4 So Johanan H3110 the son H1121 of Kareah, H7143 and all the captains H8269 of the forces, H2428 and all the people, H5971 obeyed H8085 not the voice H6963 of the LORD, H3068 to dwell H3427 in the land H776 of Judah. H3063
Then they said H559 to Jeremiah, H3414 The LORD H3068 be a true H571 and faithful H539 witness H5707 between us, if we do H6213 not even according to all things H1697 for the which the LORD H3068 thy God H430 shall send H7971 thee to us. Whether it be good, H2896 or whether it be evil, H7451 we will obey H8085 the voice H6963 of the LORD H3068 our God, H430 to whom we H580 send H7971 thee; that it may be well H3190 with us, when we obey H8085 the voice H6963 of the LORD H3068 our God. H430
And it came to pass, as he talked H1696 with him, that the king said H559 unto him, Art thou made H5414 of the king's H4428 counsel? H3289 forbear; H2308 why shouldest thou be smitten? H5221 Then the prophet H5030 forbare, H2308 and said, H559 I know H3045 that God H430 hath determined H3289 to destroy H7843 thee, because thou hast done H6213 this, and hast not hearkened H8085 unto my counsel. H6098
But they hearkened H8085 not, nor inclined H5186 their ear H241 to turn H7725 from their wickedness, H7451 to burn no incense H6999 unto other H312 gods. H430
Then said H559 I, Wisdom H2451 is better H2896 than strength: H1369 nevertheless the poor man's H4542 wisdom H2451 is despised, H959 and his words H1697 are not heard. H8085
If ye will still H7725 abide H3427 in this land, H776 then will I build H1129 you, and not pull you down, H2040 and I will plant H5193 you, and not pluck you up: H5428 for I repent H5162 me of the evil H7451 that I have done H6213 unto you. Be not afraid H3372 of H6440 the king H4428 of Babylon, H894 of whom H6440 ye are afraid; H3373 be not afraid H3372 of him, saith H5002 the LORD: H3068 for I am with you to save H3467 you, and to deliver H5337 you from his hand. H3027 And I will shew H5414 mercies H7356 unto you, that he may have mercy H7355 upon you, and cause you to return H7725 to your own land. H127 But if ye say, H559 We will not dwell H3427 in this land, H776 neither obey H8085 the voice H6963 of the LORD H3068 your God, H430
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Jeremiah 43
Commentary on Jeremiah 43 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 43
Jer 43:1-13. The Jews Carry Jeremiah and Baruch into Egypt. Jeremiah Foretells by a Type the Conquest of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, and the Fate of the Fugitives.
2. Azariah—the author of the project of going into Egypt; a very different man from the Azariah in Babylon (Da 1:7; 3:12-18).
proud—Pride is the parent of disobedience and contempt of God.
3. Baruch—He being the younger spake out the revelations which he received from Jeremiah more vehemently. From this cause, and from their knowing that he was in favor with the Chaldeans, arose their suspicion of him. Their perverse fickleness was astonishing. In the forty-second chapter they acknowledged the trustworthiness of Jeremiah, of which they had for so long so many proofs; yet here they accuse him of a lie. The mind of the unregenerate man is full of deceits.
5. remnant … returned from all nations—(Jer 40:11, 12).
6. the king's daughters—Zedekiah's (Jer 41:10).
7. Tahpanhes—(See on Jer 2:16); Daphne on the Tanitic branch of the Nile, near Pelusium. They naturally came to it first, being on the frontier of Egypt, towards Palestine.
9. stones—to be laid as the foundation beneath Nebuchadnezzar's throne (Jer 43:10).
clay—mortar.
brick-kiln—Bricks in that hot country are generally dried in the sun, not burned. The palace of Pharaoh was being built or repaired at this time; hence arose the mortar and brick-kiln at the entry. Of the same materials as that of which Pharaoh's house was built, the substructure of Nebuchadnezzar's throne should be constructed. By a visible symbol implying that the throne of the latter shall be raised on the downfall of the former. Egypt at that time contended with Babylon for the empire of the East.
10. my servant—God often makes one wicked man or nation a scourge to another (Eze 29:18, 19, 20).
royal pavilion—the rich tapestry (literally, "ornament") which hung round the throne from above.
11. such as are for death to death—that is, the deadly plague. Some he shall cause to die by the plague arising from insufficient or bad food; others, by the sword; others he shall lead captive, according as God shall order it (see on Jer 15:2).
12. houses of … gods—He shall not spare even the temple, such will be His fury. A reproof to the Jews that they betook themselves to Egypt, a land whose own safety depended on helpless idols.
burn … carry … captives—burn the Egyptian idols of wood, carry to Babylon those of gold and other metals.
array himself with the land, &c.—Isa 49:18 has the same metaphor.
as a shepherd, &c.—He shall become master of Egypt as speedily and easily as a shepherd, about to pass on with his flock to another place, puts on his garment.
13. images—statues or obelisks.
Beth-shemesh—that is, "the house of the sun," in Hebrew; called by the Greeks "Heliopolis"; by the Egyptians, "On" (Ge 41:45); east of the Nile, and a few miles north of Memphis. Ephraim Syrus says, the statue rose to the height of sixty cubits; the base was ten cubits. Above there was a miter of a thousand pounds weight. Hieroglyphics are traced around the only obelisk remaining in the present day, sixty or seventy feet high. On the fifth year after the overthrow of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar, leaving the siege of Tyre, undertook his expedition to Egypt [Josephus, Antiquities, 10.9,7]. The Egyptians, according to the Arabs, have a tradition that their land was devastated by Nebuchadnezzar in consequence of their king having received the Jews under his protection, and that it lay desolate forty years. But see on Eze 29:2; Eze 29:13.
shall he burn—Here the act is attributed to Nebuchadnezzar, the instrument, which in Jer 43:12 is attributed to God. If even the temples be not spared, much less private houses.