2 Will you get directions from the Lord for us; for Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, is making war against us; it may be that the Lord will do something for us like all the wonders he has done, and make him go away from us.
Now it came about in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, that certain of the responsible men of Israel came to get directions from the Lord and were seated before me. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, say to the responsible men of Israel, This is what the Lord has said: Have you come to get directions from me? By my life, says the Lord, you will get no directions from me.
And Jeroboam said to his wife, Now come, put on different clothing so that you may not seem to be the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh; see, Ahijah is there, the prophet who said I would be king over this people. And take with you ten cakes of bread and dry cakes and a pot of honey, and go to him: he will give you word of what is to become of the child.
<To the chief music-maker. Of the sons of Korah Maschil.> It has come to our ears, O God, our fathers have given us the story, of the works which you did in their days, in the old times, Uprooting the nations with your hand, and planting our fathers in their place; cutting down the nations, but increasing the growth of your people. For they did not make the land theirs by their swords, and it was not their arms which kept them safe; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your face, because you had pleasure in them. You are my King and my God; ordering salvation for Jacob.
Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, I have given ear to you; see, I will make prayer to the Lord your God, as you have said; and it will be that, whatever the Lord may say in answer to you, I will give you word of it, keeping nothing back. Then they said to Jeremiah, May the Lord be a true witness against us in good faith, if we do not do everything which the Lord your God sends you to say to us. If it is good or if it is evil, we will be guided by the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you; so that it may be well for us when we give ear to the voice of the Lord our God.
Keep in mind the great works which he has done; his wonders, and the decisions of his mouth; O you seed of Abraham, his servant, you children of Jacob, his loved ones. He is the Lord our God: he is judge of all the earth. He has kept his agreement in mind for ever, the word which he gave for a thousand generations; The agreement which he made with Abraham, and his oath to Isaac; And he gave it to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an eternal agreement; Saying, To you will I give the land of Canaan, the measured line of your heritage: When they were still small in number, and strange in the land; When they went about from one nation to another, and from one kingdom to another people. He would not let anyone do them wrong; he even kept back kings because of them, Saying, Put not your hand on those who have been marked with my holy oil, and do my prophets no wrong. And he took away all food from the land, so that the people were without bread. He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was given as a servant for a price: His feet were fixed in chains; his neck was put in iron bands; Till the time when his word came true; he was tested by the word of the Lord. The king sent men to take off his chains; even the ruler of the people, who let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler over everything he had; To give his chiefs teaching at his pleasure, and so that his law-givers might get wisdom from him. Then Israel came into Egypt, and Jacob was living in the land of Ham. And his people were greatly increased, and became stronger than those who were against them. Their hearts were turned to hate against his people, so that they made secret designs against them. He sent Moses, his servant, and Aaron, the man of his selection. He let his signs be seen among the people, and his wonders in the land of Ham. He sent black night and made it dark; and they did not go against his word. At his word their waters were turned to blood, and he sent death on all their fish. Their land was full of frogs, even in the rooms of the king. He gave the word, and there came the dog-fly, and insects over all the land. He gave them ice for rain, and flaming fire in their land. He gave their vines and their fig-trees to destruction, and the trees of their land were broken down. At his word the locusts came, and young locusts more than might be numbered, And put an end to all the plants of their land, taking all the fruit of the earth for food. He put to death the first child of every family in the land, the first-fruits of their strength. He took his people out with silver and gold: there was not one feeble person among them. Egypt was glad when they went; for the fear of them had come down on them. A cloud was stretched over them for a cover; and he sent fire to give light in the night. At the people's request he sent birds, and gave them the bread of heaven for food. His hand made the rock open, and the waters came streaming out; they went down through the dry places like a river. For he kept in mind his holy word, and Abraham, his servant. And he took his people out with joy, the men of his selection with glad cries: And gave them the lands of the nations; and they took the work of the peoples for a heritage; So that they might keep his orders, and be true to his laws. Give praise to the Lord.
Son of man, these men have taken their false gods into their hearts and put before their faces the sin which is the cause of their fall: am I to give ear when they come to me for directions? For this cause say to them, These are the words of the Lord: Every man of Israel who has taken his false god into his heart, and put before his face the sin which is the cause of his fall, and comes to the prophet; I the Lord will give him an answer by myself in agreement with the number of his false gods; So as to take the children of Israel in the thoughts of their hearts, because they have become strange to me through their false gods. For this cause say to the children of Israel, These are the words of the Lord: Come back and give up your false gods and let your faces be turned from your disgusting things. When any one of the men of Israel, or of those from other lands who are living in Israel, who has become strange to me, and takes his false gods into his heart, and puts before his face the sin which is the cause of his fall, comes to the prophet to get directions from me; I the Lord will give him an answer by myself:
And because of the wrath of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had sent them away from before him: and Zedekiah took up arms against the king of Babylon. And in the ninth year of his rule, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, came against Jerusalem with all his army and took up his position before it, building earthworks all round it. So the town was shut in by their forces till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. In the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the store of food in the town was almost gone, so that there was no food for the people of the land.
And it came about, that when Jerusalem was taken, (in the ninth year of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, with all his army, came against Jerusalem, shutting it in on every side; In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the town was broken into:)
Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and took him into the rulers' doorway in the house of the Lord: and the king said to Jeremiah, I have a question to put to you; keep nothing back from me. Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, If I give you the answer to your question, will you not certainly put me to death? and if I make a suggestion to you, you will not give it a hearing. So King Zedekiah gave his oath to Jeremiah secretly, saying, By the living Lord, who gave us our life, I will not put you to death, or give you up to these men who are desiring to take your life. Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, These are the words of the Lord, the God of armies, the God of Israel: If you go out to the king of Babylon's captains, then you will have life, and the town will not be burned with fire, and you and your family will be kept from death: But if you do not go out to the king of Babylon's captains, then this town will be given into the hands of the Chaldaeans and they will put it on fire, and you will not get away from them. And King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, I am troubled on account of the Jews who have gone over to the Chaldaeans, for fear that they may give me up to them and they will put me to shame. But Jeremiah said, They will not give you up: be guided now by the word of the Lord as I have given it to you, and it will be well for you, and you will keep your life. But if you do not go out, this is what the Lord has made clear to me: See, all the rest of the women in the house of the king of Judah will be taken out to the king of Babylon's captains, and these women will say, Your nearest friends have been false to you and have got the better of you: they have made your feet go deep into the wet earth, and they are turned away back from you. And they will take all your wives and your children out to the Chaldaeans: and you will not get away out of their hands, but will be taken by the hands of the king of Babylon: and this town will be burned with fire. Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, Let no man have knowledge of these words, and you will not be put to death. But if it comes to the ears of the rulers that I have been talking with you, and they come and say to you, Give us word now of what you have said to the king and what the king said to you, keeping nothing back and we will not put you to death; Then you are to say to them, I made my request to the king, that he would not send me back to my death in Jonathan's house. Then all the rulers came to Jeremiah, questioning him: and he gave them an answer in the words the king had given him orders to say. So they said nothing more to him; for the thing was not made public.
Truly, the Lord's hand has not become short, so that he is unable to give salvation; and his ear is not shut from hearing: But your sins have come between you and your God, and by your evil doings his face has been veiled from you, so that he will give you no answer.
O give praise to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. O give praise to the God of gods: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. O give praise to the Lord of lords: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who only does great wonders: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him by whom the earth was stretched out over the waters: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who made great lights: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. The sun to have rule by day: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. The moon and the stars to have rule by night: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who put to death the first-fruits of Egypt: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: And took out Israel from among them: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: With a strong hand and an outstretched arm: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who made a way through the Red Sea: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: And let Israel go through it: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: By him Pharaoh and his army were overturned in the Red Sea: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who took his people through the waste land: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who overcame great kings: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: And put noble kings to death: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: Sihon, king of the Amorites: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: And Og, king of Bashan: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: And gave their land to his people for a heritage: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. Even a heritage for his servant Israel: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. Who kept us in mind when we were in trouble: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. And has taken us out of the hands of our haters: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. Who gives food to all flesh: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. O give praise to the God of heaven: for his mercy is unchanging for ever.
But Jehoshaphat said, Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may get directions from the Lord? And one of the king of Israel's men said in answer, Elisha, the son of Shaphat, is here, who was servant to Elijah. And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the Lord is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. But Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? go to the prophets of your father and your mother. And the king of Israel said, No; for the Lord has got these three kings together to give them up into the hands of Moab. Then Elisha said, By the life of the Lord of armies whose servant I am, if it was not for the respect I have for Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, I would not give a look at you, or see you.
Now when it came to the ears of Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, that Joshua had taken Ai, and had given it up to the curse (for as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king); and that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living among them; He was in great fear, because Gibeon was a great town, like one of the king's towns, greater than Ai, and all the men in it were men of war. So Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, sent to Hoham, king of Hebron, and to Piram, king of Jarmuth, and to Japhia, king of Lachish, and to Debir, king of Eglon, saying, Come up to me and give me help, and let us make an attack on Gibeon: for they have made peace with Joshua and the children of Israel. So the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, were banded together, and went up with all their armies and took up their position before Gibeon and made war against it. And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua to the tent-circle at Gilgal, saying, Be not slow to send help to your servants; come up quickly to our support and keep us safe: for all the kings of the Amorites from the hill-country have come together against us. So Joshua went up from Gilgal with all his army and all his men of war. And the Lord said to Joshua, Have no fear of them, for I have given them into your hands; they will all give way before you. So Joshua, having come up from Gilgal all night, made a sudden attack on them. And the Lord made them full of fear before Israel, and they put great numbers of them to death at Gibeon, and went after them by the way going up to Beth-horon, driving them back to Azekah and Makkedah And in their flight before Israel, on the way down from Beth-horon, the Lord sent down great stones from heaven on them all the way to Azekah, causing their death: those whose death was caused by the stones were more than those whom the children of Israel put to death with the sword.
And the children of Israel again did evil in the eyes of the Lord when Ehud was dead. And the Lord gave them up into the hands of Jabin, king of Canaan, who was ruling in Hazor; the captain of his army was Sisera, who was living in Harosheth of the Gentiles. Then the children of Israel made prayer to the Lord; for he had nine hundred iron war-carriages, and for twenty years he was very cruel to the children of Israel. Now Deborah, a woman prophet, the wife of Lapidoth, was judge of Israel at that time. (And she had her seat under the palm-tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in the hill-country of Ephraim; and the children of Israel came up to her to be judged.)
And while Samuel was offering the burned offering, the Philistines came near for the attack on Israel; but at the thunder of the Lord's voice that day the Philistines were overcome with fear, and they gave way before Israel. And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and went after the Philistines, attacking them till they came under Beth-car. Then Samuel took a stone and put it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, naming it Eben-ezer, and saying, Up to now the Lord has been our help.
And Jonathan said to his young servant who had his arms, Come, let us go over to the armies of these men who have no circumcision: it may be that the Lord will give us help, for there is no limit to his power; the Lord is able to give salvation by a great army or by a small band. And his servant said to him, Do whatever is in your mind: see, I am with you in every impulse of your heart. Then Jonathan said, Now we will go over to these men and let them see us. If they say to us, Keep quiet where you are till we come to you; then we will keep our places and not go up to them. But if they say, Come up to us; then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hands: and this will be the sign to us. And they let the Philistine force see the two of them: and the Philistines said, Look! the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have taken cover. And the armed men of the force gave Jonathan and his servant their answer, saying, Come up here to us, and we will let you see something. Then Jonathan said to his servant, Come up after me: for the Lord has given them up into the hands of Israel. And Jonathan went up, gripping with his hands and his feet, his servant going up after him; and the Philistines gave way before Jonathan when he made an attack on them, and his servant put them to death after him. And at their first attack, Jonathan and his servant put to the sword about twenty men, all inside the space of half an acre of land.
Then David said to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword and a spear and a javelin: but I come to you in the name of the Lord of armies, the God of the armies of Israel on which you have put shame. This day the Lord will give you up into my hands, and I will overcome you, and take your head off you; and I will give the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth today, so that all the earth may see that Israel has a God; And all these people who are here today may see that the Lord does not give salvation by sword and spear: for the fight is the Lord's, and he will give you up into our hands. Now when the Philistine made a move and came near to David, David quickly went at a run in the direction of the army, meeting the Philistine face to face. And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and sent it from his leather band straight at the Philistine, and the stone went deep into his brow, and he went down to the earth, falling on his face. So David overcame the Philistine with his leather band and a stone, wounding the Philistine and causing his death: but David had no sword in his hand.
And the king of Israel said to his servants, Do you not see that Ramoth-gilead is ours? and we are doing nothing to get it back from the hands of the king of Aram. And he said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead to make war? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are: my people as your people, my horses as your horses. Then Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Let us now get directions from the Lord. So the king of Israel got all the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Am I to go to Ramoth-gilead to make war or not? And they said, Go up: for the Lord will give it into the hands of the king. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there no other prophet of the Lord here from whom we may get directions? And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is still one man by whom we may get directions from the Lord, Micaiah, son of Imlah; but I have no love for him, for he is a prophet of evil to me and not of good. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
And the Lord said to Moses, Give orders to the children of Israel to go back and put up their tents before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon, opposite to which you are to put up your tents by the sea. And Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are wandering without direction, they are shut in by the waste land. And I will make Pharaoh's heart hard, and he will come after them and I will be honoured over Pharaoh and all his army, so that the Egyptians may see that I am the Lord. And they did so. And word came to Pharaoh of the flight of the people: and the feeling of Pharaoh and of his servants about the people was changed, and they said, Why have we let Israel go, so that they will do no more work for us? So he had his war-carriage made ready and took his people with him: And he took six hundred carriages, all the carriages of Egypt, and captains over all of them. And the Lord made the heart of Pharaoh hard, and he went after the children of Israel: for the children of Israel had gone out without fear. But the Egyptians went after them, all the horses and carriages of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them in their tents by the sea, by Pihahiroth, before Baal-zephon. And when Pharaoh came near, the children of Israel, lifting up their eyes, saw the Egyptians coming after them, and were full of fear; and their cry went up to God. And they said to Moses, Was there no resting-place for the dead in Egypt, that you have taken us away to come to our death in the waste land? why have you taken us out of Egypt? Did we not say to you in Egypt, Let us be as we are, working for the Egyptians? for it is better to be the servants of the Egyptians than to come to our death in the waste land. But Moses said, Keep where you are and have no fear; now you will see the salvation of the Lord which he will give you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again. The Lord will make war for you, you have only to keep quiet. And the Lord said to Moses, Why are you crying out to me? give the children of Israel the order to go forward.
Go and get directions from the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah, about the words of this book which has come to light; for great is the wrath of the Lord which is burning against us, because our fathers have not given ear to the words of this book, to do all the things which are recorded in it. So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam and Achbor and Shaphan and Asaiah, went to Huldah the woman prophet, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the robes, (now she was living in Jerusalem, in the second part of the town;) and they had talk with her.
Now in the ninth year of his rule, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came against Jerusalem with all his army and took up his position before it, building earthworks all round the town. And the town was shut in by their forces till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
And Zerah the Ethiopian, with an army of a million, and three hundred war-carriages, came out against them to Mareshah. And Asa went out against him, and they put their forces in position in the valley north of Mareshah. And Asa made prayer to the Lord his God and said, Lord, you only are able to give help against the strong to him who has no strength; come to our help, O Lord our God, for our hope is in you, and in your name we have come out against this great army. O Lord, you are our God; let not man's power be greater than yours. So the Lord sent fear on the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah; and the Ethiopians went in flight. And Asa and the people who were with him went after them as far as Gerar; and so great was the destruction among the Ethiopians that they were not able to get their army together again, for they were broken before the Lord and before his army; and they took away a great amount of their goods.
Now after this, the children of Moab and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Meunim, made war against Jehoshaphat. And they came to Jehoshaphat with the news, saying, A great army is moving against you from Edom across the sea; and now they are in Hazazon-tamar (which is En-gedi). Then Jehoshaphat, in his fear, went to the Lord for directions, and gave orders all through Judah for the people to go without food. And Judah came together to make prayer for help from the Lord; from every town of Judah they came to give worship to the Lord. And Jehoshaphat took his place in the meeting of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord in front of the new open space, And said, O Lord, the God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? are you not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and in your hands are power and strength so that no one is able to keep his place against you. Did you not, O Lord our God, after driving out the people of this land before your people Israel, give it to the seed of Abraham, your friend, for ever? And they made it their living-place, building there a holy house for your name, and saying, If evil comes on us, the sword, or punishment, or disease, or need of food, we will come to this house and to you, (for your name is in this house,) crying to you in our trouble, and you will give us salvation in answer to our cry. And now, see, the children of Ammon and Moab and the people of Mount Seir, whom you kept Israel from attacking when they came out of Egypt, so that turning to one side they did not send destruction on them: See now, how as our reward they have come to send us out of your land which you have given us as our heritage. O our God, will you not be their judge? for our strength is not equal to this great army which is coming against us; and we are at a loss what to do: but our eyes are on you. And all Judah were waiting before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. Then, before all the meeting, the spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite and one of the family of Asaph; And he said, Give ear, O Judah, and you people of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat: the Lord says to you, Have no fear and do not be troubled on account of this great army; for the fight is not yours but God's. Go down against them tomorrow: see, they are coming up by the slope of Ziz; at the end of the valley, before the waste land of Jeruel, you will come face to face with them. There will be no need for you to take up arms in this fight; put yourselves in position, and keep where you are, and you will see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: have no fear and do not be troubled: go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you. Then Jehoshaphat went down with his face to the earth, and all Judah and the people of Jerusalem gave worship to the Lord, falling down before him. And the Levites, the children of the Kohathites and the Korahites, got to their feet and gave praise to the Lord, the God of Israel, with a loud voice. And early in the morning they got up and went out to the waste land of Tekoa: and when they were going out, Jehoshaphat took his station and said to them, Give ear to me, O Judah and you people of Jerusalem: have faith in the Lord your God and you will be safe; have faith in his prophets and all will go well for you. And after discussion with the people, he put in their places those who were to make melody to the Lord, praising him in holy robes, while they went at the head of the army, and saying, May the Lord be praised, for his mercy is unchanging for ever. And at the first notes of song and praise the Lord sent a surprise attack against the children of Ammon and Moab and the people of Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were overcome. And the children of Ammon and Moab made an attack on the people of Mount Seir with a view to their complete destruction; and when they had put an end to the people of Seir, everyman's hand was turned against his neighbour for his destruction. And Judah came to the watchtower of the waste land, and looking in the direction of the army, they saw only dead bodies stretched on the earth; no living man was to be seen. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their goods from them, they saw beasts in great numbers, and wealth and clothing and things of value, more than they were able to take away; all this they took for themselves, and they were three days getting it away, there was so much. On the fourth day they all came together in the Valley of Blessing, and there they gave blessing to the Lord; for which cause that place has been named the Valley of Blessing to this day. Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem went back, with Jehoshaphat at their head, coming back to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them glad over their haters. So they came to Jerusalem with corded instruments and wind-instruments into the house of the Lord. And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the lands, when they had news of how the Lord made war on those who came against Israel. So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for the Lord gave him rest on every side.
Come, see the works of the Lord, the destruction which he has made in the earth. He puts an end to wars over all the earth; by him the bow is broken, and the spear cut in two, and the carriage burned in the fire. Be at peace in the knowledge that I am God: I will be lifted up among the nations, I will be honoured through all the earth. The Lord of armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our high tower. (Selah.)
For see! the kings came together by agreement, they were joined together. They saw it, and so were full of wonder; they were troubled, and went quickly away in fear. Shaking came on them and pain, as on a woman in childbirth. By you the ships of Tarshish are broken as by an east wind. As it came to our ears so have we seen it, in the town of the Lord of armies, in the town of our God; God will keep it fixed for ever. (Selah.)
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 21
Commentary on Jeremiah 21 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
II. Special Predictions of the Judgment to Be Accomplished by the Chaldeans, and of the Messianic Salvation - Jeremiah 21-33
These predictions are distinguished from the discourses of the first section, in regard to their form, by special headings assigning precisely the occasion and the date of the particular utterances; and in regard to their substance, by the minute detail with which judgment and salvation are foretold. They fall into two groups. In Jer 21-29 is set forth in detail the judgment to be executed upon Judah and the nations by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon; and in Jer 30-33 the restoration of Judah and Israel on the expiry of the period of punishment.
A. The Predictions of Judgment on Judah and the Nations - Jeremiah 21-29
Although these prophecies deal first and chiefly with the judgment which the king of Babylon is to execute on Judah, yet they at the same time intimate that a like fate is in store for the surrounding nations. And in them there is besides a foreshadowing of the judgment to come on Babylon after the expiration of the period appointed for the domination of the Chaldeans, and in brief hints, of the redemption of Israel from captivity in Babylon and other lands into which it has been scattered. They consist of three prophetic pieces, of which the middle one only, Jer 25, forms one lengthy continuous discourse, while the two others are composed of several shorter or longer utterances; the latter two being arranged around the former as a centre. In the first piece the necessity of judgment is shown by means of an exposure of the profound corruption of the leaders of the people, the kings and the false prophets, and of the people itself; this being done with a view to check the reigning depravity and to bring back Israel to the true God. In the discourse of Jer 25 the judgment is set forth with comprehensive generalness. In the third piece, Jer 26-29, the truth of this declaration is confirmed, and defended against the gainsaying of priests and prophets, by a series of utterances which crush all hopes and all attempts to avert the ruin of Jerusalem and Judah. - This gathering together of the individual utterances and addresses into longer discourse-like compositions, and the grouping of them around the central discourse Jer 25, is evidently a part of the work of editing the book but was doubtless carried out under the direction of the prophet by his assistant Baruch.
The Shepherds and Leaders of the People - Jeremiah 21-24
Under this heading may be comprehended the contents of these four chapters; for the nucleus of this compilation is formed by the prophecy concerning the shepherds of the people, the godless last kings of Judah and the false prophets, in Jer 22 and 23, while Jeremiah 21:1-14 is to be regarded as an introduction thereto, and Jeremiah 24:1-10 a supplement. The aim of this portion of prophetic teaching is to show how the covenant people has been brought to ruin by its corrupt temporal and spiritual rulers, that the Lord must purge it by sore judgments, presently to fall on Judah through Nebuchadnezzar's instrumentality. This is to be done in order to root out the ungodly by sword, famine, and pestilence, and so to make the survivors His true people again by means of right shepherds whom He will raise up in the true branch of David. The introduction, Jeremiah 21:1-14, contains deliverances regarding the fate of King Zedekiah, the people, and the city, addressed by Jeremiah, at the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, to the men sent to him from the king, in reply to the request for intercession with the Lord; the answer being to the effect that God will punish them according to the fruit of their doings. Then follow in order the discourse against the corrupt rulers, especially Kings Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Jechoniah, Jer 22, with a promise that the remainder of the Lord's flock will be gathered again and blessed with a righteous shepherd (Jeremiah 23:1-8), and next threatenings against the false prophets (Jer 23:9-40); the conclusion of the whole being formed by the vision of the two baskets of figs, Jeremiah 24:1-10, which foreshadows the fate of the people carried away to Babylon with Jehoiachin and of those that remained in the land with Zedekiah. - The several long constituent portions of this "word of God," united into a whole by the heading Jeremiah 21:1, belong to various times. The contents of Jeremiah 21:1-14 belong to the first period of the Chaldean siege, i.e., the ninth year of Zedekiah; the middle portion, Jer 22 and 23, dates from the reigns of Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin; the conclusion, Jeremiah 24:1-10, is from the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, not long after Jehoiachin and the best part of the people had been carried off to Babylon. - As to the joining of Jer 22 and 23 with Jeremiah 21:1-14, Ewald rightly says that Jeremiah made use of the opportunity furnished by the message of the king to him of speaking plainly out regarding the future destiny of the whole kingdom, as well as in an especial way with regard to the royal house, and the great men and leaders of the people; and that he accordingly gathered into this part of the book all he had hitherto publicly uttered concerning the leaders of the people, both kings and temporal princes, and also prophets and priests. This he did in order to disclose, regardless of consequences, the causes for the destruction of the kingdom of Judah and the city Jerusalem by the Chaldean; while the brief promise of a future gathering again of the remnant of the scattered flock, introduced at Jeremiah 23:1-8, is to show that, spite of the judgment to fall on Judah and Jerusalem, the Lord will yet not wholly cast of His people, but will at a future time admit them to favour again. For the confirmation of this truth there is added in Jeremiah 24:1-10 the vision of the two baskets of figs.
The Taking of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. - Jeremiah 21:1 and Jeremiah 21:2. The heading specifying the occasion for the following prediction. "The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah when King Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Malchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying: Inquire now of Jahveh for us, for Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all His wondrous works, that he may go up from us." The fighting of Nebuchadrezzar is in Jeremiah 21:4 stated to be the besieging of the city. From this it appears that the siege had begun ere the king sent the two men to the prophet. Pashur the son of Malchiah is held by Hitz., Graf, Nהg. , etc., to be a distinguished priest of the class of Malchiah. But this is without sufficient reason; for he is not called a priest, as is the case with Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, and with Pashur the son of Immer (Jeremiah 21:1). Nor is anything proved by the circumstance that Pashur and Malchiah occur in several places as the names of priests, e.g., 1 Chronicles 9:12; for both names are also used of persons not priests, e.g., Malchiah, Ezra 10:25, Ezra 10:31, and Pashur, Jeremiah 38:1, where this son of Gedaliah is certainly a laic. From this passage, where Pashur ben Malchiah appears again, it is clear that the four men there named, who accused Jeremiah for his speech, were government authorities or court officials, since in Jeremiah 38:4 they are called שׂרים . Ros. is therefore right in saying of the Pashur under consideration: videtur unus ex principibus sive aulicis fuisse , cf. Jeremiah 38:4. Only Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah is called priest; and he, acc. to Jeremiah 29:25; Jeremiah 37:3; Jeremiah 52:24, held a high position in the priesthood. Inquire for us of Jahveh, i.e., ask for a revelation for us, as 2 Kings 22:13, cf. Genesis 25:22. It is not: pray for His help on our behalf, which is expressed by התפּלּל בּעדנוּ , Jeremiah 37:3, cf. Jeremiah 52:2. In the request for a revelation the element of intercession is certainly not excluded, but it is not directly expressed. But it is on this that the king founds his hope: Peradventure Jahveh will do with us ( אותנוּ for אתּנוּ ) according to all His wondrous works, i.e., in the miraculous manner in which He has so often saved us, e.g., under Hezekiah, and also, during the blockade of the city by Sennacherib, had recourse to the prophet Isaiah and besought his intercession with the Lord, 2 Kings 19:2., Isaiah 37:2. That he (Nebuch.) may go up from us. עלה , to march against a city in order to besiege it or take it, but with מעל , to withdraw from it, cf. Jeremiah 37:5; 1 Kings 15:19. As to the name Nebuchadrezzar, which corresponds more exactly than the Aramaic-Jewish Nebuchadnezzar with the Nebucadurriusur of the inscriptions ( נבו כדר אצר , i.e., Nebo coronam servat ), see Comm. on Daniel at Daniel 1:1.
The Lord's reply through Jeremiah consists of three parts: a . The answer to the king's hope that the Lord will save Jerusalem from the Chaldeans (Jeremiah 21:4-7); b . The counsel given to the people and the royal family as to how they may avert ruin (Jeremiah 21:8-12); c . The prediction that Jerusalem will be punished for her sins (Jeremiah 21:13 and Jeremiah 21:14).
Jeremiah 21:3-6
The answer. - Jeremiah 21:3 . "And Jeremiah said to them: Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah: Jeremiah 21:4 . Thus hath Jahveh the God of Israel said: Behold, I turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and gather them together into the midst of this city. Jeremiah 21:5 . And I fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, and with anger and fury and great wrath, Jeremiah 21:6 . And smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; of a great plague they shall die. Jeremiah 21:7 . And afterward, saith Jahveh, I will give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his servants, and the people - namely, such as in this city are left of the plague, of the sword, and of the famine - into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek after their life, that he may smite them according to the sharpness of the sword, not spare them, neither have pity nor mercy." This answer is intended to disabuse the king and his servants of all hope of help from God. So far from saving them from the Chaldeans, God will fight against them, will drive back into the city its defenders that are still holding out without the walls against the enemy; consume the inhabitants by sword, pestilence, famine; deliver the king, with his servants and all that survive inside the lines of the besiegers, into the hand of the latter, and unsparingly cause them to be put to death. "I make the weapons of war turn back" is carried on and explained by "I gather them into the city." The sense is: I will bring it about that ye, who still fight without the walls against the beleaguerers, must turn back with your weapons and retreat into the city. "Without the walls" is not to be joined to מסב , because this is too remote, and מחוּץ is by usage locative, not ablative. It should go with "wherewith ye fight," etc.: wherewith ye fight without the walls against the beleaguering enemies. The siege had but just begun, so that the Jews were still trying to hinder the enemy from taking possession of stronger positions and from a closer blockade of the city. In this they will not succeed, but their weapons will be thrust back into the city.
Jeremiah 21:7
The Lord will make known His almighty power not for the rescue but for the chastisement of Judah. The words "with outstretched hand and strong arm" are a standing figure for the miraculous manifestation of God's power at the release of Israel from Egypt, Deuteronomy 4:34; Deuteronomy 5:15; Deuteronomy 26:8. This power He will now exercise upon Israel, and execute the punishment threatened against apostasy at the renewal of the covenant by Moses in the land of Moab. The words גּדול ... בּאף are from Deuteronomy 29:27. The inhabitants of Jerusalem are to perish during the siege by pestilence and disease, and the remainder, including the king and his servants, to be mercilessly massacred. "Great pestilence" alone is mentioned in Jeremiah 21:6, but in Jeremiah 21:7 there are sword and famine along with it. The ואת before הנּשׁארים seems superfluous and unsuitable, since besides the king, his servants and the people, there could be none others left. The lxx have therefore omitted it, and Hitz., Ew., Graf, and others propose to erase it. But the ו may be taken to be explicative: namely, such as are left, in which case ואת serves to extend the participial clause to all the persons before mentioned, while without the ואת the ' הנּשׁארים וגו could be referred only to העם . "Into the hand of their enemies" is rhetorically amplified by "into the hand of those that seek," etc., as in Jeremiah 19:7, Jeremiah 19:9; Jeremiah 34:20, etc.; לפי חרב , according to the sharpness (or edge) of the sword, i.e., mercilessly (see on Genesis 34:26; in Jer. only here), explained by "not spare them," etc., cf. Jeremiah 13:14.
Jeremiah 21:8-10
The counsel given to the people and royal family how to escape death. - Jeremiah 21:8 . "And unto the people thou shalt say: Thus hath Jahveh said: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. Jeremiah 21:9 . He that abideth in this city shall die by sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he that goeth out and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and have his soul for a prey. Jeremiah 21:10. For I have set my face on this city for evil and not for good, saith Jahveh; into the hand of the king of Babylon shall it be given, who shall burn it with fire. Jeremiah 21:11. And to the house of the king of Judah: Hear the word of Jahveh: Jeremiah 21:12. House of David! thus hath Jahveh said: Hold judgment every morning, and save the despoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury break forth as fire, and burn unquenchably, because of the evil of your doings." What the prophet is here to say to the people and the royal house is not directly addressed to the king's envoy, but is closely connected with the answer he was to give to the latter, and serves to strengthen the same. We need not be hampered by the assumption that Jeremiah, immediately after that answer, communicated this advice, so that it might be made known to the people and to the royal house. The counsel given in Jeremiah 21:8-12 to the people was during the siege repeatedly given by Jeremiah both to the king and to the people, cf. Jeremiah 38:1., Jeremiah 38:17., and Jeremiah 27:11., and many of the people acted by his advice, cf. Jeremiah 38:19; Jeremiah 39:9; Jeremiah 52:15. But the defenders of the city, the authorities, saw therein treason, or at least a highly dangerous discouragement to those who were fighting, and accused the prophet as a traitor, Jeremiah 38:4., cf. Jeremiah 37:13. Still Jeremiah, holding his duty higher than his life, remained in the city, and gave as his opinion, under conviction attained to only by divine revelation, that all resistance is useless, since God has irrevocably decreed the destruction of Jerusalem as a punishment for their sins. The idea of Jeremiah 21:7 is clothed in words taken from Deuteronomy 30:15, cf. Deuteronomy 11:26. ישׁב , Jeremiah 21:9, as opposed to יצא , does not mean: to dwell, but: to sit still, abide. To fall to the Chaldeans, i.e., to go over to them, cf. Jeremiah 37:14; Jeremiah 39:9; 2 Kings 25:11; על is interchanged with אל , Jeremiah 37:13; Jeremiah 38:19; Jeremiah 52:15. The Chet . יחיה is right, corresponding to ימוּת ; the Keri וחיה is wrong. His life shall be to him for a prey, i.e., he shall carry it thence as a prey, i.e., preserve it. Jeremiah 21:10 gives the reason for the advice given. For I have set my face, cf. Jeremiah 44:11, recalls Amos 9:4, only there we have עיני for פּני , as in Jeremiah 24:6. To set the face or eye on one means: to pay special heed to him, in good (cf. Jeremiah 39:12) or in evil sense; hence the addition, "for evil," etc.
Jeremiah 21:11-12
(Note: According to Hitz., Gr., and Näg. , the passage Jeremiah 21:11-14 stands in no inner connection with the foregoing, and may, from the contents of it, be seen to belong to an earlier period than that of the siege which took place under Zedekiah, namely, to the time of Jehoiakim, because, a . in the period of Jeremiah 21:1. such an exhortation and conditional threatening must have been out of place after their destruction had been quite unconditionally foretold to Zedekiah and the people in Jeremiah 21:4-7; b . the defiant tone conveyed in Jeremiah 21:13 is inconsistent with the cringing despondency shown by Zedekiah in Jeremiah 21:2; c . it is contrary to what we would expect to find the house of the king addressed separately after the king had been addressed in Jeremiah 21:3, the king being himself comprehended in his "house." But these arguments, on which Hitz. builds ingenious hypotheses, are perfectly valueless. As to a , we have to remark: In Jeremiah 21:4-7 unconditional destruction is foretold against neither king nor people; it is only said that the Chaldeans will capture the city - that the inhabitants will be smitten with pestilence, famine, and sword - and that the king, with his servants and those that are left, will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, who will smite them unsparingly. But in Jeremiah 21:12 the threatening is uttered against the king, that if he does not practise righteousness, the wrath of God will be kindled unquenchably, and, Jeremiah 21:14, that Jerusalem is to be burnt with fire. In Jeremiah 21:4-7 there is no word of the burning of the city; it is first threatened, Jeremiah 21:10, against the people, after the choice has been given them of escaping utter destruction. How little the burning of Jerusalem is involved in Jeremiah 21:4-7 may be seen from the history of the siege and capture of Jerusalem under Jehoiachin, on which occasion, too, the king, with his servants and the people, was given into the hand of the king of Babylon, while the city was permitted to stand, and the deported king remained in life, and was subsequently set free from his captivity by Evil-Merodach. But that Zedekiah, by hearkening to the word of the Lord, can alleviate his doom and save Jerusalem from destruction, this Jeremiah tells him yet later in very plain terms, Jeremiah 38:17-23, cf. Jeremiah 34:4. Lastly, the release of Hebrew man-servants and maid-servants, recounted in Jeremiah 34:8., shows that even during the siege there were cases of an endeavour to turn and follow the law, and consequently that an exhortation to hold by the right could not have been regarded as wholly superfluous. - The other two arguments, b and c , are totally inconclusive. How the confidence of the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the strength of its fortifications (Jeremiah 21:13) is contradictory of the fact related in Jeremiah 21:2, does not appear. That Zedekiah should betake himself to the prophet, desiring him to entreat the help of God, is not a specimen of cringing despondency such as excludes all confidence in any earthly means of help. Nor are defiance and despondency mutually exclusive opposites in psychological experience, but states of mind that rapidly alternate. Finally, Näg. seems to have added the last argument (c) only because he had no great confidence in the two others, which had been dwelt on by Hitz. and Graf. Why should not Jeremiah have given the king another counsel for warding off the worst, over and above that conveyed in the answer to his question (Jeremiah 21:4-7)? - These arguments have therefore not pith enough to throw any doubt on the connection between the two passages (Jeremiah 21:8-10, and Jeremiah 21:11, Jeremiah 21:12) indicated by the manner in which "and to the house ( וּלבית ) of the king of Judah" points back to "and unto this people thou shalt say" (Jeremiah 21:8), or to induce us to attribute the connection so indicated to the thoughtlessness of the editor.)
The kingly house, i.e., the king and his family, under which are here comprehended not merely women and children, but also the king's companions, his servants and councillors; they are counselled to hold judgment every morning. דּין משׁפּט = דּין דּין , Jeremiah 5:28; Jeremiah 22:16, or שׁפט , Lamentations 3:59; 1 Kings 3:28. לבּקר distributively, every morning, as Amos 4:4. To save the despoiled out of the hand of the oppressor means: to defend his just cause against the oppressor, to defend him from being despoiled; cf. Jeremiah 22:3. The form of address; House of David, which is by a displacement awkwardly separated from שׁמעוּ , is meant to remind the kingly house of its origin, its ancestor David, who walked in the ways of the Lord. - The second half of the verse, "lest my fury," etc., runs like Jeremiah 4:4.
Jeremiah 21:13-14
The chastisement of Jerusalem. - Jeremiah 21:13. "Behold, I am against thee, inhabitress of the valley, of the rock of the plain, saith Jahveh, ye who say: Who shall come down against us, and who shall come into our dwellings? Jeremiah 21:14. And will visit you according to the fruit of your doings, saith Jahveh, and kindle a fire in her forest, that it may devour all her surroundings." This threatening is levelled against the citizens of Jerusalem, who vaunted the impregnableness of their city. The inhabitress of the valley is the daughter of Zion, the population of Jerusalem personified. The situation of the city is spoken of as עמק , ravine between mountains, in respect that Jerusalem was encircled by mountains of greater height (Psalms 125:2); and as rock of the plain, i.e., the region regarded as a level from which Mount Zion, the seat of the kingdom, rose, equivalent to rock of the field, Jeremiah 17:3. In the "rock" we think specially of Mount Zion, and in the "valley" of the so-called lower city. The two designations are chosen to indicate the strong situation of Jerusalem. On this the inhabitants pride themselves, who say: Who shall come down against us? יחת for ינחת , from נחת ; cf. Ew. §139, c . Dwellings, cf. Jeremiah 25:30, not cities or refuge or coverts of wild animals; מעון has not this force, but can at most acquire it from the context; see Del. on Psalms 26:8. The strength of the city will not shield the inhabitants from the punishment with which God will visit them. "According to the fruit," etc., cf. Jeremiah 17:10. I kindle fire in her forest. The city is a forest of houses, and the figure is to be explained by the simile in Jeremiah 22:6, but was not suggested by מעון = lustra ferarum (Hitz.). All her surroundings, how much more then the city itself!