Jeremiah · Chapter 31

Verse 1. At the same time] This discourse was delivered at the same time with the former; and, with that, constitutes the Book which God ordered the prophet to write.

Will I be the God of all the families of Israel] I shall bring back the ten tribes, as well as their brethren the Jews. The restoration of the Israelites is the principal subject of this chapter.

Verse 1. At the same time, saith the Lord — Namely, in the latter days, mentioned Jeremiah 30:24. I will be the God of all the families of Israel — Not of the two tribes only, but of all the tribes; not of the house of Aaron only and the families of Levi, but of all the families. And they shall be my people — I will favour them, and do them good, and they shall be subject to, and shall worship and obey me. “This second part of the prophecy,” says Calmet, “principally respects the return of the ten tribes. And I have shown, in a particular dissertation, that not only Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, but also the twelve tribes returned into their own country.” Doubtless, many individuals of the ten tribes returned with the Jews from Babylon, having been incorporated among them in the several places where they were settled; yet this seems to have been only a very partial accomplishment of this prophecy, which, as Blaney observes, “points out circumstances that certainly were not fulfilled at the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, nor have hitherto had their completion.” But, in the latter days, when the fulness of the Gentiles are brought in, all Israel shall be saved; for, as Isaiah and St. Paul testify, there shall come out of Zion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. Isaiah 59:19; Romans 11:26-29. See note on Jeremiah 30:10.

Verse 1. At the same time, namely, as the last words of the preseding chapter, in the latter day. Here the subject is glorious, and the language sublime.

RESTORATION FOR ALL THE FAMILIES OF ISRAEL, 1-40.

1. At the same time — Namely, in the “latter days” of Jeremiah 30:24, when God’s anger shall light on his enemies. Then shall men be made to “discern between the righteous and the wicked; between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” Malachi 3:18. Will I be the God, etc. — An all-comprehending promise, carrying in its bosom all possible good — safety, success, victory, glory. And this he will be, not to Judah alone, and not to select and fortunate individuals and families, but to all the families of Israel.

V. 2. To rest-In Canaan.

Verse 2. The people which were left of the sword] Those of the ten tribes that had escaped death by the sword of the Assyrians. Found grace in the wilderness] The place of their exile; a wilderness, compared to their own land.—Dahler. See Isaiah 40:3.

Verse 2. The people that were left of the sword — That sword of Pharaoh with which he cut off the male children as soon as they were born, and that sword with which he threatened to cut them off when he pursued them to the Red sea. Found grace in the wilderness — Though in the wilderness, where they seemed to be lost and forgotten, as these latter Jews and Israelites were now in a strange land, yet they found grace in God’s sight, were owned, and highly honoured by him, and blessed with wonderful instances of his peculiar favour. And he went to cause them to rest — Went before them in a pillar of cloud, to mark out the places for them where they should pitch their tents, and conducted them to the land that he had provided for them. And after such evidences of his kindness to them, why should they doubt of the continuance of his favours?

2. The people — Those of Jeremiah’s time, and not, as the language might suggest and as some have thought, of Moses’s time. See Jeremiah 51:50. Wilderness — Babylon.

Verse 3. I have loved thee with an everlasting love] Ëytbha µlw[ tbhaw veahabath olam ahabtich, “and with the old love I have loved thee.” “Also, with a love of long standing have I loved thee.”—Blayney. “But I love thee always.”—Dahler. I still bear to the Jewish people that love which I showed to their fathers in Egypt, in the wilderness, and in the promised land. Can it be supposed, by any person seriously considering the context, that these words are spoken of God’s decree of election in behalf of the Jews? Those who make it such, act most injudiciously on their own principle; for, how few of the Jews have ever given evidence that they were the children of God, from their restoration from Babylon to the present day! The words refer simply to their state as a people, most wondrously preserved by the providence and mercy of God, as a standing proof of the Divine authority of the Scriptures, and as an evidence of God’s displeasure against sin.

Therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.] “Therefore have I lengthened out mercy to thee.”—Blayney.

C’est pourquoi je t’ai conserve ma grace.—

Dahler.

“Therefore I have preserved my grace to thee.”

The exiles, who had not for a long time received any proofs of the Divine protection, are represented as deploring their state; but God answers, that though this may seem to be the case, he has always loved them; and this continued love he will show by bringing them out of their captivity. However creeds may fare, this is the sense of the passage; all the context proves this.

Verses 3, 4. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me — The prophet here personifies the Jewish nation, the people spoken of in the foregoing verse, who are introduced as calling to mind how God, in times of old, had manifested himself to the fathers of their nation, and appeared for their deliverance. Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love — These are evidently the words of God addressed to Zion or Jerusalem. As if he had said, The mercies I promised you, as a nation, when I made a covenant with your fathers, shall never fail. My love was not a temporary love, manifested merely to a single generation, but it is an everlasting love, and will continue through all generations. Therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee — I have shown my benignity toward you, by taking all opportunities of doing you good, and preventing you, by acts of grace and goodness, to draw you to myself, as your God, from all the idols to which you had turned aside. I have ever dealt graciously with them who fear me, and who hope in my mercy, and will always continue so to do. Again I will build thee, O virgin of Israel — “Thy inhabitants shall be again restored to thee, who shall rebuild their cities and habitations that lay desolate during the time of their captivity.” Perhaps the Jews have the title of virgin of Israel bestowed upon them to imply that, in consequence of their repentance and reformation, “they should be washed from the stains of their former idolatries, so often compared to whoredom in the Scriptures.” — Lowth. Thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets — “All the signs, both of religions and civil joy, shall be restored to thee.” That it was usual for the women of Israel to go forth with tabrets and dancing in times of public rejoicing and prosperity, see Exodus 15:20; Judges 11:34; 1 Samuel 18:16. These times were now to be renewed.

Ver. 3. I have loved thee with a perpetual love. So Montanus, Pagninus, and the Munster bible read. This reading is also fully admitted by our Poole. See his Synopsis. Dilectione perpeta dilexi te. This is God’s grand promise of strong consolation to the church in her time of long captivity and trouble. Messiah is the speaker here, who appeared of old for the salvation of his people, and who will appear again. He has loved them even as the Father loved him.

3. Of old — Better, as the margin, from afar; in allusion to the sense of distance from God which would be wrought by their material separation from that sanctuary which they had always regarded as the chosen seat and special abode of Israel’s God. With lovingkindness have I drawn — The marginal reading on this verse is also to be preferred: I have extended, that is, continued, lovingkindness unto thee.

Verse 4. O virgin of Israel] Israelites in general; now called virgin, because restored to their ancient purity.

With thy tabrets] Women in general played on these; they were used in times of rejoicing, and accompanied with dancing. To these customs, still preserved, the prophet alludes.

Verses 3, 4. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me — The prophet here personifies the Jewish nation, the people spoken of in the foregoing verse, who are introduced as calling to mind how God, in times of old, had manifested himself to the fathers of their nation, and appeared for their deliverance. Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love — These are evidently the words of God addressed to Zion or Jerusalem. As if he had said, The mercies I promised you, as a nation, when I made a covenant with your fathers, shall never fail. My love was not a temporary love, manifested merely to a single generation, but it is an everlasting love, and will continue through all generations. Therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee — I have shown my benignity toward you, by taking all opportunities of doing you good, and preventing you, by acts of grace and goodness, to draw you to myself, as your God, from all the idols to which you had turned aside. I have ever dealt graciously with them who fear me, and who hope in my mercy, and will always continue so to do. Again I will build thee, O virgin of Israel — “Thy inhabitants shall be again restored to thee, who shall rebuild their cities and habitations that lay desolate during the time of their captivity.” Perhaps the Jews have the title of virgin of Israel bestowed upon them to imply that, in consequence of their repentance and reformation, “they should be washed from the stains of their former idolatries, so often compared to whoredom in the Scriptures.” — Lowth. Thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets — “All the signs, both of religions and civil joy, shall be restored to thee.” That it was usual for the women of Israel to go forth with tabrets and dancing in times of public rejoicing and prosperity, see Exodus 15:20; Judges 11:34; 1 Samuel 18:16. These times were now to be renewed.

4. Virgin — See on Jeremiah 14:17. Tabrets — Better, as in the margin, timbrels; a certain drum-like musical instrument, carried or worn especially by women in times of rejoicing. See Judges 11:34; 1 Samuel 18:6; Job 21:12; Isaiah 30:32.

V. 5. Samaria-Samaria was the metropolis of the ten tribes. Mountains are convenient for vineyards, being free from shades and exposed to the sun. Shall plant-God promises them a liberty to plant, and that they should enjoy their plantations, eating them as common things, which they could not do ‘till the fifth year.

Verse 5. Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria] This was the regal city of the Israelites, as Jerusalem was of the Jews. Shall eat them as common things.] By the law of Moses no man was permitted to eat of the fruit of his vineyard till the fifth year after planting. For the first three years it was considered uncircumcised, unclean, not fit to be eaten; in the fourth year it was holy to the Lord, the fruit belonged to Him; in the fifth year he might use it for himself, Leviticus 19:23-25. But in the time here mentioned the fruit should be considered common-lawful at all times to be eaten.

Verse 5. Thou shalt yet plant vines — Building and planting are commonly joined together; upon the mountains of Samaria — Samaria, being the metropolis of the ten tribes, seems to be put for the kingdom of Israel, as it is distinct from that of Judah. According to which interpretation the mountains of Samaria are equivalent to the mountains of Israel, and therefore the words imply, that the deliverance here spoken of should extend to Israel as well as Judah. The planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things — After they have planted them they shall eat the fruits thereof, according to the promise contained in the parallel texts, (Isaiah 65:21; Amos 9:14,) whereas, God had threatened as a curse, that, in case of their disobedience, when they had planted their vines, another should eat the fruit, Deuteronomy 28:30. The verb wllj, translated, eat them as common things, alludes to the law that forbade the fruit of any young trees to be eaten till the fifth year of their bearing. For the first three years they were to be considered as in a state of uncircumcision or uncleanness. In the fourth year the fruit was holy to the Lord. But after that time it became free for the owner’s use, Leviticus 19:23-25. See also Deuteronomy 20:6; and 28:30; where the same verb is used for eating of the fruit of a plantation without restraint. Here, therefore, a promise is given directly opposite to the above-mentioned threat, namely, That the persons who planted the vineyards on the hills of Samaria should not be compelled to give up the fruit of their labours to others, but should themselves remain in the land, and enjoy the produce of their plantations unmolested.

Ver. 5. Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria, once polluted with the high places of Baal. The vine, like the bramble, delights in rich but rocky soil. Words of comfort, and comfort for the latter day.

5. Mountains of Samaria — Mentioned as the capital and sanctuary of the ten tribes. For many generations they had been exiled from this abode of their strength and pride; but now the promise is, that they shall eat their grapes there as common things; margin, shall profane them. For the first three years after planting the vines the Jews were forbidden to pluck the grapes, and the fruit of the fourth year was to be consecrated to the Lord, (see Leviticus 19:23-25; Deuteronomy 20:6,) so that not until the fifth year could the fruits be eaten as “common things.” This vividly suggests permanence of abode.

V. 6. Arise-This was fulfilled under the gospel; for both Galilee and Samaria received the gospel.

Verse 6. For there shall be a day] Literally, for this is the day, or the day is come. The watchmen—the prophets.

Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion] Let both Israelites and Jews join together in the worship of the Lord.

Verses 6, 7. For there shall be a day, that the watchmen shall cry — By the watchmen are meant God’s prophets, or the ministers of his word, giving notice of his dispensations, and calling upon men to act suitably under them. The first reference may be to the leaders and teachers of the Jews, returning from Babylon, or to the general summons throughout all the ten tribes, for which Ephraim is put, to repair to Jerusalem, and join themselves to the true church, from which they had been so long separated; but, doubtless, in the full completion of the prophecy, by watchmen the preachers of the gospel are to be understood. The phrase, crying upon mount Ephraim, alludes to the custom of persons that had to publish any proclamation ascending to the top of some high hill, from whence their voice might be heard a great way off. See Judges 9:7; 2 Chronicles 13:4; Isaiah 40:9. The phrase, Arise ye, let us go up to Zion, &c, alludes to the Jewish custom of going in companies to Jerusalem at their three annual festivals. For thus saith the Lord, Sing with gladness, &c. — When ye see some dawning of these blessed times, express your joy for the restoration of Jacob’s posterity in the most public manner that can be; and shout among the chief of the nations — Namely, among the most potent nations from whence you are to be gathered. Or, persons belonging to the chief nations of the earth are here called upon to congratulate the Israelites on their restoration to their own land, and their conversion to the church of God, as Moses predicted, Deuteronomy 32:43, and the apostle exhorts, Romans 15:10, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people; for when the promises made to the fathers are accomplished, the Gentiles shall glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause will I confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name, Romans 15:8. Publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people — Publish these good tidings with the highest expressions of praise and glory to God; and likewise pray that he, who hath begun so glorious a work, would proceed and complete it.

Ver. 6. Arise ye and let us go up to Zion, unto the Lord our God. The targum reads, “Arise, you who desire the years of consolation,” that is, the coming of Christ and his kingdom, as foretold by the prophets. Isaiah 11. Mic. 4. Whenever Jeremiah refers to this hope, he is brief and delicate in his words. But the hope of Israel, their Saviour in the time of trouble, was like the rising sun, ever kept before the faithful in the ancient church.

6. Watchmen — That is, for the new moon, as marking the beginning of the religious festival. Mount Ephraim is mentioned as another representative section of the territory of the ten tribes. That the cry should be heard here. Let us go up to Zion, betokens a restored unity.

Verse 7. The chief of the nations] The same as Jacob or Israel; for most certainly this people was once the most honourable on the face of the earth.

O Lord, save thy people] Let the Jews earnestly intercede in behalf of their Israelitish brethren; or let them rejoice and praise the Lord, who hath saved the remnant of Israel. So Dr. Blayney thinks the clause should be understood.

Verses 6, 7. For there shall be a day, that the watchmen shall cry — By the watchmen are meant God’s prophets, or the ministers of his word, giving notice of his dispensations, and calling upon men to act suitably under them. The first reference may be to the leaders and teachers of the Jews, returning from Babylon, or to the general summons throughout all the ten tribes, for which Ephraim is put, to repair to Jerusalem, and join themselves to the true church, from which they had been so long separated; but, doubtless, in the full completion of the prophecy, by watchmen the preachers of the gospel are to be understood. The phrase, crying upon mount Ephraim, alludes to the custom of persons that had to publish any proclamation ascending to the top of some high hill, from whence their voice might be heard a great way off. See Judges 9:7; 2 Chronicles 13:4; Isaiah 40:9. The phrase, Arise ye, let us go up to Zion, &c, alludes to the Jewish custom of going in companies to Jerusalem at their three annual festivals. For thus saith the Lord, Sing with gladness, &c. — When ye see some dawning of these blessed times, express your joy for the restoration of Jacob’s posterity in the most public manner that can be; and shout among the chief of the nations — Namely, among the most potent nations from whence you are to be gathered. Or, persons belonging to the chief nations of the earth are here called upon to congratulate the Israelites on their restoration to their own land, and their conversion to the church of God, as Moses predicted, Deuteronomy 32:43, and the apostle exhorts, Romans 15:10, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people; for when the promises made to the fathers are accomplished, the Gentiles shall glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause will I confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name, Romans 15:8. Publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people — Publish these good tidings with the highest expressions of praise and glory to God; and likewise pray that he, who hath begun so glorious a work, would proceed and complete it.

7. Sing… shout… praise — In the next three verses we have a bright and joyous picture of the return of the people. As if in response to the cry of the watchman, the prophet calls for the voice of singing and gladness, for praise and the proclamation of deliverance. The whole passage is one of those vivid emotional passages in which this book so much abounds.

Verse 8. I will bring them from the north country] From Babylon. From the coasts of the earth] The ten tribes were carried away partly into Assyria by Tiglath-pileser, and partly into Mesopotamia and Media by Shalmaneser, 2 Kings 15:29; 17:6. Assyria and Media, being very distant from Palestine, might have been called, in prophetic language, the coasts of the earth.

The blind and the lame] I will so effectually remove all difficulties out of the way, so provide for them on the journey, so supernaturally support their bodies and minds, that the veriest invalids shall safely proceed to, and happily arrive at, the end of their journey.

Verses 8, 9. Behold, I will bring them from the north country — Here God himself undertakes to conduct home the remnant of his people from the countries through which they had been scattered; and the promise relates to the ten tribes, as well as to those of Judah and Benjamin; for Assyria and Media, whither they were removed, lay north of Judea as well as Babylon. And the following words speak of a general restoration of this people from their several dispersions; and with them the blind and the lame, &c. — God will compassionate their infirmities, and will conduct them with all imaginable care and tenderness, and furnish the feeble and indigent of them with suitable accommodations. The prophet alludes to the care and compassion which God manifested in conducting his people, of all ages and conditions, through the wilderness, compared to the care with which a parent or nurse carries a tender child, Deuteronomy 1:31. See also Isaiah 40:11, and 49:10. They shall come with weeping — The LXX. translate the words, En klauqmw exhlqon, kai en paraklhsei anaxw autouv, they went forth with weeping, but with comfort will I bring them back; which sense agrees exactly with the words of Psalm 136:5, 6, which was composed upon occasion of the return from captivity, He that sows in tears shall reap in joy: he that goeth forth weeping, shall come again with rejoicing. Our translation, however, is much more agreeable to the original words, and is also confirmed by Jeremiah 3:21, where we read, A voice was heard, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel; the prophet speaking upon the same subject, and in the same words here used. See also chap. 50:4, where it is said, The children of Israel and Judah shall come together, going and weeping, and seek the Lord their God. All which words imply, that the Jews and Israelites, at the time of their general restoration, shall have their joy tempered with tears of repentance for their former miscarriages; which is more fully expressed Zechariah 12:10, where God promises to pour upon them the spirit of grace and supplication. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters — So that they shall not be afflicted with thirst, or the want of any accommodation in their journey. The words allude to God’s miraculously supplying the Israelites with water in the wilderness. See notes on Isaiah 35:6, 7, and 41:17, 18, and 49:10. In a straight way wherein they shall not stumble — This phrase is an allusion to God’s leading the Israelites through the Red sea, and afterward in the wilderness. See Isaiah 63:13, and 42:16. For I am a father to Israel — The remembrance of former connections is here mentioned as the motive of God’s returning favour to Israel. And Ephraim is my firstborn — Ephraim is often, as here, equivalent to Israel, especially when Israel denotes the ten tribes as distinct from Judah. He is termed the firstborn among the tribes of Israel; because the birthright which Reuben had forfeited was conferred upon the two sons of Joseph, of whom Ephraim had the precedence. “The reader will observe, that all this was but imperfectly verified in the return of the Jews from Babylon, but was fully made good in those who were made partakers of the gospel of Christ, in the miracles, in the preaching of the apostles, in the free grace and pardoning mercy of the Redeemer.”

8. The blind and the lame, the woman with child, etc. — Are mentioned as illustrating the completeness of the deliverance. Thither, should be hither.

V. 9. With weeping-Some think that it had been better translated, they went weeping; for though the verb be the future tense in the Hebrew, yet that tense has often the signification of the preterperfect tense, thus it answereth, Psalm 126:5,6. He that goeth forth weeping, bearing precious seed, shalt doubtless come again rejoicing. There is a weeping for joy, as well as for sorrow, and thus the text corresponds with that, Zechariah 12:10. I will pour upon them the spirit of grace and supplications, and they shall look upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn. By rivers-And they shall have no want as they had when they came out of Egypt, through the wilderness, where they often wanted water.

Verse 9. They shall come with weeping] Duly penetrated with a sense of their sins, they shall deeply deplore them; and, while weeping for them, earnestly supplicate God to have mercy upon them.

By the rivers of waters] I will so guide and provide for them in the arid deserts, that they shall find streams of water whenever necessary. Every one knows of how much consequence water is to travellers in the eastern deserts.

Ephraim is my first-born.] Ephraim, being the most considerable, is often put for the whole of the ten tribes.

Verses 8, 9. Behold, I will bring them from the north country — Here God himself undertakes to conduct home the remnant of his people from the countries through which they had been scattered; and the promise relates to the ten tribes, as well as to those of Judah and Benjamin; for Assyria and Media, whither they were removed, lay north of Judea as well as Babylon. And the following words speak of a general restoration of this people from their several dispersions; and with them the blind and the lame, &c. — God will compassionate their infirmities, and will conduct them with all imaginable care and tenderness, and furnish the feeble and indigent of them with suitable accommodations. The prophet alludes to the care and compassion which God manifested in conducting his people, of all ages and conditions, through the wilderness, compared to the care with which a parent or nurse carries a tender child, Deuteronomy 1:31. See also Isaiah 40:11, and 49:10. They shall come with weeping — The LXX. translate the words, En klauqmw exhlqon, kai en paraklhsei anaxw autouv, they went forth with weeping, but with comfort will I bring them back; which sense agrees exactly with the words of Psalm 136:5, 6, which was composed upon occasion of the return from captivity, He that sows in tears shall reap in joy: he that goeth forth weeping, shall come again with rejoicing. Our translation, however, is much more agreeable to the original words, and is also confirmed by Jeremiah 3:21, where we read, A voice was heard, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel; the prophet speaking upon the same subject, and in the same words here used. See also chap. 50:4, where it is said, The children of Israel and Judah shall come together, going and weeping, and seek the Lord their God. All which words imply, that the Jews and Israelites, at the time of their general restoration, shall have their joy tempered with tears of repentance for their former miscarriages; which is more fully expressed Zechariah 12:10, where God promises to pour upon them the spirit of grace and supplication. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters — So that they shall not be afflicted with thirst, or the want of any accommodation in their journey. The words allude to God’s miraculously supplying the Israelites with water in the wilderness. See notes on Isaiah 35:6, 7, and 41:17, 18, and 49:10. In a straight way wherein they shall not stumble — This phrase is an allusion to God’s leading the Israelites through the Red sea, and afterward in the wilderness. See Isaiah 63:13, and 42:16. For I am a father to Israel — The remembrance of former connections is here mentioned as the motive of God’s returning favour to Israel. And Ephraim is my firstborn — Ephraim is often, as here, equivalent to Israel, especially when Israel denotes the ten tribes as distinct from Judah. He is termed the firstborn among the tribes of Israel; because the birthright which Reuben had forfeited was conferred upon the two sons of Joseph, of whom Ephraim had the precedence. “The reader will observe, that all this was but imperfectly verified in the return of the Jews from Babylon, but was fully made good in those who were made partakers of the gospel of Christ, in the miracles, in the preaching of the apostles, in the free grace and pardoning mercy of the Redeemer.”

9. Weeping — For joy, indeed, in view of God’s wonderful goodness in permitting their return; and yet this weeping suggests the dark background of their great sin and sorrow. The rivers of waters represent God’s gracious supply of their need in this desert land. Ephraim is my first-born — The family of Joseph, as we are told in 1 Chronicles 5:2, was selected for the honour of primogeniture. They were among those who went first into captivity, and are compensated by this distinction in the return. But no disparagement of Judah is intended.

Verses 10, 11. Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, &c. — This apostrophe, or turning to the heathen nations, was, as it were, the prelude of calling them to the knowledge of the true God. This calling of them was certainly never effected by the Jews in the way and to the degree it was by the apostles of Christ and their disciples, who gained thousands more to Christianity than ever the Jews did to Judaism. Here the prophet calls upon the Gentiles, not the Jews, to hear the word of the Lord, and to proclaim or make it known; and the event has proved that he did not do this but by the direction of the Divine Spirit, since the Gentiles were far more ready to hear and obey the word of God by Christ, and to receive his divine doctrine, and propagate it, than the Jews were. Declare it in the isles afar off — The Jews, as we have repeatedly seen, called all the countries islands to which they went by sea. He that scattered Israel, &c. — He that caused Israel to be carried away captive into various countries, and dispersed them over the face of the earth, will gather them into one body or people, Isaiah 11:12; 27:12; 54:7. And keep him as a shepherd does his flock — As God’s care over his people is often compared to that of a shepherd, so the office of the Messiah is described under the same character, Isaiah 40:11, and particularly with respect to the Jews, after their conversion and restoration. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, &c., from him that was stronger than he — From those who by subtlety and power conquered him, and detained him captive; an emblem of that redemption which Christ obtains for us by vanquishing the devil, called the strong one, Matthew 12:29.

10. Isles — Rather, coast-lands. God will give his people victory and deliverance, not only in the eyes of the nations immediately about them, but even the distant dwellers on the coast-lands of the Mediterranean shall in this hear the word of the Lord.

V. 11. Hath redeemed-God will as certainly do it, as if he had already done it. In their deliverance as well from Babylon as Egypt, they were types of the deliverance of God’s people, by Christ; as well as in their entering into Canaan, they were types of the saints, entering into heaven.

Verses 10, 11. Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, &c. — This apostrophe, or turning to the heathen nations, was, as it were, the prelude of calling them to the knowledge of the true God. This calling of them was certainly never effected by the Jews in the way and to the degree it was by the apostles of Christ and their disciples, who gained thousands more to Christianity than ever the Jews did to Judaism. Here the prophet calls upon the Gentiles, not the Jews, to hear the word of the Lord, and to proclaim or make it known; and the event has proved that he did not do this but by the direction of the Divine Spirit, since the Gentiles were far more ready to hear and obey the word of God by Christ, and to receive his divine doctrine, and propagate it, than the Jews were. Declare it in the isles afar off — The Jews, as we have repeatedly seen, called all the countries islands to which they went by sea. He that scattered Israel, &c. — He that caused Israel to be carried away captive into various countries, and dispersed them over the face of the earth, will gather them into one body or people, Isaiah 11:12; 27:12; 54:7. And keep him as a shepherd does his flock — As God’s care over his people is often compared to that of a shepherd, so the office of the Messiah is described under the same character, Isaiah 40:11, and particularly with respect to the Jews, after their conversion and restoration. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, &c., from him that was stronger than he — From those who by subtlety and power conquered him, and detained him captive; an emblem of that redemption which Christ obtains for us by vanquishing the devil, called the strong one, Matthew 12:29.

11. Stronger than he — But not stronger than God.

V. 12. And sing-All the phrases in this verse signify one thing, the happy state of the Jews, after their return from captivity. The height of Zion means the temple. A watered garden-They shall be a beautiful, flourishing, and growing people. Soul seems here to be taken for the whole man. Not sorrow-In that manner they have been. But under these expressions is also promised the spiritual joy which the true Israel of God will have under the gospel, and the eternal joy they shall have in heaven.

Verse 12. And shall flow together] Perhaps this may refer to their assembling at the three great national feasts, the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles.

Their soul shall be as a watered garden] Full of the light, life, and power of God; so that they shall rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in every thing.

Verses 12-14. They shall sing in the height of Zion — By the height of Zion is meant the temple, built upon a hill adjoining to mount Zion, and it is here to be taken metaphorically, as it frequently is in the writings of the prophets, for the church, which is compared, by Christ, to a city set on a hill, as being remarkable for the excellence of its laws and institutions, and the piety and virtue of its genuine members. And shall flow to the goodness of the Lord, &c. — Spiritual blessings are here, as elsewhere, described under the emblems of fruitfulness and plenty. And their soul shall be as a watered garden — Refreshed and fertilized by the truth and grace of God. And they shall not sorrow any more at all — Hebrew, dw[ hbadl wpyswy alw, They shall not add, or, continue, yet to grieve. The LXX. render it, ou peinasousin eti, They shall not hunger any more; and so the Vulgate. Then shall the virgin rejoice, &c., both young men and old — There shall be signs of a universal joy, in which all ages shall unanimously join. The expressions in the next verse allude to that plentiful provision that was made for the temporal support of the priests under the law, which is here put metaphorically for that plenitude of blessings which are to be enjoyed under the gospel.

12. Their soul shall be as a watered garden, in which shall bebeauty, delight, and abundant supply: an inner paradise.

Verses 12-14. They shall sing in the height of Zion — By the height of Zion is meant the temple, built upon a hill adjoining to mount Zion, and it is here to be taken metaphorically, as it frequently is in the writings of the prophets, for the church, which is compared, by Christ, to a city set on a hill, as being remarkable for the excellence of its laws and institutions, and the piety and virtue of its genuine members. And shall flow to the goodness of the Lord, &c. — Spiritual blessings are here, as elsewhere, described under the emblems of fruitfulness and plenty. And their soul shall be as a watered garden — Refreshed and fertilized by the truth and grace of God. And they shall not sorrow any more at all — Hebrew, dw[ hbadl wpyswy alw, They shall not add, or, continue, yet to grieve. The LXX. render it, ou peinasousin eti, They shall not hunger any more; and so the Vulgate. Then shall the virgin rejoice, &c., both young men and old — There shall be signs of a universal joy, in which all ages shall unanimously join. The expressions in the next verse allude to that plentiful provision that was made for the temporal support of the priests under the law, which is here put metaphorically for that plenitude of blessings which are to be enjoyed under the gospel.

13. Young men and old shall rejoice together — See Zechariah 8:4, 5.

Verse 14. And I will satiate the soul of the priests] The worship of God being restored, they shall have their proper share of the victims brought to the temple.

Verses 12-14. They shall sing in the height of Zion — By the height of Zion is meant the temple, built upon a hill adjoining to mount Zion, and it is here to be taken metaphorically, as it frequently is in the writings of the prophets, for the church, which is compared, by Christ, to a city set on a hill, as being remarkable for the excellence of its laws and institutions, and the piety and virtue of its genuine members. And shall flow to the goodness of the Lord, &c. — Spiritual blessings are here, as elsewhere, described under the emblems of fruitfulness and plenty. And their soul shall be as a watered garden — Refreshed and fertilized by the truth and grace of God. And they shall not sorrow any more at all — Hebrew, dw[ hbadl wpyswy alw, They shall not add, or, continue, yet to grieve. The LXX. render it, ou peinasousin eti, They shall not hunger any more; and so the Vulgate. Then shall the virgin rejoice, &c., both young men and old — There shall be signs of a universal joy, in which all ages shall unanimously join. The expressions in the next verse allude to that plentiful provision that was made for the temporal support of the priests under the law, which is here put metaphorically for that plenitude of blessings which are to be enjoyed under the gospel.

Ver. 14. I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness. When a nation or people are favoured with prosperity, they should be liberal to their pastors, in proportion as God has been bountiful to them.

14. Satiate — Abundantly satisfy — an image of prosperity. The offerings shall be so numerous that the priests shall scarcely consume the portions which fall to them.

V. 15. In Ramah-That is, in Canaan, and particularly in Ramah, where Nebuzar-adan, Jeremiah 40:1, disposed of the prisoners he had taken, setting some at liberty, ordering others to death, and carrying the rest away to Babylon, which caused a bitter weeping and lamentation. Rachel-Rachel is here brought in, having been buried near that place, as if she were risen up from the grave, and lamented the Jewish nation which came out of her loins (for so Benjamin did, which was one of the two tribes that made the kingdom of Judah.) Were not-Because her children either were not absolutely, being slain by the pestilence, the famine, and the sword of the king of Babylon, or were no longer her children, being transplanted into Babylon. And there was a lamentation like this, when Herod caused the infants of two years old to be slain in Bethlehem, and in the coasts round about Bethlehem, of which Ramah was one.

Verse 15. A voice was heard in Ramah] The Ramah mentioned here, (for there were several towns of this name,) was situated in the tribe of Benjamin, about six or seven miles from Jerusalem. Near this place Rachel was buried; who is here, in a beautiful figure of poetry, represented as coming out of her grave, and lamenting bitterly for the loss of her children, none of whom presented themselves to her view, all being slain or gone into exile. St. Matthew, who is ever fond of accommodation, applies these words, Matthew 2:17, 18, to the massacre of the children at Bethlehem. That is, they were suitable to that occasion, and therefore he so applied them; but they are not a prediction of that event.

Verses 15-17. Thus saith the Lord; A voice, &c. — Here “the scene of this prophecy changes, and two new personages are successively introduced, in order to diversify the subject, and to impress it more strongly on the mind of the reader. The first is Rachel, who in these verses is represented as just rising from the grave, and bitterly bewailing the loss of her children, for whom she looks about in vain, but none are to be seen. Her tears are dried up, and she is consoled with the assurance that they are not lost for ever, but shall in time be brought back to their ancient borders.” The passage is strongly figurative, but not difficult of interpretation, as the reader will perceive by what follows: A voice was heard in Ramah — Ramah was a city of Benjamin, (see Judges 19:13,) near which Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, was buried. She is here, in a beautiful figure of poetry, represented as come forth out of her grave, and, as chief mourner on so sad an occasion, lamenting bitterly for the loss of her children, none of whom presented themselves to her view, being all either slain or gone into exile. In this way the prophet sets forth the lamentations, in and about Jerusalem, at the time of the several captivities mentioned Jeremiah 52:15, 28-30. The evangelist indeed applies these words to Herod’s massacre of the infants at Bethlehem and its environs, Matthew 2:17,

Ver. 15. Rachel weeping for her children. This tenderest of mothers was interred between Ramah and Bethlehem. Now, after the city was taken, Jeremiah was carried with the Jews, in chains to the camp at Ramah, and liberated by Nebuzaradan: chap. 40. Hence there was a bitter weeping by the Benjamites; and Rachel, who died in giving Benjamin birth, is by a fine figure of speech brought up from her grave to weep for her children, and to move heaven by tears to give the subsequent promises of grace. But there were other occasions of weeping for Rachel; namely, when Herod slew the infants at Bethlehem, when Titus took Jerusalem, and when Adrian utterly made it a ruin.

15. A voice was heard — This strophe (15-22) brings to view another side of Israel’s restoration. It was to be not merely political and external, but internal and spiritual. This is set forth in a passage of peculiar tenderness. Rachel, their common mother, is represented as lamenting the loss of her children who have gone into exile; and Ephraim, of these very children, bemoans his sins. In view of these the promise is given from the Almighty that they should come again from the land of the enemy. Ramah — Probably, as even the Seventy understood, the town of Ramah, which was situated about five English miles to the north of Jerusalem. Why was the lamentation of Rachel heard at Ramah? 1) Most say, because Rachel was buried there, and 1 Samuel 10:2, is quoted in proof of this. But this passage is manifestly inconclusive; for not Ramah, but “Zelzar, in the border of Benjamin,” is mentioned as the locality of Rachel’s sepulchre, and the assumption that this was at Samuel’s native home, and hence Ramah, is most gratuitous. From Genesis 35:16, 19, we learn that Rachel died “on the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem,” and that “there was but a little way to come to Bethlehem,” hence very plainly her tomb was near Bethlehem, which is six miles south of Jerusalem, and not Ramah, nearly as far north. This, too, falls in well with Matthew 2:18. 2) Others say that Ramah is mentioned because here the exiles were assembled preparatory to being carried away. (See Jeremiah 40:1.) But this is weeping, not over those who are to go into captivity, but those who have already gone. Yet the fact that this was the place of rendezvous gives, it must be confessed, special interest to the language. 3) Some have conjectured another Ramah, which was situated to the south of Jerusalem, and so at or near Rachel’s tomb. This conjecture is entirely unsupported, and yet not impossible. The name Ramah (height) is certainly one that would apply to many localities. But the fact of no other Ramah in this general region, which is well identified, stands strongly, if not conclusively, against this conjecture. 4) Others, as Keil, say that the lamentation was heard in Ramah “as the most loftily situated border town of the two kingdoms, whence the wailing that had arisen sounded far and near, and could be heard in Judah.” Rachel is named as the representative of that parental love shown by Israel in the pain felt when the people were lost. This explanation is, on the whole, to be preferred. We ought not, however, to leave out of account the fact, that this height was situated near Jerusalem, and so a voice in Ramah would be heard in the city and country alike.

Verse 16. They shall come again from the land of the enemy.] This could not be said of the murdered innocents at Bethlehem; they never came again; but the Jews, who had gone into captivity, did come again from the land of their enemy to their own border.

Verses 15-17. Thus saith the Lord; A voice, &c. — Here “the scene of this prophecy changes, and two new personages are successively introduced, in order to diversify the subject, and to impress it more strongly on the mind of the reader. The first is Rachel, who in these verses is represented as just rising from the grave, and bitterly bewailing the loss of her children, for whom she looks about in vain, but none are to be seen. Her tears are dried up, and she is consoled with the assurance that they are not lost for ever, but shall in time be brought back to their ancient borders.” The passage is strongly figurative, but not difficult of interpretation, as the reader will perceive by what follows: A voice was heard in Ramah — Ramah was a city of Benjamin, (see Judges 19:13,) near which Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, was buried. She is here, in a beautiful figure of poetry, represented as come forth out of her grave, and, as chief mourner on so sad an occasion, lamenting bitterly for the loss of her children, none of whom presented themselves to her view, being all either slain or gone into exile. In this way the prophet sets forth the lamentations, in and about Jerusalem, at the time of the several captivities mentioned Jeremiah 52:15, 28-30. The evangelist indeed applies these words to Herod’s massacre of the infants at Bethlehem and its environs, Matthew 2:17,

16. Thy work shall be rewarded — Literally, there is a reward for thy work. Rachel weeps for the loss of her children; hence the reward spoken of must be their restoration.

Verses 15-17. Thus saith the Lord; A voice, &c. — Here “the scene of this prophecy changes, and two new personages are successively introduced, in order to diversify the subject, and to impress it more strongly on the mind of the reader. The first is Rachel, who in these verses is represented as just rising from the grave, and bitterly bewailing the loss of her children, for whom she looks about in vain, but none are to be seen. Her tears are dried up, and she is consoled with the assurance that they are not lost for ever, but shall in time be brought back to their ancient borders.” The passage is strongly figurative, but not difficult of interpretation, as the reader will perceive by what follows: A voice was heard in Ramah — Ramah was a city of Benjamin, (see Judges 19:13,) near which Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, was buried. She is here, in a beautiful figure of poetry, represented as come forth out of her grave, and, as chief mourner on so sad an occasion, lamenting bitterly for the loss of her children, none of whom presented themselves to her view, being all either slain or gone into exile. In this way the prophet sets forth the lamentations, in and about Jerusalem, at the time of the several captivities mentioned Jeremiah 52:15, 28-30. The evangelist indeed applies these words to Herod’s massacre of the infants at Bethlehem and its environs, Matthew 2:17,

RESTORATION FOR ALL THE FAMILIES OF ISRAEL, 1-40.

1. At the same time — Namely, in the “latter days” of Jeremiah 30:24, when God’s anger shall light on his enemies. Then shall men be made to “discern between the righteous and the wicked; between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” Malachi 3:18. Will I be the God, etc. — An all-comprehending promise, carrying in its bosom all possible good — safety, success, victory, glory. And this he will be, not to Judah alone, and not to select and fortunate individuals and families, but to all the families of Israel.

V. 18. I have heard-The prophet here shews the change that would be wrought in the hearts of the Israelites preceding this return from their captivity. As a bullock-Which ordinarily are very unruly when they are first put into it.

Verse 18. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself] The exiled Israelites are in a state of deep repentance.

Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised] I was at first like an unbroken and untoward steer, the more I was chastised the more I rebelled; but now I have benefited by thy correction. Turn thou me] I am now willing to take thy yoke upon me, but I have no power. I can only will and pray. Take the matter into thy own hand, and fully convert my soul.

18. But the context here plainly shows, that this massacre could not have been the direct and immediate object of the prophecy, (see the following note,) but the prophet’s words so well suited the occasion that the evangelist, with great propriety, observes their congruity therewith. He must however be understood just as if he had said, The circumstances of this affair were such that the words of Jeremiah, though spoken with a different view, may well be accommodated to this event. And this is as much as can be allowed with respect to several passages of the New Testament, where the words of the Old Testament were said to be fulfilled. See Matthew 2:16; Acts 1:16-20, &c.; and Blaney. It is observable, that the Vulgate and Chaldee understand the word, hmr, ramah, not as a proper name, but as an appellative, and translate it, in excelso, on high, or, aloud; according to which the sense will be, A voice is heard on high, or aloud, lamentations, weepings; of Rachel bewailing her children, and refusing to be comforted concerning them, because they are not. Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears — Set bounds to thy sorrow, repress and moderate thy inordinate and excessive grief; for thy work shall be rewarded — That is, it will appear thou hast not brought forth children in vain, nor shalt thou be deprived of the satisfaction of seeing the welfare of thy children, which is the parent’s reward for her pain in bringing them into the world, and her care and attention in providing for their support and education; for they shall come again from the land of the enemy. Thus the text interprets itself. But if the massacre at Bethlehem had been primarily designed here, with what propriety could it have been said, how could it have been affirmed, that they should return fromthe land of the enemy, or, as in the next verse, should come again to their own border? The words Ëtyrjal hwqt vy, rendered here, There is hope in thine end, may be translated, There is hope, or expectation, to thy posterity; that is, though these of the present age do not experience a return from captivity, yet their posterity shall enjoy that blessing. This promise was particularly fulfilled with respect to the tribe of Benjamin, as well as that of Judah, in their return under Cyrus. See Ezra 1:5. Verse 18. I have surely heard Ephraim, &c. — Here, still further to diversify the subject, and give it the greater force, the other personage referred to in the preceding note is introduced. Ephraim, representing the ten tribes, is brought forward, lamenting his past undutifulness with great contrition and penitence, and professing an earnest desire of amendment. And “these symptoms of returning duty are no sooner discerned in him than God acknowledges him once more as a darling child, and resolves to receive him with mercy.” The passage is intended to show the change necessary to be wrought in the hearts of the Israelites, in order to their obtaining this restoration from captivity, according to the conditional promises made of old to this people. See Leviticus 26:40, 41. Previously to his conferring this great benefit upon them, God must hear them bemoaning themselves, or bewailing their miserable state, and the sins which had brought them into it, acknowledging that the chastisements which they had suffered had not been more or greater than their sins had justly merited, and praying earnestly for mercy and deliverance. Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised — Or, instructed by thy discipline, as rswa maybe properly rendered. As a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke — Whereas before I was as an untamed bullock, or heifer, that is not to be managed but by stripes and corrections. Turn thou me, and I shall be turned — Do thou turn my heart by thy preventing and renewing grace, and then I shall be effectually reformed, Lamentations 5:21. “Sometimes the Scripture ascribes the whole work of man’s conversion to God, because his grace is the first and principal cause of it. But yet, to make it effectual, man’s concurrence is necessary, as appears particularly from Jeremiah 51:9, where God says, We would have healed Babylon, and she is not healed; that is, God did what was requisite on his part for her conversion, but she refused to comply with his call. To the same purpose he speaks to Jerusalem, (Ezekiel 24:13,) I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged.”

18. As a bullock unaccustomed — Literally, like an untamed calf. See Hosea 10:11.

V. 19. Surely-After God had changed our hearts, we repented. I smote-After God had instructed us, by his prophets, by our afflictions, and by his Holy Spirit, we smote upon our thighs in testimony of our sorrow. The reproach-The just punishment of the sins which I had long ago committed.

Verse 19. After that I was turned] Converted from my sin, folly, and idolatry.

I repented] To conviction of sin, I now added contrition for sin. Conviction, in this sense of the word, must precede contrition or repentance. As soon as a man sees himself lost and undone, he is convicted of sin; when convicted, he begins to mourn. Thus contrition follows conviction.

I smote upon my thigh] My sorrow grew deeper and deeper; I smote upon my thigh through the extremity of my distress. This was a usual sign of deep affliction. See Ezekiel 21:12. It was the same among the ancient Greeks. So Homer:—

Wv efat~, autar Arhv qalerw peplhgeto mhrw

Cersi kataprhness~, olofuromenov de proshuda.

IL. lib. xv. 113.

“She spake: and with expanded arms, his thighs

Smiting, thus sorrowful, the god exclaimed.”

COWPER.

--autar Acilleuv

Mhrw plhxamenov Patroklha proseeipen.

IL. lib. xvi. 124.

“Achilles saw it, smote his thigh, and said ——.”

COWPER.

I have often seen persons in deep grief act thus.

Verse 19. Surely after that I was turned, I repented — After I was enlightened and impressed with a due sense of my duty, and of the many deviations from it of which I had been guilty, and after my will was subjected to the will of God, I straightway became a true penitent, and expressed my repentance by all the outward and inward signs of an unfeigned sorrow for, and hatred to, my past conduct. And after that I was instructed — Respecting my sin and folly, in forsaking the fountain of living waters for the broken cisterns that could hold no water; I smote upon my thigh — Through the most poignant grief and concern, and with indignation against myself. I was ashamed, yea, even confounded — At my own stupidity and frowardness, and could neither with any confidence look up to God, nor with any comfort reflect upon myself; because I did bear the reproach of my youth — The burden of my former sins lay heavy upon my mind, and I became sensible that all the calamities and reproaches I had undergone were the due deserts of my offences. Ephraim smote upon his thigh, as the publican upon his breast. We find, both in the Holy Scriptures, and other ancient records, smiting on the thigh mentioned as an expression of great surprise and concern. Thus God commands Ezekiel to cry and howl, on account of the sword that should be upon his people, and to smite upon his thigh. We find the same custom noticed by Homer, Iliad

16. 50:124.

— — — — — — autar Acilleuv

Mhrw plhxamenov Patrolha prwseeipen,

Divine Achilles view’d the rising flames,

And smote his thigh, and thus aloud exclaims,

Arm, arm, Patroclus!

POPE.

It is also noticed by Xenophon, Cicero, and others. The meaning is, when Ephraim was made sensible of his sinfulness he showed marks of real contrition.

Ver. 19. After I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh. This action designates the sublime of grief, or the sublime of anger. In such cases the blow would be too severe on the breast. When Ephraim remembered the glory he once enjoyed, now followed with servitude and shame, his anguish was too great for words to utter. Also when Ezekiel saw the sword devouring Jerusalem, he was directed to “smite upon his thigh:” Ezekiel 21:12.

Homer, Iliad 15., ascribes this action to a god of martial race. “Both his thighs he smote with his strong hands. I must revenge my slaughtered son, at the ships of the Argives. I must revenge my son in death, should dreadful fate decree my fall. Should I, transfixed by Jove’s red bolt, lie blasted amidst the dead, and roll at large in dust and blood.”—Macpherson. This action is twice ascribed to Achilles. Once under imaginary wrongs, he smote his thigh and declared, if Greece in future should call for his aid, Greece should call in vain. Afterwards, being reconciled, when the Greeks had sustained a sore defeat, he smote on his thigh, and roused the chiefs to arms. Iliad 16.

19. After that I was turned — “Turned” is equivocal, and may mean either turning away from God or turning to him. Here it is the former.

V. 20. For since-From the time I spake against him by my threatenings, I remember him with the affection and compassion of a father.

Verse 20. Is Ephraim my dear son?] It is impossible to conceive any thing more tenderly affectionate than this. Let us consider the whole account. The ten tribes, called here Ephraim, for the reason before alleged, are represented as acknowledging their sins. I have heard Ephraim bemoaning himself; and in his lamentation he says, 1. Thou hast chastised me. 2. Though he at first rebelled against the chastisement, yet at last he submitted and acknowledged his offences. 3. He turned from all his offenses; he was converted. 4. After his conversion, (ybwv shubi,) he repented; after conviction came contrition, as before stated. 5. Being in a state of godly sorrow, he was instructed, הודעי hivvadei, he got a thorough knowledge of the desperate wickedness of his heart and life. 6. Having received this instruction, he was filled with excessive grief; which is signified here by smiting on his thigh. See above. 7. He finds that from his youth up he had been sinning against God; and although his youthful sins had long passed from his memory, yet the light of God brought them back, and he was ashamed and confounded at the sight of them. 8. In this state of confusion and distress God sees him; and, commiserating his state, thus speaks:—

1. Is Ephraim my dear son? Bad as he is in his own sight, and in the sight of my justice, he is now a penitent, and to me is precious. 2. However loathsome and disfigured he may be with sin and sorrow, he is to me a pleasant child-a child of delights; one in whose conversion I delight, and my angels rejoice. 3. I did speak against him: wb yrbd ydm yk ki middey dabberi bo, for “from the abundance of my speaking in him;” accusing, threatening, promising, exhorting, encouraging; “I do still earnestly remember him.” God has taken much pains with him, and is unwilling to give him up; but now that he repents, he has not received the grace of God utterly in vain. 4. God feels a yearning desire towards him; wl מעי המו hamu meai lo, “my bowels are agitated for him.” I feel nothing towards him but pity and love. When a sinner turns to God, God ceases to be angry with him. 5. God expresses his determination to save him; wnmjra רחם rachem arachamennu, “I will be affectionately merciful to him, with tender mercy, saith the Lord.” He shall find that I treat him as a father does a returning prodigal son. So every penitent is sure to find mercy at the hand of God.

Verse 20. Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he, &c. — These questions are designed to be answered in the affirmative, as appears from the inference, therefore my bowels are moved for him. It seems that, to suit the idiom of our language, and fully to express the sense of the original, the particle not ought to have been supplied, and the clause to have been read, Is not Ephraim my dear son? Is he not a pleasant child? That is, is he not one that I have set my affections on, as a parent does upon a child in whom he delights? Thus Dr. Waterland, Lowth, and many others interpret the words. Houbigant, however, defends the common reading, and thinks that God means to deny that Ephraim was his son, in order to show him that his bowels were moved toward him solely through free mercy, and not on account of any merits or deservings of his people. For since I spake against him — Or, of him, as the same phrase in the original is translated Jeremiah 48:27. I do earnestly remember him still — Ever since I have so severely reproved and chastised him, my thoughts toward him have been thoughts of peace. I have a fatherly kindness and affection for him. Therefore my bowels are troubled for him — Or, yearn over him, as Joseph’s bowels yearned toward his brethren, even when he spake roughly to them. Observe, reader, when God afflicts his people, yet he does not forget them; when he casts them out of their land, yet he does not cast them out of his sight, nor out of his mind. Even then, when God is speaking against us, yet he is acting for us, and designing our good in all; and this is our comfort in our affliction, that the Lord thinketh upon us, though we have forgotten him. When Israel’s afflictions extorted a penitent confession and submission, it is said, (Judges 10:16,) his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel: for he always afflicts with the greatest tenderness. It was his compassion that mitigated Ephraim’s punishment, (Hosea 11:8, 9,) My heart is turned within me, &c., and now the same compassion accepted Ephraim’s repentance, and induced God to say, I will surely have mercy upon him.

RESTORATION FOR ALL THE FAMILIES OF ISRAEL, 1-40.

1. At the same time — Namely, in the “latter days” of Jeremiah 30:24, when God’s anger shall light on his enemies. Then shall men be made to “discern between the righteous and the wicked; between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” Malachi 3:18. Will I be the God, etc. — An all-comprehending promise, carrying in its bosom all possible good — safety, success, victory, glory. And this he will be, not to Judah alone, and not to select and fortunate individuals and families, but to all the families of Israel.

V. 21. Set up-Thou shalt return to these cities which thou now leavest, therefore take good notice of the way, set up marks by which thou mayest know it again, make thee pillars or some high heaps of stones in the way, mind well the way that the Assyrians and the Babylonians carried thee, for thou shalt come back the same way.

Verse 21. Set thee up waymarks] Alluding to stones, or heaps of stones, which travellers in the desert set up to ascertain the way, that they may know how to return. Mark the way to Babylon: thither ye shall certainly go; but from it ye shall as certainly return.

Verse 21. Set thee up way-marks — “These words are a call to Israel to prepare for their return. The word µynyx, rendered way-marks, means stone pillars, and µydwrmt, translated heaps, from rmh, a palm-tree, probably signifies tall-poles, like palm-trees, or, perhaps, made of palm-trees; both set up in the roads, at certain distances, for the traveller’s direction, and extremely necessary for those who had to pass wild and spacious deserts,” — Blaney. Set thy heart toward the way which thou wentest — Mind well the way that the Assyrians and Babylonians carried thee captive, for thou shalt return the same way. Turn again — That is, Return to thine own country; O virgin of Israel — See note on verse 14. Turn again to these thy cities — The expression is doubled for the greater certainty of the event.

21. High heaps — Pillars, or signposts.

V. 22. Backsliding-Running after idols; or seeking help from foreign nations, instead of applying to God. A woman-This seems to be a promise of the Jewish church in its time, and of the gospel-church, prevailing over all its enemies; though, considering the fewness of the church’s members, with the multitude of its enemies, and their power, it seemed as strange a thing, as for a woman to prevail against a strong and mighty man.

Verse 22. A woman shall compass a man] rbg bbwst hbqn nekebah tesobeb gaber, “A weak woman shall compass or circumvent a strong man.” This place has given much trouble to Biblical critics. By many Christian writers it is considered a prophecy of the miraculous conception of the holy virgin; but as I am sure no such meaning is in the words, nor in the context, so I am satisfied no such meaning can be fairly brought out of them. Houbigant thinks there is a small error in the text, i.e., bbwvt teshobeb, shall return, and not bbwst tesobeb, shall compass. This reading is found in two of Kennicott’s MSS., and he contends that the passage should be read, “The wife shall return to her husband;” alluding to the conversion of the Jewish people, called above a backsliding daughter. This makes a good sense; but I do not see why this should be called a new thing in the earth. After all, I think it likely that the Jews in their present distressed circumstances are represented under the similitude of a weak defenseless female hbqn nekebah; and the Chaldeans under that of a fierce strong man, rbg gaber, who had prevailed over and oppressed this weak woman. But, notwithstanding the disparity between them, God would cause the woman—the weak defenseless Jews, to compass-to overcome, the strong man—the powerful Babylonians. And this the prophet says would be a new thing in the land; for in such a case the lame would take the prey. The context favours both these meanings. Dr. Blayney gives a sense very near to this: “A weak woman shall repulse a strong or mighty man.” It is most likely a proverbial expression.

Verse 22. How long wilt thou go about — Or, go out of the right way, or follow thine own imaginations, O thou backsliding daughter — Thou that didst formerly revolt from thy sovereign Lord, and decline from his worship and service, going after idols, and seeking help from foreign nations, instead of applying to him for it; and who now seemest to loiter when God calls thee to return homeward out of a strange country. The expression is often used of Israel, or the ten tribes: see Jeremiah 3:6- 12: and of Judah and Israel together, ibid., verses 14, 22; both being comprehended under the title of the virgin of Israel, in the foregoing verse. For the Lord hath created, or doth create, a new thing in the earth, a woman shall compass a man — It is difficult to say, with any certainty, what this obscure passage means. Several ancient Jews expounded it of the Messiah, and most Christian interpreters understand it of the miraculous conception of the child Jesus in the womb of the virgin. “Taking the words in this sense they properly import,” as Lowth justly observes, “a new creation, and such as is the immediate work of God. And that such a prophecy concerning the conception of Christ may not be thought to come in here abruptly, it is to be observed, that as the coming of the Messiah is the foundation of the promises, both of the first and second covenant; so it contains the most powerful arguments to persuade men to obedience: and the covenant, of which Christ was to be the Mediator is plainly foretold and described in the 31st and three following verses of this chapter.” Blaney, however, thinks the original words, rbg bbyst hbqn, cannot by any construction be brought to imply any such thing as the miraculous conception above mentioned. “Admitting,” he says, “that the word bbwst may signify shall encompass, or, comprehend in the womb, and that rbg, instead of an adult, or, strong man, (which the word generally means,) may also signify a male child; yet the words, all taken together, still import no more than that a woman shall conceive, or contain, a male child: but this is nothing new or extraordinary, and therefore I presume it not the sense intended.” Being of opinion that the word, which we translate compass, or encompass, may signify to cause to turn about, or repulse, he renders the clause, “A woman shall put to the rout a strong man,” judging it to be a proverbial form of speech, denoting, “The weaker shall prevail over the stronger,” an expression equivalent to, one shall chase a thousand. Now this, says he, it must be confessed, is in itself new and unusual, and contrary to the ordinary course of nature; and accordingly it is ascribed to the interposing power of God, who is said therein to create a new thing, or, in other words, to work a miracle. Interpreting the passage in this sense, he explains its connection with the context as follows: “The virgin of Israel is exhorted not to turn aside, or decline the invitation given her to return, as she might, perhaps, be disposed to do through dread of the power of enemies, who would oppose her deliverance. For her encouragement she is told, that she had no reason to be apprehensive of the superior strength of any enemies, since God would work a miracle in her favour, and enable her, though apparently weak, to overcome and prevail against all their opposition.” By an interpretation nearly allied to this, many understand the passage as being a promise that the Jewish Church in its time, and afterward the gospel church, should prevail over all its enemies; though comparing the fewness and weakness of the church’s members with the multitude of her enemies, and the greatness of their power, it seemed as strange a thing as for a woman to prevail against a strong and mighty man.

Ver. 22. The Lord hath created a new thing in the earth; a woman shall compass a man. Hebrews rbg bbwst hbqn nekaibah tesobaib geber; a weak or little woman (that is, a woman not come to her full growth) shall compass a man; the Latin fæmella is so understood. The word geber, not only denotes a man, but a mighty one. The prophet uses here the same word as Isaiah in Isaiah 9:6. El Gibber, the mighty God. The woman designates a virgin; modesty forbids us to think otherwise. The word denotes also an individual, being never used in scripture for the female sex in general. It likewise denotes a supernatural conception; else how could her pregnancy be called a new thing in the earth. It is called a creation in the earth, even in Ephraim, and not in Babylon. It is noted as already done: The Lord hath created. So Isaiah: “Unto us a child is born.” This Son is the Hope of Israel, the Healer of Ephraim; a Son given for a Covenant to the people, to pardon their sins, to take impenitent hardness from their hearts, and put his law in their inward parts. He was to call the gentiles, that all might know him from the least to the greatest. The Lord of Hosts is his name. Such is the language of all the prophets. And what but the Messiah could comfort Ephraim in all his anguish, as stated in ver. 6. On this point, the elder rabbins and christian doctors are agreed. In their book, Midrash Tillim, rabbi Huna quotes a saying of rabbi Idi, on the second Psalm, who says, when speaking of the Messiah’s sufferings, “God, when his hour is come, shall create him with a new creation, as indeed is indicated in the words, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee.” These words, being often cited by the ancient rabbins, and twice by St. Paul, sufficiently indicate the depths of glory they contain. The Arians are all at work here. But no fault can be found with the Hebrew text, nor variation of readings. Grotius admits that the christian fathers cite this text to prove the nativity of Christ of the virgin Mary, but adds,—to me, it is not proved. Houbigant, playing the usual game, suspects that there is a small error in the text, and would read, “The wife shall return to her husband.” This is hardly decent, after Jeremiah in the verse before had called her a virgin. Blaney loses himself in the labyrinth of twenty turns, concerning a weak and feeble woman. A fourth adds, that though “christian writers consider this as a prophecy of the miraculous conception of the holy virgin, I am sure no such meaning is in the text, nor in the context. It is most likely a proverbial expression.”—What! Did Jeremiah in all his anguish totally forget the promise of a Saviour! Hear, oh heavens, and give ear, oh earth!

22. A woman shall compass a man — Numerous explanations of these unusual words have been given; as “The woman shall be changed to a man,” (Ewald;) “The woman shall court the man,” (Hitzig;) “The woman shall keep close to the man,” (Hengstenberg;) “The woman shall turn the man to herself,” (Nagelsbach;) “The woman shall protect the man,” (Gesenius, et al.,) etc. But neither one of them perfectly suits the connexion, and most of them are lexically indefensible. The new thing is, that the woman (Israel) shall compass the man (Jehovah;) that is, embrace him lovingly and trustfully. This is “new” in that it is an intimacy of union surpassing the former times. Such is Jehovah’s condescension, that Israel is permitted to do what Christ forbade to Mary Magdalene when he said, “Touch me not.”

V. 23. The Lord of hosts-These prophecies of the restoration of the Jews, are ordinarily prefaced with these two attributes of God, the one of which asserts his power to do the thing promised; the other his goodness to his people.

Verse 23. The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice] After their return they shall be remarkably prosperous. Piety and industry shall go hand in hand; they shall have their husbandmen, their shepherds, and neatherds, Jeremiah 31:24. And Jerusalem shall become a righteous city, and the temple shall be a place of holiness; so the weary there shall have rest, and the sorrowful shall be abundantly comforted, Jeremiah 31:24, 25.

Verses 23-25. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel — These prophecies of the restoration of the Jews are ordinarily prefaced with these two attributes of God, the one of which asserts his power to do the thing promised; the other, his goodness to his people; as yet, or, yet again, they shall use this speech in the land of Judah, and in the cities thereof, &c. — Three things the prophet here foretels, 1st, That the cities which had formerly been the habitations of unjust, cruel, and bloody men, should become the habitations of men who should do justice to all. 2d, That the city which stood upon mount Zion, and had formerly been a habitation of idolaters and other unholy persons, should become a place in which men should, in a due and holy manner, worship and serve the true God. 3d, That they should be so famous, both for justice and holiness, that men would take notice of it, and wish they might be blessed on that account: so that as they had, for their sins, been made a curse and proverb, so, upon their reformation they should be for a blessing. And there shall dwell in Judah, &c., husbandmen — This verse is not only intended to express that the country should be inhabited, as well as the cities, after their return from captivity, but to set forth their peaceable and happy state at that time. For I have satiated, or, I will satiate, the weary soul — I will comfort them after their sorrows and afflictions, and will give them abundance of ease and plenty.

23. As yet — Rather, once more, again. Mountain of holiness — Jerusalem, including Zion as well as Moriah.

Verses 23-25. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel — These prophecies of the restoration of the Jews are ordinarily prefaced with these two attributes of God, the one of which asserts his power to do the thing promised; the other, his goodness to his people; as yet, or, yet again, they shall use this speech in the land of Judah, and in the cities thereof, &c. — Three things the prophet here foretels, 1st, That the cities which had formerly been the habitations of unjust, cruel, and bloody men, should become the habitations of men who should do justice to all. 2d, That the city which stood upon mount Zion, and had formerly been a habitation of idolaters and other unholy persons, should become a place in which men should, in a due and holy manner, worship and serve the true God. 3d, That they should be so famous, both for justice and holiness, that men would take notice of it, and wish they might be blessed on that account: so that as they had, for their sins, been made a curse and proverb, so, upon their reformation they should be for a blessing. And there shall dwell in Judah, &c., husbandmen — This verse is not only intended to express that the country should be inhabited, as well as the cities, after their return from captivity, but to set forth their peaceable and happy state at that time. For I have satiated, or, I will satiate, the weary soul — I will comfort them after their sorrows and afflictions, and will give them abundance of ease and plenty.

24. Go forth — Rather, go about. The phrase describes the ordinary life of the shepherd going hither and thither in the interest of the flock. The whole verse is a picture of peace and prosperity in contrast with the insecurity and desolation of war.

V. 25. For-The words are a promise, that God would give his people abundance of ease and plenty.

Verses 23-25. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel — These prophecies of the restoration of the Jews are ordinarily prefaced with these two attributes of God, the one of which asserts his power to do the thing promised; the other, his goodness to his people; as yet, or, yet again, they shall use this speech in the land of Judah, and in the cities thereof, &c. — Three things the prophet here foretels, 1st, That the cities which had formerly been the habitations of unjust, cruel, and bloody men, should become the habitations of men who should do justice to all. 2d, That the city which stood upon mount Zion, and had formerly been a habitation of idolaters and other unholy persons, should become a place in which men should, in a due and holy manner, worship and serve the true God. 3d, That they should be so famous, both for justice and holiness, that men would take notice of it, and wish they might be blessed on that account: so that as they had, for their sins, been made a curse and proverb, so, upon their reformation they should be for a blessing. And there shall dwell in Judah, &c., husbandmen — This verse is not only intended to express that the country should be inhabited, as well as the cities, after their return from captivity, but to set forth their peaceable and happy state at that time. For I have satiated, or, I will satiate, the weary soul — I will comfort them after their sorrows and afflictions, and will give them abundance of ease and plenty.

RESTORATION FOR ALL THE FAMILIES OF ISRAEL, 1-40.

1. At the same time — Namely, in the “latter days” of Jeremiah 30:24, when God’s anger shall light on his enemies. Then shall men be made to “discern between the righteous and the wicked; between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” Malachi 3:18. Will I be the God, etc. — An all-comprehending promise, carrying in its bosom all possible good — safety, success, victory, glory. And this he will be, not to Judah alone, and not to select and fortunate individuals and families, but to all the families of Israel.

V. 26. Upon this I awaked-Probably this revelation was made to Jeremiah, in a dream.

Verse 26. Upon this I awaked] It appears that the prophecy, commencing with Jeremiah 30:2 and ending with Jeremiah 31:25 of this chapter, was delivered to the prophet in a dream. Dahler supposes it to be a wish; that the prophet, though he could not hope to live to that time, might be permitted to awake up from his tomb; and, having seen this prosperity, would be content to return to his grave.

Verse 26. Upon this I awaked, &c. — These words afford a plain proof that the preceding revelations had been made to the prophet in a dream, or vision. And my sleep was sweet unto me — The vision which I had seen was so agreeable to me that it gave me as great satisfaction and comfort as men usually feel when they have been refreshed with an undisturbed and sweet sleep.

26. I awaked — The prophet awoke from his sleep of prophetic ecstasy, and its revelations were satisfying and refreshing.

V. 27. I will sow-That is, I will exceedingly multiply them, both with men and with cattle.

Verse 27. I will sow—with the seed of man and with the seed of beast.] I will multiply both men and cattle.

Verses 27, 28. I will sow the house of Israel — Under the captivity the land lay desolate, without man and beast, Jeremiah 33:12; but here it is promised that it should be again inhabited and replenished with both. And like as I have watched over them to pluck up, &c. — I will show the same care and diligence in restoring them as I have formerly done in destroying them, according to the promise made to them upon their repentance and reformation. See Jeremiah 18:7-10.

27. Sow… with the seed of man, etc. — Will give a generous harvest of life, so that it will almost seem as if children and cattle sprang from the very ground.

Verses 27, 28. I will sow the house of Israel — Under the captivity the land lay desolate, without man and beast, Jeremiah 33:12; but here it is promised that it should be again inhabited and replenished with both. And like as I have watched over them to pluck up, &c. — I will show the same care and diligence in restoring them as I have formerly done in destroying them, according to the promise made to them upon their repentance and reformation. See Jeremiah 18:7-10.

28. Watched — See Jeremiah 1:12, and the note there.

Verse 29. The fathers have eaten a sour grape] A proverbial expression for, “The children suffer for the offences of their parents.” This is explained in the next verse: “Every one shall die for his own iniquity.” No child shall suffer Divine punition for the sin of his father; only so far as he acts in the same way can he be said to bear the sins of his parents.

Verses 29, 30. They shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, &c. — “God had often declared that he would visit the sins of the fathers upon the children, and had particularly threatened to execute judgment upon the present generation for the idolatries and other sins of their forefathers. See note on Exodus 20:5, and chap. 15:4. This gave occasion to the proverb mentioned in this verse, which they that were in captivity applied to their own case, as if the miseries they endured were chiefly owing to their fathers’ sins: see Lamentations 5:7; Ezekiel 18:2; but when this judgment should be removed, then there would be no further occasion to use this proverb, as Ezekiel there speaks.” But every one shall die for his own iniquity, &c. — These national judgments ceasing, every one shall suffer only for his own faults. “This promise,” says Lowth, “will be remarkably verified when God shall cease to visit upon the Jewish nation that imprecation which they laid upon themselves by the crucifixion of Christ, his blood be upon us, and upon our children.” It was the opinion of Bishop Warburton, that the punishment of children for the iniquity of their parents, was to supply the want of the sanction of a future state, which he supposed was very obscurely, if at all, revealed under the Mosaic dispensation. “For,” says he, “while a future state was kept hid from the Jews there was an absolute need of such a law to restrain the more daring spirits by working upon their instincts. But when a doctrine was brought to light which held them up, and continued them after death, the objects of divine justice, it had then no further use, and was therefore reasonably to be abolished, with the rest of the Jewish laws peculiar to the Mosaic dispensation.” But it may be inquired here, Do not children still suffer for the sins of their parents in the only sense in which they ever did, namely, in all national calamities, and in that poverty and reproach, and those bodily afflictions, which the vices of their parents entail upon them?

Ver. 29. The fathers have eaten sour grapes. This is a Hebrew proverb, equivalent to a more recent one: “like father, like son.” In judicial punishment the son does not suffer for the sins of the father. See Exodus 20:5.

29. They shall say no more, etc. — There is here no incongruity with those passages which describe God as”visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children.” Both are exactly true. The fearfully destructive nature of sin is illustrated in that it casts a blight upon everything it touches. A curse rests on the physical universe and on the processes of nature on account of it. Children suffer the consequences of their parents’ sins, but no being is ever punished for the sins of another. There cannot be punishment for sin without a conscience of sin. If a man dies it will be for his own iniquity.

Verses 29, 30. They shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, &c. — “God had often declared that he would visit the sins of the fathers upon the children, and had particularly threatened to execute judgment upon the present generation for the idolatries and other sins of their forefathers. See note on Exodus 20:5, and chap. 15:4. This gave occasion to the proverb mentioned in this verse, which they that were in captivity applied to their own case, as if the miseries they endured were chiefly owing to their fathers’ sins: see Lamentations 5:7; Ezekiel 18:2; but when this judgment should be removed, then there would be no further occasion to use this proverb, as Ezekiel there speaks.” But every one shall die for his own iniquity, &c. — These national judgments ceasing, every one shall suffer only for his own faults. “This promise,” says Lowth, “will be remarkably verified when God shall cease to visit upon the Jewish nation that imprecation which they laid upon themselves by the crucifixion of Christ, his blood be upon us, and upon our children.” It was the opinion of Bishop Warburton, that the punishment of children for the iniquity of their parents, was to supply the want of the sanction of a future state, which he supposed was very obscurely, if at all, revealed under the Mosaic dispensation. “For,” says he, “while a future state was kept hid from the Jews there was an absolute need of such a law to restrain the more daring spirits by working upon their instincts. But when a doctrine was brought to light which held them up, and continued them after death, the objects of divine justice, it had then no further use, and was therefore reasonably to be abolished, with the rest of the Jewish laws peculiar to the Mosaic dispensation.” But it may be inquired here, Do not children still suffer for the sins of their parents in the only sense in which they ever did, namely, in all national calamities, and in that poverty and reproach, and those bodily afflictions, which the vices of their parents entail upon them?

RESTORATION FOR ALL THE FAMILIES OF ISRAEL, 1-40.

1. At the same time — Namely, in the “latter days” of Jeremiah 30:24, when God’s anger shall light on his enemies. Then shall men be made to “discern between the righteous and the wicked; between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” Malachi 3:18. Will I be the God, etc. — An all-comprehending promise, carrying in its bosom all possible good — safety, success, victory, glory. And this he will be, not to Judah alone, and not to select and fortunate individuals and families, but to all the families of Israel.

V. 31. Behold-And not only with the Jews, but all those who should be ingrafted into that Olive. It is not called the new covenant, because it was as to the substance new, for it was made with Abraham, Genesis 17:7, and with the Jews, Deuteronomy 26:17,18, but because it was revealed after a new manner, more fully and particularly, plainly and clearly. Nor was the ceremonial law any part of it, as it was to the Jews, a strict observance of that. It was likewise new in regard of the efficacy of the spirit attending it, in a much fuller and larger manner.

Verse 31. A new covenant] The Christian dispensation.

Verses 31, 32. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord — The latter days, or the times of the gospel, are here intended, as is evident from the apostle’s applying the following promises to those times, and quoting this whole passage as a summary of the covenant of grace, Hebrews 8:8-10. I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah — The benefits of this covenant were first offered to the Jews, as being the completion of that covenant which God had made with their fathers, Acts 3:26, and 13:46; but those benefits were actually conferred only on the spiritual seed of Abraham, or the imitators of Abraham’s faith, the true Israel of God, on whom peace is and shall be, Galatians 6:16, and with whom only this new covenant is made. In other words, Israel and Judah stand here for the true people or church of God, especially the gospel church: and the covenant here promised to be made with them is said to be new, not because it was so as to the substance of it, for it was made with Abraham, Genesis 17:7, and with the Israelites, Deuteronomy 26:17, 18; but, upon many other accounts, especially the following: — 1st, It was new, considered as a testament, confirmed by the actual death of the testator, which did not take place till gospel times. 2d, It was revealed after a new manner, more fully and particularly, plainly and clearly. 3d, It contained no such mixture of temporal promises as when first made with the Jews. 4th, The ceremonial law was no part of it, as it was to the Jews, who were obliged to approve themselves God’s people, by a strict observance thereof. 5th, The publication of it was extended to the Gentiles as well as the Jews, which was not the case with the Mosaic covenant. 6th, The influences of the Divine Spirit, attending the publication of it, are conferred more largely under this than under the old covenant, distributing to believers a greater measure and variety of gifts and graces, to enable them to comply with the terms, and fulfil the demands of it. Not according to the covenant made with their fathers — Differing from it in the circumstances above mentioned, and in others declared afterward: in the day when I took them by the hand, &c. — The covenant which God made with the Jews, when they came out of the land of Egypt, was on his part the law which he gave them from Sinai, with the promises annexed; on their part, (which made it a formal covenant,) their promise of obedience to it. This covenant God says he made with them when they were a weak and ignorant people, the care of whom he took upon himself, and led them as a parent leads his feeble child by the hand. Which my covenant they brake — This covenant they are said to have broken, not because of every defect, or failure in their obedience, for in that sense, through the general depravity and weakness of human nature, they could not but break it; (see Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:10, 11;) but because of their gross and wilful sins often repeated and continued in without repentance, and more especially by their idolatry, compared to whoredom, which broke the marriage covenant between God and them, and caused him to divorce them, and to say, Lo Ammi, You are not my people: Although I was a husband to them — This their covenant-breaking was aggravated by God’s kindness to them and care of them, who, as he stood, related to them in the character of a husband, so he had always manifested to them such love as is but faintly shadowed forth by that of the most affectionate husband to his wife, and had given them no temptation to go a whoring from him.

Ver. 31. A new covenant, not so much in substance as in circumcision of the heart. Deuteronomy 30:6. The gospel was preached to the Jews of old, as well as to us; but the covenant is new in the abolition of sacrifices. New, as a law of unexampled love, of glory, grace, and remission of sins. New, in regard of gifts and graces shed down on the church. New, in regard of the removal of the veil, bringing life and immortality to light. New, in regard of its confirmation by the blood of Christ—a covenant of peace, never to be superseded.

31. The days come — Days of blessed promise — a period marked as the exodus itself. The contrast between the slavery of Egypt and the freedom and prosperity of Palestine is to be followed by another contrast more notable and blessed. A new covenant — One spiritual rather than temporal and material; universal and not partial; permanent and not temporary; written on the heart instead of on the tables of stone; the down-beaming of God’s love rather than his law; a covenant of life and not of death. It was “new,” not as different from the old, but as more spiritual and more glorious.

V. 32. Not according-The covenant which God made with the Jews when they came out of the land of Egypt, was on God’s part the law which he gave them, with the promises annexed; on their part (which made it a formal covenant) their promise of obedience to it.

Verses 31, 32. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord — The latter days, or the times of the gospel, are here intended, as is evident from the apostle’s applying the following promises to those times, and quoting this whole passage as a summary of the covenant of grace, Hebrews 8:8-10. I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah — The benefits of this covenant were first offered to the Jews, as being the completion of that covenant which God had made with their fathers, Acts 3:26, and 13:46; but those benefits were actually conferred only on the spiritual seed of Abraham, or the imitators of Abraham’s faith, the true Israel of God, on whom peace is and shall be, Galatians 6:16, and with whom only this new covenant is made. In other words, Israel and Judah stand here for the true people or church of God, especially the gospel church: and the covenant here promised to be made with them is said to be new, not because it was so as to the substance of it, for it was made with Abraham, Genesis 17:7, and with the Israelites, Deuteronomy 26:17, 18; but, upon many other accounts, especially the following: — 1st, It was new, considered as a testament, confirmed by the actual death of the testator, which did not take place till gospel times. 2d, It was revealed after a new manner, more fully and particularly, plainly and clearly. 3d, It contained no such mixture of temporal promises as when first made with the Jews. 4th, The ceremonial law was no part of it, as it was to the Jews, who were obliged to approve themselves God’s people, by a strict observance thereof. 5th, The publication of it was extended to the Gentiles as well as the Jews, which was not the case with the Mosaic covenant. 6th, The influences of the Divine Spirit, attending the publication of it, are conferred more largely under this than under the old covenant, distributing to believers a greater measure and variety of gifts and graces, to enable them to comply with the terms, and fulfil the demands of it. Not according to the covenant made with their fathers — Differing from it in the circumstances above mentioned, and in others declared afterward: in the day when I took them by the hand, &c. — The covenant which God made with the Jews, when they came out of the land of Egypt, was on his part the law which he gave them from Sinai, with the promises annexed; on their part, (which made it a formal covenant,) their promise of obedience to it. This covenant God says he made with them when they were a weak and ignorant people, the care of whom he took upon himself, and led them as a parent leads his feeble child by the hand. Which my covenant they brake — This covenant they are said to have broken, not because of every defect, or failure in their obedience, for in that sense, through the general depravity and weakness of human nature, they could not but break it; (see Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:10, 11;) but because of their gross and wilful sins often repeated and continued in without repentance, and more especially by their idolatry, compared to whoredom, which broke the marriage covenant between God and them, and caused him to divorce them, and to say, Lo Ammi, You are not my people: Although I was a husband to them — This their covenant-breaking was aggravated by God’s kindness to them and care of them, who, as he stood, related to them in the character of a husband, so he had always manifested to them such love as is but faintly shadowed forth by that of the most affectionate husband to his wife, and had given them no temptation to go a whoring from him.

Ver. 32. Although I was a husband to them. Hebrews I rejected them. So the Hebrew is rendered, Leviticus 26:43; but Hebrews 8:9, I regarded them not. Jerome reads, Ego neglexi eos, I neglected them.

RESTORATION FOR ALL THE FAMILIES OF ISRAEL, 1-40.

1. At the same time — Namely, in the “latter days” of Jeremiah 30:24, when God’s anger shall light on his enemies. Then shall men be made to “discern between the righteous and the wicked; between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” Malachi 3:18. Will I be the God, etc. — An all-comprehending promise, carrying in its bosom all possible good — safety, success, victory, glory. And this he will be, not to Judah alone, and not to select and fortunate individuals and families, but to all the families of Israel.

V. 33. With-That is, with those who are Jews inwardly. And write it-The prophet’s design is here to express the difference betwixt the law and the gospel. The first shews duty, the latter brings the grace of regeneration, by which the heart is changed, and enabled for duty. All under the time of the law that came to salvation, were saved by this new covenant; but this was not evidently exhibited; neither was the regenerating grace of God so common under the time of the law, as it hath been under the gospel.

Verse 33. After those days] When vision and prophecy shall be sealed up, and Jesus have assumed that body which was prepared for him, and have laid down his life for the redemption of a lost world, and, having ascended on high, shall have obtained the gift of the Holy Spirit to purify the heart; then God’s law shall, by it, be put in their inward parts, and written on their hearts; so that all within and all without shall be holiness to the Lord. Then God will be truly their God, received and acknowledged as their portion, and the sole object of their devotion; and they shall be his people, filled with holiness, and made partakers of the Divine nature, so that they shall perfectly love him and worthily magnify his name.

Verses 33, 34. This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel — That is, with those who are Israelites indeed, in whom is no guile, John 1:47, who are Jews inwardly, Romans 2:29, by the circumcision of the heart and spirit, spoken of and promised by God, Deuteronomy 30:6. I will put my law in their inward parts, &c. — In the times of the gospel God’s law is not abrogated and made void; for Christ came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it: but it is written in the hearts of God’s true Israel by the finger of his Spirit; and they become obedient to it from their secret approbation of it as holy, just, and good, and from the delight they take in it after the inward man. But it may be asked, How was this peculiar to this new covenant? Did not God of old write his law on the hearts of his people? Did not David and others, the servants of God, of whom we read in the Old Testament, serve God, out of a principle of love and delight in his law? We must answer, Undoubtedly they did, and the law of God was, in a measure, written in their hearts; but this was not through the virtue of the Mosaic dispensation, but through the grace of this new covenant, revealed and communicated, though but obscurely and partially, even under that dispensation. The principal design of the prophet here is evidently to express the difference between the law and the gospel: the law shows man his duty, the gospel brings the grace of regeneration, by which the heart of man is changed, and he is enabled to do his duty. All who, during the time of the Mosaic dispensation, attained salvation, were saved by virtue of this new covenant; but this was not then evidently exhibited; neither was the renewing grace of God so generally and largely given as it has been under the gospel. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour — This must not be so interpreted as if under the gospel there should be no more need of ministerial teaching, for Christ himself sent out his apostles to preach; nor yet as if there should be no further need of brethren in Christ teaching one another, for the contrary is commanded, Colossians 3:16. This expression only signifies the great increase of divine knowledge, especially of the knowledge of the being and attributes of the one living and true God, and of the relations in which he is pleased to stand to his people, which is the knowledge here chiefly intended. For they shall all know me, from the least unto the greatest — Even the least of them, who have an interest in this new covenant, and are ingrafted into the good olive, and partake of the fatness of the root, even babes in Christ, and much more they who have arrived at the measure of the stature of his fulness; shall all savingly know me, and have eternal life in and by that knowledge. For I will forgive their iniquity, &c. — Here God represents the free pardon of all their sins as being the root and foundation of this grace, and of all the privileges and blessings of this new covenant.

33. I will put my law in their inward parts — So far from being set aside or abrogated, it shall be enthroned and enshrined at the source and centre of life. For the best commentary on these words, see the Sermon on the Mount.

V. 34. I will forgive-God makes the root of all this grace to be the free pardon, and the remission of their sins.

Verse 34. And they shall teach no more] It shall be a time of universal light and knowledge; all shall know God in Christ, from the least to the greatest; the children shall be taught to read the New Covenant, and to understand the terms of their salvation.

I will forgive their iniquity] It shall be a time of GENERAL PARDON; multitudes shall be daily in the Christian Church receiving the witness of God’s Spirit, and in their life and conversation witnessing a good confession. How wonderfully is this prophecy fulfilled in the age of Bibles, Sunday schools, and village preaching.

Verses 33, 34. This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel — That is, with those who are Israelites indeed, in whom is no guile, John 1:47, who are Jews inwardly, Romans 2:29, by the circumcision of the heart and spirit, spoken of and promised by God, Deuteronomy 30:6. I will put my law in their inward parts, &c. — In the times of the gospel God’s law is not abrogated and made void; for Christ came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it: but it is written in the hearts of God’s true Israel by the finger of his Spirit; and they become obedient to it from their secret approbation of it as holy, just, and good, and from the delight they take in it after the inward man. But it may be asked, How was this peculiar to this new covenant? Did not God of old write his law on the hearts of his people? Did not David and others, the servants of God, of whom we read in the Old Testament, serve God, out of a principle of love and delight in his law? We must answer, Undoubtedly they did, and the law of God was, in a measure, written in their hearts; but this was not through the virtue of the Mosaic dispensation, but through the grace of this new covenant, revealed and communicated, though but obscurely and partially, even under that dispensation. The principal design of the prophet here is evidently to express the difference between the law and the gospel: the law shows man his duty, the gospel brings the grace of regeneration, by which the heart of man is changed, and he is enabled to do his duty. All who, during the time of the Mosaic dispensation, attained salvation, were saved by virtue of this new covenant; but this was not then evidently exhibited; neither was the renewing grace of God so generally and largely given as it has been under the gospel. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour — This must not be so interpreted as if under the gospel there should be no more need of ministerial teaching, for Christ himself sent out his apostles to preach; nor yet as if there should be no further need of brethren in Christ teaching one another, for the contrary is commanded, Colossians 3:16. This expression only signifies the great increase of divine knowledge, especially of the knowledge of the being and attributes of the one living and true God, and of the relations in which he is pleased to stand to his people, which is the knowledge here chiefly intended. For they shall all know me, from the least unto the greatest — Even the least of them, who have an interest in this new covenant, and are ingrafted into the good olive, and partake of the fatness of the root, even babes in Christ, and much more they who have arrived at the measure of the stature of his fulness; shall all savingly know me, and have eternal life in and by that knowledge. For I will forgive their iniquity, &c. — Here God represents the free pardon of all their sins as being the root and foundation of this grace, and of all the privileges and blessings of this new covenant.

Ver. 34. They shall all know me, from the least to the greatest of them, from the disciple to the teacher. The gospel was to begin with the poor of Galilee, and the poor saints in Judea, as the Lord said by Hosea: “I will leave a poor and an afflicted people in the midst of thee, and they shall trust in the Lord.”

34. I will forgive their iniquity — I will break down the barriers of separation and bring back the lost harmony. The first good thing which the Lord can do to a sinner is to forgive his iniquity.

Verses 35-37. Thus saith the Lord, who giveth the sun for a light by day — All the acts here mentioned are such as manifest the divine, almighty power of him who is the Lord of all the hosts of the creation. Which divideth, or, who did divide, the sea — Namely, as the words are generally interpreted, the Red sea, to give the Israelites passage. The original words, however, µyh [gr, which occur Isaiah 51:15, where they are translated as here, are by Bishop Lowth rendered, who stilleth the sea, a sense which accords better with the words immediately following, when the waves thereof roar — That is, even when the waves are most tumultuous, and roar most dreadfully, he, with infinite ease, quiets them, and produces a perfect calm. In this sense the same word is interpreted verse 2 of this chapter, and also Jeremiah 50:34. If these ordinances — Hebrew, µyqjh, these appointments respecting the heavenly bodies and their motions and uses; depart from before me — Be altered or suspended in their operations; then shall the seed of Israel cease from being a nation, &c. — Thus God makes the continuance of the laws of nature a pledge of the continuance of Israel as a people. The prediction implies, 1st, That God would preserve a remnant of them in the country to which they were led captive, and would restore them to their own land; 2d, That there should be another remnant of them, at the beginning of the gospel, called oi Swzomenoi, the saved, (Acts 2:47,) who, by embracing the faith of Christ, should escape those terrible judgments that should be inflicted upon the main body of that nation; and 3d, That Providence would still preserve them in a body distinct from all other people in the world, in order to their conversion in God’s due time. To this place St. Paul, speaking of the conversion of the Jews in the latter times, seems to refer when he says, The gifts and calling of God [to the Jews] are without repentance, Romans 11:29. If heaven above can be measured, &c. — If the height and extent thereof can be ascertained by men, which is impossible, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel, &c. — That is, I will never cast them all off — a promise which the apostle, (Romans 11:1, 2,) proves to have been made good by God, notwithstanding the rejection of the great body of that people.

RESTORATION FOR ALL THE FAMILIES OF ISRAEL, 1-40.

1. At the same time — Namely, in the “latter days” of Jeremiah 30:24, when God’s anger shall light on his enemies. Then shall men be made to “discern between the righteous and the wicked; between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” Malachi 3:18. Will I be the God, etc. — An all-comprehending promise, carrying in its bosom all possible good — safety, success, victory, glory. And this he will be, not to Judah alone, and not to select and fortunate individuals and families, but to all the families of Israel.

V. 36. Those ordinances-The ordinances of nature, which are God’s establishments for the working of natural causes in their order.

Verse 36. If those ordinances] As sure as the sun shall give light to the day, and the moon to the night, so surely shall the Jews continue to be a distinct people. The same thing is expressed in other words in the next verse. Hitherto this prophecy has been literally fulfilled; the Jews are still a distinct people from all the dwellers upon earth. Every attempt that has been made in any country to naturalize and unite them with the people of that country, has proved abortive. The well-circumstanced attempt made this year (1830) in England, when the strongest interest was excited in their behalf, has also utterly failed. And why? Because of God’s purpose expressed in Jeremiah 31:35-37 of the BOOK of the Prophet JEREMIAH.

Verses 35-37. Thus saith the Lord, who giveth the sun for a light by day — All the acts here mentioned are such as manifest the divine, almighty power of him who is the Lord of all the hosts of the creation. Which divideth, or, who did divide, the sea — Namely, as the words are generally interpreted, the Red sea, to give the Israelites passage. The original words, however, µyh [gr, which occur Isaiah 51:15, where they are translated as here, are by Bishop Lowth rendered, who stilleth the sea, a sense which accords better with the words immediately following, when the waves thereof roar — That is, even when the waves are most tumultuous, and roar most dreadfully, he, with infinite ease, quiets them, and produces a perfect calm. In this sense the same word is interpreted verse 2 of this chapter, and also Jeremiah 50:34. If these ordinances — Hebrew, µyqjh, these appointments respecting the heavenly bodies and their motions and uses; depart from before me — Be altered or suspended in their operations; then shall the seed of Israel cease from being a nation, &c. — Thus God makes the continuance of the laws of nature a pledge of the continuance of Israel as a people. The prediction implies, 1st, That God would preserve a remnant of them in the country to which they were led captive, and would restore them to their own land; 2d, That there should be another remnant of them, at the beginning of the gospel, called oi Swzomenoi, the saved, (Acts 2:47,) who, by embracing the faith of Christ, should escape those terrible judgments that should be inflicted upon the main body of that nation; and 3d, That Providence would still preserve them in a body distinct from all other people in the world, in order to their conversion in God’s due time. To this place St. Paul, speaking of the conversion of the Jews in the latter times, seems to refer when he says, The gifts and calling of God [to the Jews] are without repentance, Romans 11:29. If heaven above can be measured, &c. — If the height and extent thereof can be ascertained by men, which is impossible, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel, &c. — That is, I will never cast them all off — a promise which the apostle, (Romans 11:1, 2,) proves to have been made good by God, notwithstanding the rejection of the great body of that people.

36. If those ordinances depart — The appeal is to the unchangeableness of nature’s laws as a type and a pledge of the new covenant. Revelation does not begin by casting down nature or arraying itself against it; it postulates nature, and proceeds from it to what is higher and more glorious. A nation — Rather, a people.

V. 37. I will cast off-That is, I will never cast off all the seed of Israel.

Verses 35-37. Thus saith the Lord, who giveth the sun for a light by day — All the acts here mentioned are such as manifest the divine, almighty power of him who is the Lord of all the hosts of the creation. Which divideth, or, who did divide, the sea — Namely, as the words are generally interpreted, the Red sea, to give the Israelites passage. The original words, however, µyh [gr, which occur Isaiah 51:15, where they are translated as here, are by Bishop Lowth rendered, who stilleth the sea, a sense which accords better with the words immediately following, when the waves thereof roar — That is, even when the waves are most tumultuous, and roar most dreadfully, he, with infinite ease, quiets them, and produces a perfect calm. In this sense the same word is interpreted verse 2 of this chapter, and also Jeremiah 50:34. If these ordinances — Hebrew, µyqjh, these appointments respecting the heavenly bodies and their motions and uses; depart from before me — Be altered or suspended in their operations; then shall the seed of Israel cease from being a nation, &c. — Thus God makes the continuance of the laws of nature a pledge of the continuance of Israel as a people. The prediction implies, 1st, That God would preserve a remnant of them in the country to which they were led captive, and would restore them to their own land; 2d, That there should be another remnant of them, at the beginning of the gospel, called oi Swzomenoi, the saved, (Acts 2:47,) who, by embracing the faith of Christ, should escape those terrible judgments that should be inflicted upon the main body of that nation; and 3d, That Providence would still preserve them in a body distinct from all other people in the world, in order to their conversion in God’s due time. To this place St. Paul, speaking of the conversion of the Jews in the latter times, seems to refer when he says, The gifts and calling of God [to the Jews] are without repentance, Romans 11:29. If heaven above can be measured, &c. — If the height and extent thereof can be ascertained by men, which is impossible, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel, &c. — That is, I will never cast them all off — a promise which the apostle, (Romans 11:1, 2,) proves to have been made good by God, notwithstanding the rejection of the great body of that people.

37. If heaven above can be measured, etc. — The illimitableness of the material universe is a type of God’s inexhaustible and boundless love.

V. 38. The city-Shall be built round, as largely as ever.

Verse 38. The city shall be built to the Lord] This cannot mean the city built after the return from Babylon, for two reasons: 1. This is to be much greater in extent; 2. It is to be permanent, never to be thrown down, Jeremiah 31:40. It must therefore mean, if taken literally at all, the city that is to be built by them when they are brought in with the fulness of the Gentiles.

The tower of Hananeel] This stood in the northeast part of the city; from thence the wall proceeded to the corner gate, (probably the same as the old gate,) thus named from its running out into an angle in that part.

Verses 38-40. Behold, the days come, that the city shall be built to the Lord — Or, for the Lord, namely, for his use and service. Blaney renders it, Under the direction of the Lord, from the tower of Hananeel, &c. — “Here follows a description of the circumference of a new city to be built on the site of Jerusalem; but that it does not mean the city which was rebuilt after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity is evident from two principal circumstances; first, because the limits are here extended farther, so as to include a greater space than was contained within the walls at that time; and secondly, it is here said, that it should never be razed or destroyed any more. This new city, therefore, must be referred to those after-times when the general restoration of Israel is appointed to take place.” Thus Blaney, with whom many other commentators agree. That this prophecy “was not fulfilled,” says Dr. Dodd, “from the return out of Babylon to the days of Christ, we are assured from sacred history; where we read that mount Goath, or Golgotha, (which word in Hebrew signifies the heap of Gotha,) was situated without Jerusalem. The same may be said of the valley of dead bodies and of the ashes,” namely, the valley of Hinnom, so described, from its having been made a common burying place, and a receptacle for the rubbish and filth of the city. “As to Gareb we know nothing certain. We may also add, that the last clause of this chapter, it shall not be plucked up, &c., any more for ever, cannot refer to the Jerusalem which was rebuilt after the captivity, and which was plucked up and thrown down by the Romans. We must necessarily recur, therefore, either to some future building of that city, or to the church of Christ, against which we are assured the gates of hell shall never prevail,” and which is elsewhere called the city of God, and the new Jerusalem. Taking the passage in this mystical sense, as a description of the church, in its most enlarged and perfect state, in the latter days: we can be at no loss to explain the clause in the last verse which expresses that all parts of the city, even the valley of Hinnom, and all the fields, unto the brook Kidron, &c., shall be holy unto the Lord. For, undoubtedly, at this time the church shall be thoroughly purged from all corruption, both with regard to the doctrine taught in it, and the principles and practices of its members, who shall all be both well instructed in divine things, and truly holy in their hearts and lives.

Ver. 38, 39. The city shall be built to the Lord. The tower of Hananeel was on the northern corner of the city, and the valley was eastward. Gareb was mount Calvary on the west, and Goath was not far distant.

38. To the Lord — Not to his honour merely, but for his possession and dwellingplace. From the tower of Hananeel, etc. — The tower of Hananeel was situated at the northeast corner of the city wall, (see Nehemiah 3:1; Zechariah 4:10,) while the gate of the corner probably answered to the present Jaffa gate, near the northwest corner of the city. The expression describes the whole northside, and is equal almost to its whole extent.

V. 39. The line-That is, it shall be built round about upon its old foundations.

Verse 39. Upon the hill Gareb] Gareb and Goath are out of the limits of this city. The latter is supposed to be Golgotha; that is, the heap of Gotha, which, being the place where our Lord was crucified, was without the city. These hills were a little to the north-west of the old city walls: but are destined to be within the new city. See Dr. Blayney on all these verses.

Verses 38-40. Behold, the days come, that the city shall be built to the Lord — Or, for the Lord, namely, for his use and service. Blaney renders it, Under the direction of the Lord, from the tower of Hananeel, &c. — “Here follows a description of the circumference of a new city to be built on the site of Jerusalem; but that it does not mean the city which was rebuilt after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity is evident from two principal circumstances; first, because the limits are here extended farther, so as to include a greater space than was contained within the walls at that time; and secondly, it is here said, that it should never be razed or destroyed any more. This new city, therefore, must be referred to those after-times when the general restoration of Israel is appointed to take place.” Thus Blaney, with whom many other commentators agree. That this prophecy “was not fulfilled,” says Dr. Dodd, “from the return out of Babylon to the days of Christ, we are assured from sacred history; where we read that mount Goath, or Golgotha, (which word in Hebrew signifies the heap of Gotha,) was situated without Jerusalem. The same may be said of the valley of dead bodies and of the ashes,” namely, the valley of Hinnom, so described, from its having been made a common burying place, and a receptacle for the rubbish and filth of the city. “As to Gareb we know nothing certain. We may also add, that the last clause of this chapter, it shall not be plucked up, &c., any more for ever, cannot refer to the Jerusalem which was rebuilt after the captivity, and which was plucked up and thrown down by the Romans. We must necessarily recur, therefore, either to some future building of that city, or to the church of Christ, against which we are assured the gates of hell shall never prevail,” and which is elsewhere called the city of God, and the new Jerusalem. Taking the passage in this mystical sense, as a description of the church, in its most enlarged and perfect state, in the latter days: we can be at no loss to explain the clause in the last verse which expresses that all parts of the city, even the valley of Hinnom, and all the fields, unto the brook Kidron, &c., shall be holy unto the Lord. For, undoubtedly, at this time the church shall be thoroughly purged from all corruption, both with regard to the doctrine taught in it, and the principles and practices of its members, who shall all be both well instructed in divine things, and truly holy in their hearts and lives.

Ver. 38, 39. The city shall be built to the Lord. The tower of Hananeel was on the northern corner of the city, and the valley was eastward. Gareb was mount Calvary on the west, and Goath was not far distant.

39. Gareb — Cannot be certainly identified. Probably the etymology of the word (itching) correctly points to a locality set apart for lepers, and hence outside of the city; perhaps toward the southwest. As to Goath nothing is known.

V. 40. The valley-A valley, so called from the multitude of Sennacherib’s army slain there. Of the ashes-So called from the ashes of the sacrifices carried thither. Holy-All these places shall be parts of the holy city, and God’s name shall be sanctified, and he shall be worshipped in them all. For ever-If we interpret the word for ever of a perpetuity, the church of God must here be understood, against which the gates of hell shall never prevail.

Verse 40. The whole valley of the dead bodies] The valley of the son of Hinnom.

And all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse-gate toward the east] All these places, the fuller’s field, &c., shall be consecrated to the Lord, and become a part of this new city; so that this will appear to be a city much more extensive than the city of Jerusalem ever was; and to be suited to that time, when the people shall have the law written in their hearts, and God shall have filled the land with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. Talia sæcla currite! “Make speed, ye happy times!”

JEREMIAH

Verses 38-40. Behold, the days come, that the city shall be built to the Lord — Or, for the Lord, namely, for his use and service. Blaney renders it, Under the direction of the Lord, from the tower of Hananeel, &c. — “Here follows a description of the circumference of a new city to be built on the site of Jerusalem; but that it does not mean the city which was rebuilt after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity is evident from two principal circumstances; first, because the limits are here extended farther, so as to include a greater space than was contained within the walls at that time; and secondly, it is here said, that it should never be razed or destroyed any more. This new city, therefore, must be referred to those after-times when the general restoration of Israel is appointed to take place.” Thus Blaney, with whom many other commentators agree. That this prophecy “was not fulfilled,” says Dr. Dodd, “from the return out of Babylon to the days of Christ, we are assured from sacred history; where we read that mount Goath, or Golgotha, (which word in Hebrew signifies the heap of Gotha,) was situated without Jerusalem. The same may be said of the valley of dead bodies and of the ashes,” namely, the valley of Hinnom, so described, from its having been made a common burying place, and a receptacle for the rubbish and filth of the city. “As to Gareb we know nothing certain. We may also add, that the last clause of this chapter, it shall not be plucked up, &c., any more for ever, cannot refer to the Jerusalem which was rebuilt after the captivity, and which was plucked up and thrown down by the Romans. We must necessarily recur, therefore, either to some future building of that city, or to the church of Christ, against which we are assured the gates of hell shall never prevail,” and which is elsewhere called the city of God, and the new Jerusalem. Taking the passage in this mystical sense, as a description of the church, in its most enlarged and perfect state, in the latter days: we can be at no loss to explain the clause in the last verse which expresses that all parts of the city, even the valley of Hinnom, and all the fields, unto the brook Kidron, &c., shall be holy unto the Lord. For, undoubtedly, at this time the church shall be thoroughly purged from all corruption, both with regard to the doctrine taught in it, and the principles and practices of its members, who shall all be both well instructed in divine things, and truly holy in their hearts and lives.

Ver. 40. The whole valley of the dead bodies. The valley of the son of Hinnom, reaching to the Kedron.

It shall not be plucked up nor thrown down any more for ever. The language is here too strong to be restricted to Nehemiah’s rebuilding the city; for that was often taken, and totally thrown down by the Romans. We must therefore understand the passage as a sublime prediction of the city which Israel shall build on their final restoration, or of the new-testament church. See the general reflections at the end of Isaiah.

RESTORATION FOR ALL THE FAMILIES OF ISRAEL, 1-40.

1. At the same time — Namely, in the “latter days” of Jeremiah 30:24, when God’s anger shall light on his enemies. Then shall men be made to “discern between the righteous and the wicked; between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” Malachi 3:18. Will I be the God, etc. — An all-comprehending promise, carrying in its bosom all possible good — safety, success, victory, glory. And this he will be, not to Judah alone, and not to select and fortunate individuals and families, but to all the families of Israel.