Jeremiah 33:16; Ezekiel 48:35; or names of the Deity, as in Isaiah 7:16; 9:6.” (Dean Smith, in loc.) The import of the name is, that Jehovah will, by the Messiah, establish among his people a reign of righteousness. The phrase does not look directly to outward and technical justification, but to holiness of heart and life.

Verse 7. The Lord liveth which brought up] See Clarke on “Jeremiah 16:14”; “Jeremiah 16:15”.

Verses 7, 8. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord — Here the prophet proceeds to fore-tel one very important, although remote, consequence of God’s raising up the righteous branch to David, namely, the great salvation which should thereby come to the Jews in the latter days of their state, which should be so illustrious as far to outshine their deliverance out of Egypt. That they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, &c. — These words we had before, Jeremiah 16:14, 15, where see the note. But here the passage seems to point more plainly than it did there to the days of the Messiah, and to compare, not so much the two deliverances themselves, giving the preference to the latter, as the two states to which the church should grow after those deliverances. About four hundred and eighty years after they were come out of Egypt, Solomon’s temple was built, 1 Kings 6:1; and at that time that nation, which was so wonderfully brought out of Egypt, was gradually arrived to its height. And four hundred and ninety years (seventy weeks) after they came out of Babylon, Messiah the Prince set up the gospel temple, which was the greatest glory of that nation that was so wonderfully brought out of Babylon: see Daniel 9:24, 25. Now the spiritual glory of the second period of that nation, especially as transferred to the gospel church, is much more admirable and illustrious than all the temporal glory of the first period of it, in the days of Solomon; for that was no glory, compared with the glory which excelleth. Add to this, the prophet, it seems, also foretels a second gathering of the Jews from their dispersions, namely, one that should take place after the coming of the Messiah, and the ruin of their city and country by the Romans, and therefore yet future. Now this work of God, whenever it shall be effected, including, as it undoubtedly will, their conversion to Christianity, and perhaps, also, their restoration to their own land, will assuredly appear so wonderful as greatly to outshine every former deliverance wrought for that people, and therefore may well put every other out of remembrance. St. Paul calls this restoration of them, life from the dead, (Romans 9:25,) meaning that it would be a miracle as surprising as the resurrection of a multitude of dead bodies.

Ver. 7. Therefore the days come, saith the Lord, after the return from Babylon, quoting the words of Isaiah, 65:16, 17, that they shall not talk of the emancipation from Egypt, or from Babylon, in comparison of the new heavens and the new earth, which the Lord shall renovate in righteousness, with glories and with beauties which eye hath not seen nor ear heard.

7, 8. Repetition of Jeremiah 16:14, 15.

V. 8. They shall dwell-Possibly part of this prophecy remains yet to be accomplished for the Jews are not yet come to dwell in their own land.

Verses 7, 8. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord — Here the prophet proceeds to fore-tel one very important, although remote, consequence of God’s raising up the righteous branch to David, namely, the great salvation which should thereby come to the Jews in the latter days of their state, which should be so illustrious as far to outshine their deliverance out of Egypt. That they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, &c. — These words we had before, Jeremiah 16:14, 15, where see the note. But here the passage seems to point more plainly than it did there to the days of the Messiah, and to compare, not so much the two deliverances themselves, giving the preference to the latter, as the two states to which the church should grow after those deliverances. About four hundred and eighty years after they were come out of Egypt, Solomon’s temple was built, 1 Kings 6:1; and at that time that nation, which was so wonderfully brought out of Egypt, was gradually arrived to its height. And four hundred and ninety years (seventy weeks) after they came out of Babylon, Messiah the Prince set up the gospel temple, which was the greatest glory of that nation that was so wonderfully brought out of Babylon: see Daniel 9:24, 25. Now the spiritual glory of the second period of that nation, especially as transferred to the gospel church, is much more admirable and illustrious than all the temporal glory of the first period of it, in the days of Solomon; for that was no glory, compared with the glory which excelleth. Add to this, the prophet, it seems, also foretels a second gathering of the Jews from their dispersions, namely, one that should take place after the coming of the Messiah, and the ruin of their city and country by the Romans, and therefore yet future. Now this work of God, whenever it shall be effected, including, as it undoubtedly will, their conversion to Christianity, and perhaps, also, their restoration to their own land, will assuredly appear so wonderful as greatly to outshine every former deliverance wrought for that people, and therefore may well put every other out of remembrance. St. Paul calls this restoration of them, life from the dead, (Romans 9:25,) meaning that it would be a miracle as surprising as the resurrection of a multitude of dead bodies.

7, 8. Repetition of Jeremiah 16:14, 15.

V. 9. Like a man-And he was even astonished and stupefied, and like a drunken man, at the apprehensions of the wrath of the Lord ready to be revealed against them, and considering also what words the holy God had put into his mouth, to speak against them.

Verse 9. Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets] The first word of this clause is לנבאים lannebiim, which we incorporate with the whole clause, and translate, “Because of the prophets.” But as a new prophecy begins here, it is evident that the word is the title to this prophecy; and is thus distinguished both by Blayney and Dahler, CONCERNING THE PROPHETS. This discourse was delivered probably in the reign of Jehoiakim.

All my bones shake] He was terrified even by his own message, and shocked at the profanity of the false prophets.

Verse 9. My heart within me is broken — This seems to be the beginning of a new discourse against the false prophets, with whom afterward the priests are joined. The first word of it in the Hebrew, µyabnl, is rendered by the Vulgate, Ad prophetas, To the prophets, as if it were the title of the following prophecy. In this Jeremiah describes the terror and concern which were upon him when he considered the horrible sin of these prophets in pretending a divine mission when they had received none, and in uttering as messages from God what were really their own inventions, and in direct opposition to every thing God had spoken. And he declares that, upon a view of their guilt, and of the evils they were bringing on themselves and their country, he was in trouble and agitation, like that of a man who had lost his reason through intoxication.

Ver. 9. My heart within me is broken, to hear the false prophets blaspheme, ver. 11, and to see the people applaud their lies and falsehood. I shake and tremble at the horrible wickedness in high places. The land is full of adulterers, vociferating amens in the temple, and singing songs to Venus on the hills.

THE FALSE PROPHETS, 9-40.

9. This verse is tamely rendered in the Authorized Version. Its opening sentences stand: Concerning the prophets, broken is my heart within me; all my bones shake. The same radical word which is here rendered shake, is, in Genesis 1:2, “moved,” and in Deuteronomy 32:11, “fluttereth.” The sense here is, to shake in a helpless and tottering manner, and so is kindred to the following sentence: I am like a drunken man.

V. 10. Adulterers-Under this term all species of uncleanness are comprehended. Swearing-By false-swearing, or by idle and profane swearing. The pleasant places-The wrath of God was extended to all places whether more or less inhabited. Their courses-The prophets did not only err in single acts, but the whole course of their actions was evil, and particularly their power, rule and government, was not right.

Verse 10. The land is full of adulterers] Of idolaters. Of persons who break their faith to ME, as an impure wife does to her husband. The pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up] He speaks here, most probably, in reference to dearth. Profane oaths, false swearing, evil courses, violence, &c., had provoked God to send this among other judgments; see Jeremiah 23:19.

Verse 10. For the land is full of adulterers — Under this term, which properly respects those who violate the marriage-bed, persons offending by any species of uncleanness are comprehended, as also such as by fraud and falsehood circumvented others, and tempted them to join in the commission of those illicit actions which implied breach of faith and duty toward God. Because of swearing the land mourneth — By swearing here, it seems, is not only meant false swearing, or perjury, but also profane and idle swearing, or taking the name of God in vain. Compare this verse with Hosea 4:2. The Hebrew word, hla, signifies indifferently swearing or cursing. The Jewish forms of adjuration, used in their courts of justice for the discovery of the truth, had usually an imprecation joined to them; and the prophet’s words here may import, that men ventured to forswear themselves, and incur the imprecation implied in an oath, rather than discover the truth in cases wherein they were called upon to be witnesses. The land is said to mourn when it is afflicted with drought, barrenness, or any other uncommon calamity. And the swearing here spoken of is represented by the prophet as one of those crying sins for which God had visited the nation with these and other severe judgments. And the sins here mentioned, which abounded so much among the people, were in a great measure owing to the bad example and corrupt doctrine of the priests and prophets. See verses 11-15. The pleasant places, or the pastures, of the wilderness — Or, of the plain, as the words may be properly rendered; are dried up — The wrath of God is extended to all places, whether more or less inhabited. See note on Jeremiah 12:4. And their course is evil, &c. — This seems to be intended of the prophets and priests, to whom this discourse is chiefly directed, (see verses 9-11,) and it implies that they not only erred in single acts, but that the whole course of their actions was evil, and particularly their power, rule, and government. For they both made use of ill arts to establish their authority over the people, and they employed it, not for the bettering, but rather for the corrupting of their manners.

10. Adulterers — Taken literally as a specimen-aspect of the prevalent immorality. Because of swearing — Rather, because of the curse. Mourneth — Literally, withereth. Their force is not right — That is, their prowess is on the side of wrong.

Verse 11. In my house] They had even introduced idolatry into the Temple of God!

Verses 11, 12. For both the prophet and the priest are profane — The priests, by their formality and hypocrisy, profaned the ordinances of God which they were appointed to administer; and the prophets, by their lies, false doctrine, and corrupt practice, profaned the word of God, which they pretended to deliver. Yea, in my house have I found their wickedness: saith the Lord — Even in my temple, where they assemble under a pretence to worship and do me honour, they say and do many things contrary to my law, and are guilty of various acts of profaneness and immorality. Such profaners of things sacred were formerly Hophni and Phinehas. Wherefore their way shall be as slippery ways — In which they shall not walk with any steadiness, safety, or satisfaction: or they shall fail and miscarry in all their designs.

11. Both prophet and priest are profane — Instead of being specially holy, they are specially wicked. Even into the very temple covetousness and impurity had come. See 2 Kings 23:12; Ezekiel 23:39; Zephaniah 3:4.

Verses 11, 12. For both the prophet and the priest are profane — The priests, by their formality and hypocrisy, profaned the ordinances of God which they were appointed to administer; and the prophets, by their lies, false doctrine, and corrupt practice, profaned the word of God, which they pretended to deliver. Yea, in my house have I found their wickedness: saith the Lord — Even in my temple, where they assemble under a pretence to worship and do me honour, they say and do many things contrary to my law, and are guilty of various acts of profaneness and immorality. Such profaners of things sacred were formerly Hophni and Phinehas. Wherefore their way shall be as slippery ways — In which they shall not walk with any steadiness, safety, or satisfaction: or they shall fail and miscarry in all their designs.

12. Slippery ways in the darkness — In the rough and uneven country of Palestine, full of difficult and dangerous paths, most naturally do the perils of travel contribute to its imagery. Such language in the Bible has a force and expressiveness which the modern dwellers in civilized lands, with good roads and abundant facilities for safe and expeditious travel, can but imperfectly realize. See Psalm 73:2, 18; 35:6; 38:17; 66:9; 121:3, etc., etc. Driven on — Rather, thrust down.

V. 13. They prophesied-Pretending they had their instructions from Baal, and so caused the ten tribes to err, which then were called Israel in contradistinction to Judah.

Verse 13. I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria] This was not to be wondered at, for their religion was a system of corruption.

Verses 13, 14. I have seen — Rather, I saw, namely, formerly, before I cast them out of their own land; folly — Hebrew, hlpt, stupidity, infatuation. The LXX. render it, anomhmata, iniquities, or unlawful actions, and the Vulgate, fatuitatem, sottishness; in the prophets of Samaria — That is, in those that belonged to the ten tribes, whose chief city was Samaria. They prophesied in Baal — Pretending they had their relations from Baal, they caused the people of that kingdom to err — That is, they seduced them from the worship and service of the true God to idolatry. I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem a horrible thing — Hebrew, hrwr[v, a thing to be detested, an abomination. He compares the sins of the prophets of Samaria with those of the prophets of Jerusalem, and pronounces the sins of the latter to be more enormous, because they pronounced their false prophecies in the name of the true God, and pretended that he was the author of all their impostures: the wickedness of their lives also reflected great dishonour upon his name and religion. Compare Jeremiah 3:11. They commit adultery — See Jeremiah 29:23. And walk in lies — Utter what they themselves have feigned, and call their inventions divine visions, and use all manner of deceit and fraud. They strengthen also the hands of evil-doers — They confirm men in their evil ways, both by their own bad example, and by promising them peace and security, notwithstanding their wicked conduct and ungodly deeds. See verse 17; and Ezekiel 13:22. They are all of them unto me as Sodom — See Deuteronomy 32:32; Isaiah 1:10; Ezekiel 16:46-48.

13, 14. Prophets of Samaria — Here introduced to set off the greater folly of the prophets of Jerusalem. These last are represented as having come to the very climax of wickedness, even as Sodom and Gomorrah.

Verse 14. I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem] That is, the prophets of Jerusalem, while professing a pure faith, have followed the ways, and become as corrupt as the prophets of Samaria. They are all of them unto me as Sodom] Incorrigible, brutish sinners, who will as surely be destroyed as Sodom and Gomorrah were.

Verses 13, 14. I have seen — Rather, I saw, namely, formerly, before I cast them out of their own land; folly — Hebrew, hlpt, stupidity, infatuation. The LXX. render it, anomhmata, iniquities, or unlawful actions, and the Vulgate, fatuitatem, sottishness; in the prophets of Samaria — That is, in those that belonged to the ten tribes, whose chief city was Samaria. They prophesied in Baal — Pretending they had their relations from Baal, they caused the people of that kingdom to err — That is, they seduced them from the worship and service of the true God to idolatry. I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem a horrible thing — Hebrew, hrwr[v, a thing to be detested, an abomination. He compares the sins of the prophets of Samaria with those of the prophets of Jerusalem, and pronounces the sins of the latter to be more enormous, because they pronounced their false prophecies in the name of the true God, and pretended that he was the author of all their impostures: the wickedness of their lives also reflected great dishonour upon his name and religion. Compare Jeremiah 3:11. They commit adultery — See Jeremiah 29:23. And walk in lies — Utter what they themselves have feigned, and call their inventions divine visions, and use all manner of deceit and fraud. They strengthen also the hands of evil-doers — They confirm men in their evil ways, both by their own bad example, and by promising them peace and security, notwithstanding their wicked conduct and ungodly deeds. See verse 17; and Ezekiel 13:22. They are all of them unto me as Sodom — See Deuteronomy 32:32; Isaiah 1:10; Ezekiel 16:46-48.

13, 14. Prophets of Samaria — Here introduced to set off the greater folly of the prophets of Jerusalem. These last are represented as having come to the very climax of wickedness, even as Sodom and Gomorrah.

Verse 15. Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets — The priests also, and all ecclesiastical guides, are included. Behold, I will feed them with wormwood — Will afflict them with most bitter calamities. For from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth — Or, hypocrisy, which seems rather to be the meaning of hpnj, the word here used. Certain it is, that this was a vice they were generally addicted to. These false prophets affected to be looked upon as pious, while they indulged themselves in various acts of wickedness; and as this could not be totally concealed, the people took example from them, and indulged themselves in vice, while they put on the garb of piety. The Jewish nation continued much in this habit even to the times of Christ, as is sufficiently evident from what is said of the Pharisees in the New Testament.

15. See Jeremiah 8:14; 9:15.

V. 16. Hearken not-People are under no religious obligation to hear any thing but the revealed will of God, and are not to obey those that call to them for what that doth not call to them.

Verse 16. Hearken not unto the words of the prophets] That is, of those who promise you safety, without requiring you to forsake your sins and turn unto the Lord; see Jeremiah 23:17.

Verses 16, 17. Thus saith the Lord, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets — People are under no religious obligation to hear what is contrary to the revealed will of God, or to obey those who enjoin things which that does not require. They make you vain — Or rather, they deceive you, as the words may be properly rendered: or they make you trust to and undertake vain things. The inhabitants of Jerusalem were fed by these false prophets with the vain hopes of being able to drive the Babylonians from their walls, and raise the siege of the city; yea, and of shaking off the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar entirely, and being quite free for the future. They speak a vision of their own heart — A pretended vision which they have framed themselves. They say still — That is, they persist to say; unto them that despise me — That are destitute even of my fear, and therefore slight my authority, and violate my commands; The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace — Whereas, in truth, I have said the contrary, and have assured them, There is no peace to the wicked — Thus they both make me to patronise sin, and to contradict myself.

16, 17. Thus saith the Lord — Having denounced punishment against the false prophets, Jeremiah now warns the people against them. His charges against them are summed up in two: 1) They speak a vision of their own heart; 2) They say… Ye shall have peace.

Verses 16, 17. Thus saith the Lord, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets — People are under no religious obligation to hear what is contrary to the revealed will of God, or to obey those who enjoin things which that does not require. They make you vain — Or rather, they deceive you, as the words may be properly rendered: or they make you trust to and undertake vain things. The inhabitants of Jerusalem were fed by these false prophets with the vain hopes of being able to drive the Babylonians from their walls, and raise the siege of the city; yea, and of shaking off the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar entirely, and being quite free for the future. They speak a vision of their own heart — A pretended vision which they have framed themselves. They say still — That is, they persist to say; unto them that despise me — That are destitute even of my fear, and therefore slight my authority, and violate my commands; The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace — Whereas, in truth, I have said the contrary, and have assured them, There is no peace to the wicked — Thus they both make me to patronise sin, and to contradict myself.

16, 17. Thus saith the Lord — Having denounced punishment against the false prophets, Jeremiah now warns the people against them. His charges against them are summed up in two: 1) They speak a vision of their own heart; 2) They say… Ye shall have peace.

V. 18. For who-Which of those prophets, that prophesy such terrible things against this city is a privy-counsellor to God? The words seem to be the words of the false prophets.

Verse 18. Who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord] Who of them has ever received a word of prophecy from me? My word is not in them.

Verse 18. For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord? — These are either the words of God expressing that none of these pretended prophets knew any thing of his designs, as he had not revealed them unto them, and they could not otherwise know them; or else they are to be understood as the words of these false prophets, who, among other things, told the people, that God’s counsels were not to be absolutely known; and that therefore neither Jeremiah, nor the rest of the prophets, who foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, were informed more than others of what God intended to do.

18. His word — Should be, my word; the Masoretes having changed the person because of the apparent grammatical difficulty.

Verse 19. Behold, a whirlwind] The simoom: the hot pestilential wind blowing from the south, frequently mentioned or referred to in the sacred writings; see Jeremiah 23:10.

Verses 19, 20. Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth with fury — A severe judgment of God, that shall resemble a whirlwind for the sudden and utter destruction that it shall bring. The same word, hr[s, is elsewhere translated a storm. It is called a whirlwind of the Lord, both to denote the greatness of it, and to signify that it should come forth from God, and be of his sending. It shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked — Whatever these flattering teachers may assert to the contrary. Blaney translates the verse, Behold, the whirlwind of Jehovah! it goeth forth hot, even a settling whirlwind; (so he translates llwjtm, which we render, grievous,) upon the head of the wicked it shall settle. And he observes, “The hot, scorching wind, blowing from the south, (see note on Jeremiah 4:11, 12,) is evidently here alluded to, that blows, not with a transient blast, but exerts a continued force upon the head of the unfortunate traveller till it has effectually destroyed him:” an emblem this of the consuming and insupportable wrath of God. The anger of the Lord shall not return — The prophet speaks of the judgment as of a messenger, which should not return till it had done its errand, and executed what God had resolved it should effect. In the latter days ye shall consider, &c. — Though you will not now believe it, but flatter yourselves with vain hopes, yet hereafter, when it shall be too late, you shall consider it perfectly, that is, when this judgment hath over-taken you, you shall fully believe and understand that God did indeed bring it upon you, for the punishment of your sins.

Ver. 19. A whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury. The blasts of invasion. Job 38:1. Psalm 48:7.

19. A whirlwind — So far from this vision of peace and prosperity being true, the tempest of Jehovah — even fury — goeth forth, and a whirlwind shall hurl itself upon the head of the wicked.

V. 20. The anger-The prophet speaks of the judgment as of a messenger, which should not return till it had done its errand, and executed what God had resolved it should effect. Ye shall consider-And though you will not now believe it, yet hereafter when it shall be too late, you shall consider it perfectly.

Verse 20. In the latter days ye shall consider it] I give you warning: and this punishment which I now threaten shall surely take place; a short time will determine it; ye shall not escape.

Verses 19, 20. Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth with fury — A severe judgment of God, that shall resemble a whirlwind for the sudden and utter destruction that it shall bring. The same word, hr[s, is elsewhere translated a storm. It is called a whirlwind of the Lord, both to denote the greatness of it, and to signify that it should come forth from God, and be of his sending. It shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked — Whatever these flattering teachers may assert to the contrary. Blaney translates the verse, Behold, the whirlwind of Jehovah! it goeth forth hot, even a settling whirlwind; (so he translates llwjtm, which we render, grievous,) upon the head of the wicked it shall settle. And he observes, “The hot, scorching wind, blowing from the south, (see note on Jeremiah 4:11, 12,) is evidently here alluded to, that blows, not with a transient blast, but exerts a continued force upon the head of the unfortunate traveller till it has effectually destroyed him:” an emblem this of the consuming and insupportable wrath of God. The anger of the Lord shall not return — The prophet speaks of the judgment as of a messenger, which should not return till it had done its errand, and executed what God had resolved it should effect. In the latter days ye shall consider, &c. — Though you will not now believe it, but flatter yourselves with vain hopes, yet hereafter, when it shall be too late, you shall consider it perfectly, that is, when this judgment hath over-taken you, you shall fully believe and understand that God did indeed bring it upon you, for the punishment of your sins.

20. Anger of the Lord — This wrath of God is resistless. He will certainly perform the thoughts of his heart. And when these plans of God are actually wrought out into completion they will be understood.

Verse 21. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran] Not to save souls, but to profit themselves.

I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.] They never received the word at my mouth; yet they went, publishing their own deceits, and pretending them to be revelations from God. The churches which have legal emoluments are ever in danger of being overrun and ruined by worldly and self-interested priests.

Verses 21, 22. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran — They were always ready to bring you pleasing tidings as from me, though I had given them no commission so to do, or revealed any thing to them. But if they had stood in my counsel — Been made acquainted by me with my will and pleasure; and had caused my people to hear my words — And not their own conceits and inventions; then they should have turned therefrom their evil way — This was the design of all God’s messages by his prophets, and therefore all true prophets made this their principal aim. And the giving encouragement to men to continue in their sinful courses, or in a state of carnal security, is often mentioned as a mark of a false prophet.

Ver. 21. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. The king’s servants must hold their commission of the king. The love of God shed abroad in the heart must be the flame of evangelical preaching; the motives must be pure; not money, not a genteel profession, but the glory of God and the salvation of souls: all other motives disgrace the sacred profession. The dreams of those prophets, ver. 27, 28, compared with the pure word of the Lord, are but as the chaff to the wheat.

21, 22. These false prophets ran as if with a message from the Almighty. They hurried with indecent levity to assume those grave responsibilities. Had they been really of God they would have turned them (the people) from their evil way. No man going on God’s errand need meet with failure or defeat. The test of “fruit,” when rightly applied, is an infallible one.

Verses 21, 22. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran — They were always ready to bring you pleasing tidings as from me, though I had given them no commission so to do, or revealed any thing to them. But if they had stood in my counsel — Been made acquainted by me with my will and pleasure; and had caused my people to hear my words — And not their own conceits and inventions; then they should have turned therefrom their evil way — This was the design of all God’s messages by his prophets, and therefore all true prophets made this their principal aim. And the giving encouragement to men to continue in their sinful courses, or in a state of carnal security, is often mentioned as a mark of a false prophet.

21, 22. These false prophets ran as if with a message from the Almighty. They hurried with indecent levity to assume those grave responsibilities. Had they been really of God they would have turned them (the people) from their evil way. No man going on God’s errand need meet with failure or defeat. The test of “fruit,” when rightly applied, is an infallible one.

Verse 23. Am I a God at hand,—and not a God afar off?] You act as if you thought I could not see you! Am I not omnipresent? Do not I fill the heavens and the earth? Jeremiah 23:24.

Verses 23, 24. Am I a God at hand and not a God afar off? — Do these false prophets imagine that I am only a God in some particular places, and that I cannot see or know things done privately, or at a distance from the place where they suppose me to be? Do they think to impose upon me, or vent their own dreams in my name, and I not discover them? As if either distance or secrecy could place any thing out of the reach of my power and knowledge. Atheism, or ignorance of God, is generally the foundation of a wicked life. Men think God does not see, or does not regard them and their actions, and will not call them to an account for them, and therefore they go on in their trespasses. By a God at hand, some understand, in heaven: as if he had said, Do you think my eyes are limited like yours, so that I cannot see men’s practices though at a distance from the place of my peculiar and glorious residence? Others interpret the particle with respect to time; Am I a god of yesterday, like the idols? Am not I the Ancient of days? the eternal God, of whose majesty, omniscience, and omnipresence you ought to have been sensible? Can any hide himself in secret places — Can any man hide his projects or intentions, his thoughts or desires, his words or works, that I shall not see them? Surely not. No arts or concealments can hide any man’s practices or even the counsels of his heart from the eye of God, nor in any respect deceive his judgment of them. Do not I fill heaven and earth, namely, by my essential presence, as well as by my universal providence? Am I not continually present, and continually active through all parts of the universe? As I am above all, so I am through all, and in all, Ephesians 4:6.

23. A God at hand — Am I one whose knowledge and power are hedged in by the limitations of time and space? Am I one from whom anything, even the most secret, can be hid, and hence be ignorant of the lying predictions of these prophecy-mongers?

Verses 23, 24. Am I a God at hand and not a God afar off? — Do these false prophets imagine that I am only a God in some particular places, and that I cannot see or know things done privately, or at a distance from the place where they suppose me to be? Do they think to impose upon me, or vent their own dreams in my name, and I not discover them? As if either distance or secrecy could place any thing out of the reach of my power and knowledge. Atheism, or ignorance of God, is generally the foundation of a wicked life. Men think God does not see, or does not regard them and their actions, and will not call them to an account for them, and therefore they go on in their trespasses. By a God at hand, some understand, in heaven: as if he had said, Do you think my eyes are limited like yours, so that I cannot see men’s practices though at a distance from the place of my peculiar and glorious residence? Others interpret the particle with respect to time; Am I a god of yesterday, like the idols? Am not I the Ancient of days? the eternal God, of whose majesty, omniscience, and omnipresence you ought to have been sensible? Can any hide himself in secret places — Can any man hide his projects or intentions, his thoughts or desires, his words or works, that I shall not see them? Surely not. No arts or concealments can hide any man’s practices or even the counsels of his heart from the eye of God, nor in any respect deceive his judgment of them. Do not I fill heaven and earth, namely, by my essential presence, as well as by my universal providence? Am I not continually present, and continually active through all parts of the universe? As I am above all, so I am through all, and in all, Ephesians 4:6.

THE FALSE PROPHETS, 9-40.

9. This verse is tamely rendered in the Authorized Version. Its opening sentences stand: Concerning the prophets, broken is my heart within me; all my bones shake. The same radical word which is here rendered shake, is, in Genesis 1:2, “moved,” and in Deuteronomy 32:11, “fluttereth.” The sense here is, to shake in a helpless and tottering manner, and so is kindred to the following sentence: I am like a drunken man.

Verses 25-27. I have heard what the prophets say, &c. — I am perfectly acquainted with what these prophets have thought and said, though they think I take no notice of it, and so continue to act the same counterfeit part over again. Saying, I have dreamed — I have had a divine vision, or have received information from God in a dream. This, it appears, the false prophets often pretended, when they had received nothing of the kind. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets? — How long shall I bear with them while they prophesy the deceit of their own hearts? while they utter, for prophecies, that which they have feigned or devised themselves? Will they never see what an affront they put upon me, what an abuse they put upon my people, and what judgments they are preparing for themselves? To cause my people to forget my name by their dreams, &c. — They act as if they designed to draw my people off from worshipping and serving me, and from all regard to my laws and ordinances and to the true prophets. Indeed, their palming upon the people counterfeit revelations, and fathering their own fancies upon divine inspiration, was the ready way to bring all religion into contempt, and make men turn atheists and infidels.

THE FALSE PROPHETS, 9-40.

9. This verse is tamely rendered in the Authorized Version. Its opening sentences stand: Concerning the prophets, broken is my heart within me; all my bones shake. The same radical word which is here rendered shake, is, in Genesis 1:2, “moved,” and in Deuteronomy 32:11, “fluttereth.” The sense here is, to shake in a helpless and tottering manner, and so is kindred to the following sentence: I am like a drunken man.

Verses 25-27. I have heard what the prophets say, &c. — I am perfectly acquainted with what these prophets have thought and said, though they think I take no notice of it, and so continue to act the same counterfeit part over again. Saying, I have dreamed — I have had a divine vision, or have received information from God in a dream. This, it appears, the false prophets often pretended, when they had received nothing of the kind. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets? — How long shall I bear with them while they prophesy the deceit of their own hearts? while they utter, for prophecies, that which they have feigned or devised themselves? Will they never see what an affront they put upon me, what an abuse they put upon my people, and what judgments they are preparing for themselves? To cause my people to forget my name by their dreams, &c. — They act as if they designed to draw my people off from worshipping and serving me, and from all regard to my laws and ordinances and to the true prophets. Indeed, their palming upon the people counterfeit revelations, and fathering their own fancies upon divine inspiration, was the ready way to bring all religion into contempt, and make men turn atheists and infidels.

26. How long, etc. — Rather, How long? Is it in the minds of the prophets that prophesy falsehood in my name — the prophets of the deceit of their heart? Impatient of their impious audacity Jeremiah cries out, “How long?” and then draws out his question more explicitly.

Verse 27. By their dreams] Dreams were anciently reputed as a species of inspiration; see Numbers 12:6; 1 Samuel 28:6; Joel 3:1; Daniel 7:1. In the Book of Genesis we find many examples; and although many mistook the workings of their own vain imaginations in sleep for revelations from God, yet he has often revealed himself in this way: but such dreams were easily distinguished from the others. They were always such as had no connexion with the gratification of the flesh; they were such as contained warnings against sin, and excitements to holiness; they were always consecutive-well connected, with a proper beginning and ending; such as possessed the intellect more than the imagination. Of such dreams the Lord says, (Jeremiah 23:28:) The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream-permit him to show what he has thus received from the Lord: but let him tell it as a dream, and speak my word faithfully, lest he may have been deceived.

Verses 25-27. I have heard what the prophets say, &c. — I am perfectly acquainted with what these prophets have thought and said, though they think I take no notice of it, and so continue to act the same counterfeit part over again. Saying, I have dreamed — I have had a divine vision, or have received information from God in a dream. This, it appears, the false prophets often pretended, when they had received nothing of the kind. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets? — How long shall I bear with them while they prophesy the deceit of their own hearts? while they utter, for prophecies, that which they have feigned or devised themselves? Will they never see what an affront they put upon me, what an abuse they put upon my people, and what judgments they are preparing for themselves? To cause my people to forget my name by their dreams, &c. — They act as if they designed to draw my people off from worshipping and serving me, and from all regard to my laws and ordinances and to the true prophets. Indeed, their palming upon the people counterfeit revelations, and fathering their own fancies upon divine inspiration, was the ready way to bring all religion into contempt, and make men turn atheists and infidels.

THE FALSE PROPHETS, 9-40.

9. This verse is tamely rendered in the Authorized Version. Its opening sentences stand: Concerning the prophets, broken is my heart within me; all my bones shake. The same radical word which is here rendered shake, is, in Genesis 1:2, “moved,” and in Deuteronomy 32:11, “fluttereth.” The sense here is, to shake in a helpless and tottering manner, and so is kindred to the following sentence: I am like a drunken man.

V. 28. What is the wheat-There is as much difference between my will and their dreams, as there is betwixt the chaff and the wheat.

Verse 28. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord.] Do not mingle these equivocal matters with positive revelations. Do not consider a dream, even from a prophet, as that positive inspiration which my prophets receive when their reason, judgment, and spiritual feelings are all in full and in regular exercise. Mix none of your own devices with my doctrines.

Verses 28, 29. The prophet that hath a dream let him tell a dream — Or, as some render it, let him tell it as a dream. Let him lay no more stress upon it than men do upon their dreams, nor expect any more regard to be paid to it. Or, he that pretends to have a message from God, either by dream, or vision, or voice, or otherwise, let him declare it. And he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully — Let him speak it, as truth; so some read the clause; let him keep close to his instructions, and you will soon perceive a vast difference between the dreams which the false prophets tell, and the divine oracles which the true prophets deliver, and will easily discern which is of God and which is not. Those that have spiritual senses exercised will be able to distinguish. For what is the chaff to the wheat — There is as much difference between my will and their dreams, as there is between the chaff and the wheat. Is not my word like fire? — Quick and powerful, capable of trying men as metals are tried in a furnace, and ready to burn up that which will not bear the trial. And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces — As a hammer breaks to pieces the hardest rock, so is my word, when properly applied, able to break the hardest and most obstinate heart, and to beat down the confidence of the most hardened sinner.

28. Let him tell a dream — That is, as “a dream,” and not as the word of God. Ordinary dreams are but as chaff, while the divine word is vital and life-sustaining as the wheat.

Verse 29. Is not my word like as a fire?] It enlightens, warms, and penetrates every part. When it is communicated to the true prophet, it is like a fire shut up in his bones; he cannot retain it, he must publish it: and when published, it is like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces; it is ever accompanied by a Divine power, that causes both sinner and saint to feel its weight and importance.

In the original words there is something singular: vak yrbd hk awlh halo coh debari kaesh, “Is not thus my word like fire?” I suspect, with Dr. Blayney, that hk coh, thus, was formerly written jk coach, strength or power; and so it was understood by the Targumist: “Are not all my words strong, like fire?” and probably the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews read it thus, and had it in view when he wrote: “For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,” Hebrews 4:12. This admitted, the text would read, “Is not my word powerful, like fire?” or, “Is not the power of my word like fire?” But however we understand the words, let us take heed lest we think, as some have thought and affirmed, that the sacred writings are quite sufficient of themselves to enlighten, convince, and convert the soul, and that there is no need of the Holy Spirit. Fire itself must be applied by an agent in order to produce its effects; and surely the hammer cannot break the rock in pieces, unless wielded by an able workman. And it is God’s Spirit alone that can thus apply it; for we find it frequently read and frequently spoken, without producing any salutary effects. And by this very thing the true preachers of the word of God may be distinguished from the false, non-commissioned ones; those who run, though they are not sent, Jeremiah 23:21. The word of him who has his commission from heaven shall be as a fire and as a hammer; sinners shall be convinced and converted to God by it. But the others, though they steal the word from their neighbour-borrow or pilfer a good sermon, yet they do not profit the people at all, because God did not send them, Jeremiah 23:32; for the power of God does not in their ministry accompany the word.

There may be an allusion to the practice in some mining countries, of roasting stones containing ore, before they are subjected to the hammer, in order to pulverize them. In Cornwall I have seen them roast the tin stones in the fire, before they placed them under the action of the hammers in the stamp mill. The fire separated the arsenic from the ore, and then they were easily reduced to powder by the hammers of the mill; afterwards, washing the mass with water, the grains of tin sank to the bottom, while the lighter parts went off with the water, and thus the metal was procured clean and pure. If this be the allusion, it is very appropriate.

Verses 28, 29. The prophet that hath a dream let him tell a dream — Or, as some render it, let him tell it as a dream. Let him lay no more stress upon it than men do upon their dreams, nor expect any more regard to be paid to it. Or, he that pretends to have a message from God, either by dream, or vision, or voice, or otherwise, let him declare it. And he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully — Let him speak it, as truth; so some read the clause; let him keep close to his instructions, and you will soon perceive a vast difference between the dreams which the false prophets tell, and the divine oracles which the true prophets deliver, and will easily discern which is of God and which is not. Those that have spiritual senses exercised will be able to distinguish. For what is the chaff to the wheat — There is as much difference between my will and their dreams, as there is between the chaff and the wheat. Is not my word like fire? — Quick and powerful, capable of trying men as metals are tried in a furnace, and ready to burn up that which will not bear the trial. And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces — As a hammer breaks to pieces the hardest rock, so is my word, when properly applied, able to break the hardest and most obstinate heart, and to beat down the confidence of the most hardened sinner.

Ver. 29. Is not my word like as a fire—and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? The agents here are double, and the effects are double. The hammer breaks the rock. We sometimes hear a piercing cry from culprits, when the judge pronounces their sentence. Sermons of terror are best adapted to hardened men; but it is love, the fire of love, that melts and hallows the heart. Fusion is essential to mental purity, and to give a celestial form to reformation.

29. Fire… hammer — That which is “wheat” to the believer is but as a consuming fire to the “chaff” of false prophesyings, and a resistless “hammer” to all opposing obstructions.

V. 30. That steal-That conspire together what to say to deceive the people, and so steal what they say one from another.

Verse 30. I am against the prophets] Three cases are mentioned here which excited God’s disapprobation: 1. The prophets who stole the word from their neighbour; who associated with the true prophets, got some intelligence from them, and then went and published it as a revelation which themselves had received, Jeremiah 23:30. 2. The prophets who used their tongues; לשונם µyjqlh hallokechim leshonam, who lick or smooth with their tongues—gave their own counsels as Divine revelations, flattering them in their sins, and promising peace, when God had not spoken; and prefaced them, “Thus saith the Lord,” Jeremiah 23:31. 3. The prophets who made up false stories, which they termed prophecies, revealed to them in dreams; and thus caused the people to err, Jeremiah 23:32.

Verses 30-32. Behold, I am against the prophets that steal my words, &c. — “That imitate the true prophets, speaking in my name, as they do, and saying, Thus saith the Lord, (see verse 31,) and using their words, but applying them to their own purpose: or, it may be, adding their own inventions to them.” So Lowth. Others paraphrase the verse thus, “That conspire together what to say to deceive the people, and to steal what they say one from another.” Or, perhaps the meaning rather is, That utter, as revelations made to themselves, things which they have learned, and, as it were, stolen from others. That use their tongues, &c. — That take their own tongues, as Blaney renders it, and say, He (the Lord) hath said. “The phrase of taking their own tongue,” he observes: “is, I think, very easily to be understood of those who, without any inspiration, took upon them to deliver messages to the people, and pretended that they came from God.” I am against them that prophesy false dreams — False things, under the notion of revelations made to them in their sleep. And cause my people to err — To wander from the right way; by their lies, and by their lightness — By their groundless assertions, their folly, their rashness and inconsistency with themselves: or, by the flatteries of their preaching, soothing men up in their sins, and by the looseness and lewdness of their conversation encouraging them to persist in them. Yet I sent them not, &c. — They are not my messengers, nor is what they say my message. Therefore they shall not profit this people at all — All the profit they aim at communicating is to make the people easy, but they shall not be able to do even that; for my providences will be such as will fill them with painful apprehensions and distressing fears. Some read the clause, They do not profit this people, considering the words as implying more than they express, namely, that these false prophets not only did the people no good, but did them a great deal of hurt. Observe, reader, none can expect God’s blessing upon their ministry who are not called and sent of God. And those that corrupt the word of God, while they pretend to preach it, are so far from edifying the church, that they do it the greatest mischief imaginable.

30-32. Some of the leading characteristics of false prophets are here grouped together. a) They steal my words every one from his neighbour; which has been aptly described as a twofold plagiarism — one steals from another, but all from God’s true prophets. b) They say, He saith. They give out their sayings as God’s. c) They have pretended revelations — prophesy false dreams. d) Finally and fatally, they cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness — That is, their boastful pretensions.

V. 31. He-That is, the Lord saith.

Verses 30-32. Behold, I am against the prophets that steal my words, &c. — “That imitate the true prophets, speaking in my name, as they do, and saying, Thus saith the Lord, (see verse 31,) and using their words, but applying them to their own purpose: or, it may be, adding their own inventions to them.” So Lowth. Others paraphrase the verse thus, “That conspire together what to say to deceive the people, and to steal what they say one from another.” Or, perhaps the meaning rather is, That utter, as revelations made to themselves, things which they have learned, and, as it were, stolen from others. That use their tongues, &c. — That take their own tongues, as Blaney renders it, and say, He (the Lord) hath said. “The phrase of taking their own tongue,” he observes: “is, I think, very easily to be understood of those who, without any inspiration, took upon them to deliver messages to the people, and pretended that they came from God.” I am against them that prophesy false dreams — False things, under the notion of revelations made to them in their sleep. And cause my people to err — To wander from the right way; by their lies, and by their lightness — By their groundless assertions, their folly, their rashness and inconsistency with themselves: or, by the flatteries of their preaching, soothing men up in their sins, and by the looseness and lewdness of their conversation encouraging them to persist in them. Yet I sent them not, &c. — They are not my messengers, nor is what they say my message. Therefore they shall not profit this people at all — All the profit they aim at communicating is to make the people easy, but they shall not be able to do even that; for my providences will be such as will fill them with painful apprehensions and distressing fears. Some read the clause, They do not profit this people, considering the words as implying more than they express, namely, that these false prophets not only did the people no good, but did them a great deal of hurt. Observe, reader, none can expect God’s blessing upon their ministry who are not called and sent of God. And those that corrupt the word of God, while they pretend to preach it, are so far from edifying the church, that they do it the greatest mischief imaginable.

30-32. Some of the leading characteristics of false prophets are here grouped together. a) They steal my words every one from his neighbour; which has been aptly described as a twofold plagiarism — one steals from another, but all from God’s true prophets. b) They say, He saith. They give out their sayings as God’s. c) They have pretended revelations — prophesy false dreams. d) Finally and fatally, they cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness — That is, their boastful pretensions.

Verses 30-32. Behold, I am against the prophets that steal my words, &c. — “That imitate the true prophets, speaking in my name, as they do, and saying, Thus saith the Lord, (see verse 31,) and using their words, but applying them to their own purpose: or, it may be, adding their own inventions to them.” So Lowth. Others paraphrase the verse thus, “That conspire together what to say to deceive the people, and to steal what they say one from another.” Or, perhaps the meaning rather is, That utter, as revelations made to themselves, things which they have learned, and, as it were, stolen from others. That use their tongues, &c. — That take their own tongues, as Blaney renders it, and say, He (the Lord) hath said. “The phrase of taking their own tongue,” he observes: “is, I think, very easily to be understood of those who, without any inspiration, took upon them to deliver messages to the people, and pretended that they came from God.” I am against them that prophesy false dreams — False things, under the notion of revelations made to them in their sleep. And cause my people to err — To wander from the right way; by their lies, and by their lightness — By their groundless assertions, their folly, their rashness and inconsistency with themselves: or, by the flatteries of their preaching, soothing men up in their sins, and by the looseness and lewdness of their conversation encouraging them to persist in them. Yet I sent them not, &c. — They are not my messengers, nor is what they say my message. Therefore they shall not profit this people at all — All the profit they aim at communicating is to make the people easy, but they shall not be able to do even that; for my providences will be such as will fill them with painful apprehensions and distressing fears. Some read the clause, They do not profit this people, considering the words as implying more than they express, namely, that these false prophets not only did the people no good, but did them a great deal of hurt. Observe, reader, none can expect God’s blessing upon their ministry who are not called and sent of God. And those that corrupt the word of God, while they pretend to preach it, are so far from edifying the church, that they do it the greatest mischief imaginable.

30-32. Some of the leading characteristics of false prophets are here grouped together. a) They steal my words every one from his neighbour; which has been aptly described as a twofold plagiarism — one steals from another, but all from God’s true prophets. b) They say, He saith. They give out their sayings as God’s. c) They have pretended revelations — prophesy false dreams. d) Finally and fatally, they cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness — That is, their boastful pretensions.

V. 33. What is-The false prophets, and corrupt priests, would ordinarily mock the true prophets; and ask them what was the burden of the Lord.

Verse 33. What is the burden of the Lord?] The word acm massa, here used, signifies burden, oracle, prophetic discourse; and is used by almost every prophet. But the persons in the text appear to have been mockers. “Where is this burden of the Lord?”— “What is the burden now?” To this insolent question the prophet answers in the following verses. I will even forsake you] I will punish the prophet, the priest and the people, that speak thus, Jeremiah 23:34. Here are burdens.

Verse 33. When this people, or the prophet, &c., shall ask thee, &c. — “The remaining part of this chapter is directed against those who called the word of God, spoken by the true prophets, A BURDEN, by way of reproach; meaning that it always portended evil, and never good;” the word avm, a burden, generally signifying a calamitous prophecy. See note on Isaiah 13:1. “Ahab intended to cast the same slur on the Prophet Micaiah when he represented him as one that never prophesied good concerning him, but evil, 1 Kings 22:8.” The false prophets, who said, Peace, peace, it seems, derided the true prophets, whose predictions were full of threatenings, as if God’s messages were a burden which they were weary of hearing; and made a jest of these words, The burden of the Lord, with which God’s prophets sometimes prefaced their prophecies. Upon this account God forbade the use of that expression, as in the following verses. See Lowth.

33. Burden of the Lord — This phrase occurs many times in the titles of Isaiah’s prophecies, and in the prophecies of Nahum, Habakkuk, Zechariah, and Malachi. It is never used by Jeremiah except, as here, in quoting the language of others and replying to it. Hence the enemies of the prophet must have used it by way of derision. The import of the term has been the subject of some difference of opinion. It comes from acn, (nasah,) to lift up, and either implies a saying of weighty and dread import, one that must be taken up as “a burden,” or one which was announced by lifting up the voice. These two explanations coincide to a great extent, for that which should be proclaimed with a loud voice would be a matter of grave importance. But a careful study of the passages in which this term is employed will disclose the fact that, for whatever reason, the application of the term is to prophecies of a minatory character, so that the word, as here used, contained a sneering satire on Jeremiah’s work. What burden — An echo or repetition of their question, in order to join the answer to it with more telling effect. The Septuagint here translates, ye are the burden, a reading which requires no change of the Hebrew consonants, but only a different division of them; and many commentators have preferred to follow it in this place, but unwisely, and with strange disregard of the special untrustworthiness of the Septuagint in this book. I will… forsake you — Literally, I will cast you off — I will disburden myself of you.

V. 34. That shall say-That is, that shall in derision say thus, mocking at my threatenings. And his house-I will not only punish him, but his whole family.

THE FALSE PROPHETS, 9-40.

9. This verse is tamely rendered in the Authorized Version. Its opening sentences stand: Concerning the prophets, broken is my heart within me; all my bones shake. The same radical word which is here rendered shake, is, in Genesis 1:2, “moved,” and in Deuteronomy 32:11, “fluttereth.” The sense here is, to shake in a helpless and tottering manner, and so is kindred to the following sentence: I am like a drunken man.

V. 35. Thus shall ye say-I will have you speak more reverently of me and my prophets.

THE FALSE PROPHETS, 9-40.

9. This verse is tamely rendered in the Authorized Version. Its opening sentences stand: Concerning the prophets, broken is my heart within me; all my bones shake. The same radical word which is here rendered shake, is, in Genesis 1:2, “moved,” and in Deuteronomy 32:11, “fluttereth.” The sense here is, to shake in a helpless and tottering manner, and so is kindred to the following sentence: I am like a drunken man.

V. 36. Mention no more-Not in scorn and derision. For-These false and irreverent speeches which are in every man’s mouth, shall be burdensome to them, shall bring down vengeance upon them. Perverted-Because you have derided, the words of God, the living God.

Verse 36. Every man’s word shall be his burden] Ye say that all God’s messages are burdens, and to you they shall be such: whereas, had you used them as you ought, they would have been blessings to you. For ye have perverted the words of the living God] And thus have sinned against your own souls.

Verse 36. For every man’s word shall be his burden — You shall be made severely to account for your loose and profane speeches, wherewith you deride and pervert the words and messages of God himself. Or, “Every man shall have most reason to regard his own word as hurtful and prejudicial to him. For the words of God were delivered with a salutary tendency, to warn sinners of the danger of their situation, and to call them to repentance. Those, therefore, who made a right use of them would have no cause to complain. But those who despised and rejected them perverted that which should have been for their wealth into an occasion of falling.” — Blaney.

36. Every man’s word shall be his burden — The word “burden” shall have, to him who uses it tauntingly against my faithful prophet, a crushing fulfilment.

V. 37. Thus shalt thou say-To my true prophet. You shall speak to them reverently.

THE FALSE PROPHETS, 9-40.

9. This verse is tamely rendered in the Authorized Version. Its opening sentences stand: Concerning the prophets, broken is my heart within me; all my bones shake. The same radical word which is here rendered shake, is, in Genesis 1:2, “moved,” and in Deuteronomy 32:11, “fluttereth.” The sense here is, to shake in a helpless and tottering manner, and so is kindred to the following sentence: I am like a drunken man.

V. 38. Because-Because you go on in your scoffing.

THE FALSE PROPHETS, 9-40.

9. This verse is tamely rendered in the Authorized Version. Its opening sentences stand: Concerning the prophets, broken is my heart within me; all my bones shake. The same radical word which is here rendered shake, is, in Genesis 1:2, “moved,” and in Deuteronomy 32:11, “fluttereth.” The sense here is, to shake in a helpless and tottering manner, and so is kindred to the following sentence: I am like a drunken man.

Verse 39. I will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you and the city] Dr. Blayney translates:—I will both take you up altogether, and will cast you off together with the city. Ye are a burden to me: but I will take you up, and then cast you off. I will do with you as a man weary with his burden will do; cast it off his shoulders, and bear it no more.

Verse 39. Therefore, behold, I will utterly forget you — The Vulgate renders this clause, Propterea ecce ego tolam vos portans, Therefore, behold, I will take you away removing you, (taking the verb hvn, nashah, in the sense of acn, nasa, as words of a like sound are often of a promiscuous signification,) which makes the sense more pertinent to the foregoing verses. The LXX. interpret the clause to the same purpose, Dia touto idou egw lambanw kai rassw umav, &c. Therefore, behold I take you, and cast you down, or, dash you, to the ground, and the city which I gave to you and to your fathers.

39. I… will utterly forget you — As you have forgotten me. Another reading of this text is preferred by many, but without sufficient reason.

Verse 40. I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you] And this reproach of having rebelled against so good a God, and rejected so powerful a Saviour, follows them to this day through all their dispersions, in every part of the habitable earth. The word of the Lord cannot fail. JEREMIAH

THE FALSE PROPHETS, 9-40.

9. This verse is tamely rendered in the Authorized Version. Its opening sentences stand: Concerning the prophets, broken is my heart within me; all my bones shake. The same radical word which is here rendered shake, is, in Genesis 1:2, “moved,” and in Deuteronomy 32:11, “fluttereth.” The sense here is, to shake in a helpless and tottering manner, and so is kindred to the following sentence: I am like a drunken man.