6 If ye oppress H6231 not the stranger, H1616 the fatherless, H3490 and the widow, H490 and shed H8210 not innocent H5355 blood H1818 in this place, H4725 neither walk H3212 after H310 other H312 gods H430 to your hurt: H7451
Ye shall not go H3212 after H310 other H312 gods, H430 of the gods H430 of the people H5971 which are round about H5439 you; (For the LORD H3068 thy God H430 is a jealous H7067 God H410 among H7130 you) lest the anger H639 of the LORD H3068 thy God H430 be kindled H2734 against thee, and destroy H8045 thee from off the face H6440 of the earth. H127
Thou shalt neither vex H3238 a stranger, H1616 nor oppress H3905 him: for ye were strangers H1616 in the land H776 of Egypt. H4714 Ye shall not afflict H6031 any widow, H490 or fatherless child. H3490 If H518 thou afflict H6031 them in any wise, H6031 and they cry H6817 at all H6817 unto me, I will surely H8085 hear H8085 their cry; H6818 And my wrath H639 shall wax hot, H2734 and I will kill H2026 you with the sword; H2719 and your wives H802 shall be widows, H490 and your children H1121 fatherless. H3490
That G3704 upon G1909 you G5209 may come G2064 all G3956 the righteous G1342 blood G129 shed G1632 upon G1909 the earth, G1093 from G575 the blood G129 of righteous G1342 Abel G6 unto G2193 the blood G129 of Zacharias G2197 son G5207 of Barachias, G914 whom G3739 ye slew G5407 between G3342 the temple G3485 and G2532 the altar. G2379 Verily G281 I say G3004 unto you, G5213 All G3956 these things G5023 shall come G2240 upon G1909 this G5026 generation. G1074 O Jerusalem, G2419 Jerusalem, G2419 thou that killest G615 the prophets, G4396 and G2532 stonest G3036 them which are sent G649 unto G4314 thee, G846 how often G4212 would I G2309 have gathered G1996 thy G4675 G3739 children G5043 together, G1996 even as G5158 a hen G3733 gathereth G1996 her G1438 chickens G3556 under G5259 her wings, G4420 and G2532 ye would G2309 not! G3756
Thus speaketh H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 saying, H559 Execute H8199 true H571 judgment, H4941 and shew H6213 mercy H2617 and compassions H7356 every man H376 to his brother: H251 And oppress H6231 not the widow, H490 nor the fatherless, H3490 the stranger, H1616 nor the poor; H6041 and let none of you imagine H2803 evil H7451 against H376 his brother H251 in your heart. H3824 But they refused H3985 to hearken, H7181 and pulled away H5414 H5637 the shoulder, H3802 and stopped H3513 their ears, H241 that they should not hear. H8085 Yea, they made H7760 their hearts H3820 as an adamant stone, H8068 lest they should hear H8085 the law, H8451 and the words H1697 which the LORD H3068 of hosts H6635 hath sent H7971 in his spirit H7307 by H3027 the former H7223 prophets: H5030 therefore came a great H1419 wrath H7110 from the LORD H3068 of hosts. H6635
Then say H559 thou, Thus saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD, H3069 The city H5892 sheddeth H8210 blood H1818 in the midst H8432 of it, that her time H6256 may come, H935 and maketh H6213 idols H1544 against herself to defile H2930 herself. Thou art become guilty H816 in thy blood H1818 that thou hast shed; H8210 and hast defiled H2930 thyself in thine idols H1544 which thou hast made; H6213 and thou hast caused thy days H3117 to draw near, H7126 and art come H935 even unto thy years: H8141 therefore have I made H5414 thee a reproach H2781 unto the heathen, H1471 and a mocking H7048 to all countries. H776 Those that be near, H7138 and those that be far H7350 from thee, shall mock H7046 thee, which art infamous H2931 H8034 and much H7227 vexed. H4103 Behold, the princes H5387 of Israel, H3478 every one H376 were in thee to their power H2220 to shed H8210 blood. H1818
Shalt thou reign, H4427 because thou closest H8474 thyself in cedar? H730 did not thy father H1 eat H398 and drink, H8354 and do H6213 judgment H4941 and justice, H6666 and then it was well H2896 with him? He judged H1777 the cause H1779 of the poor H6041 and needy; H34 then it was well H2896 with him: was not this to know H1847 me? saith H5002 the LORD. H3068 But thine eyes H5869 and thine heart H3820 are not but for thy covetousness, H1215 and for to shed H8210 innocent H5355 blood, H1818 and for oppression, H6233 and for violence, H4835 to do H6213 it.
Thus saith H559 the LORD; H3068 Execute H6213 ye judgment H4941 and righteousness, H6666 and deliver H5337 the spoiled H1497 out of the hand H3027 of the oppressor: H6216 and do no wrong, H3238 do no violence H2554 to the stranger, H1616 the fatherless, H3490 nor the widow, H490 neither shed H8210 innocent H5355 blood H1818 in this place. H4725 For if ye do H6213 this thing H1697 indeed, H6213 then shall there enter in H935 by the gates H8179 of this house H1004 kings H4428 sitting H3427 upon the throne H3678 of David, H1732 riding H7392 in chariots H7393 and on horses, H5483 he, and his servants, H5650 and his people. H5971
Defend H8199 the poor H1800 and fatherless: H3490 do justice H6663 to the afflicted H6041 and needy. H7326 Deliver H6403 the poor H1800 and needy: H34 rid H5337 them out of the hand H3027 of the wicked. H7563
If I did despise H3988 the cause H4941 of my manservant H5650 or of my maidservant, H519 when they contended H7379 with me; What then shall I do H6213 when God H410 riseth up? H6965 and when he visiteth, H6485 what shall I answer H7725 him? Did not he that made H6213 me in the womb H990 make H6213 him? and did not one H259 fashion H3559 us in the womb? H7358 If I have withheld H4513 the poor H1800 from their desire, H2656 or have caused the eyes H5869 of the widow H490 to fail; H3615 Or have eaten H398 my morsel H6595 myself alone, and the fatherless H3490 hath not eaten H398 thereof; (For from my youth H5271 he was brought up H1431 with me, as with a father, H1 and I have guided H5148 her from my mother's H517 womb;) H990 If I have seen H7200 any perish H6 for want of clothing, H3830 or any poor H34 without covering; H3682 If his loins H2504 have not blessed H1288 me, and if he were not warmed H2552 with the fleece H1488 of my sheep; H3532 If I have lifted up H5130 my hand H3027 against the fatherless, H3490 when I saw H7200 my help H5833 in the gate: H8179 Then let mine arm H3802 fall H5307 from my shoulder blade, H7929 and mine arm H248 be broken H7665 from the bone. H7070
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Jeremiah 7
Commentary on Jeremiah 7 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 7
Jer 7:1-34. The Seventh through Ninth Chapters. Delivered in the Beginning of Jehoiakim's Reign, on the Occasion of Some Public Festival.
The prophet stood at the gate of the temple in order that the multitudes from the country might hear him. His life was threatened, it appears from Jer 26:1-9, for this prophecy, denouncing the fate of Shiloh as about to befall the temple at Jerusalem. The prophecy given in detail here is summarily referred to there. After Josiah's death the nation relapsed into idolatry through Jehoiakim's bad influence; the worship of Jehovah was, however, combined with it (Jer 7:4, 10).
2. the gate—that is, the gate of the court of Israel within that of the women. Those whom Jeremiah addresses came through the gate leading into the court of the women, and the gate leading into the outer court, or court of the Gentiles ("these gates").
3. cause you to dwell—permit you still to dwell (Jer 18:11; 26:13).
4. The Jews falsely thought that because their temple had been chosen by Jehovah as His peculiar dwelling, it could never be destroyed. Men think that ceremonial observances will supersede the need of holiness (Isa 48:2; Mic 3:11). The triple repetition of "the temple of Jehovah" expresses the intense confidence of the Jews (see Jer 22:29; Isa 6:3).
these—the temple buildings which the prophet points to with his finger (Jer 7:2).
5. For—"But" [Maurer].
judgment—justice (Jer 22:3).
6. this place—this city and land (Jer 7:7).
to your hurt—so Jer 7:19; "to the confusion or their own faces" (Jer 13:10; Pr 8:36).
7. The apodosis to the "if … if" (Jer 7:5, 6).
to dwell—to continue to dwell.
for ever and ever—joined with "to dwell," not with the words "gave to your fathers" (compare Jer 3:18; De 4:40).
8. that cannot profit—Maurer translates, "so that you profit nothing" (see Jer 7:4; Jer 5:31).
9, 10. "Will ye steal … and then come and stand before Me?"
whom ye know not—Ye have no grounds of "knowing" that they are gods; but I have manifested My Godhead by My law, by benefits conferred, and by miracles. This aggravates their crime [Calvin] (Jud 5:8).
10. And come—And yet come (Eze 23:39).
We are delivered—namely, from all impending calamities. In spite of the prophet's threats, we have nothing to fear; we have offered our sacrifices, and therefore Jehovah will "deliver" us.
to do all these abominations—namely, those enumerated (Jer 7:9). These words are not to be connected with "we are delivered," but thus: "Is it with this design that ye come and stand before Me in this house," in order that having offered your worthless sacrifices ye may be taken into My favor and so do all these abominations (Jer 7:9) with impunity? [Maurer].
11. den of robbers—Do you regard My temple as being what robbers make their den, namely, an asylum wherein ye may obtain impunity for your abominations (Jer 7:10)?
seen it—namely, that ye treat My house as if it were a den of thieves. Jehovah implies more than is expressed, "I have seen and will punish it" (Isa 56:7; Mt 21:13).
12. my place … in Shiloh—God caused His tabernacle to be set up in Shiloh in Joshua's days (Jos 18:1; Jud 18:31). In Eli's time God gave the ark, which had been at Shiloh, into the hands of the Philistines (Jer 26:6; 1Sa 4:10, 11; Ps 78:56-61). Shiloh was situated between Beth-el and Shechem in Ephraim.
at the first—implying that Shiloh exceeded the Jewish temple in antiquity. But God's favor is not tied down to localities (Ac 7:44).
my people Israel—Israel was God's people, yet He spared it not when rebellious: neither will He spare Judah, now that it rebels, though heretofore it has been His people.
13. rising … early—implying unwearied earnestness in soliciting them (Jer 7:25; Jer 11:17; 2Ch 36:15).
14. I gave—and I therefore can revoke the gift for it is still Mine (Le 25:23), now that ye fail in the only object for which it was given, the promotion of My glory.
Shiloh—as I ceased to dwell there, transferring My temple to Jerusalem; so I will cease to dwell at Jerusalem.
15. your brethren—children of Abraham, as much as you.
whole seed of Ephraim—They were superior to you in numbers and power: they were ten tribes: ye but two. "Ephraim," as the leading tribe, stands for the whole ten tribes (2Ki 17:23; Ps 78:67, 68).
16. When people are given up to judicial hardness of heart, intercessory prayer for them is unavailing (Jer 11:14; 14:11; 15:1; Ex 32:10; 1Jo 5:16).
17. Jehovah leaves it to Jeremiah himself to decide, is there not good reason that prayers should not be heard in behalf of such rebels?
18. children … fathers … women—Not merely isolated individuals practised idolatry; young and old, men and women, and whole families, contributed their joint efforts to promote it. Oh, that there were the same zeal for the worship of God as there is for error (Jer 44:17, 19; 19:13)!
cakes … queen of heaven—Cakes were made of honey, fine flour, &c., in a round flat shape to resemble the disc of the moon, to which they were offered. Others read as Margin, "the frame of heaven," that is, the planets generally; so the Septuagint here; but elsewhere the Septuagint translates, "queen of heaven." The Phœnicians called the moon Ashtoreth or Astarte: the wife of Baal or Moloch, the king of heaven. The male and female pair of deities symbolized the generative powers of nature; hence arose the introduction of prostitution in the worship. The Babylonians worshipped Ashtoreth as Mylitta, that is, generative. Our Monday, or Moon-day, indicates the former prevalence of moon worship (see on Isa 65:11).
that they may provoke me—implying design: in worshipping strange gods they seemed as if purposely to provoke Jehovah.
19. Is it I that they provoke to anger? Is it not themselves? (De 32:16, 21; Job 35:6, 8; Pr 8:36).
20. beast … trees … ground—Why doth God vent His fury on these? On account of man, for whom these were created, that the sad spectacle may strike terror into him (Ro 8:20-22).
21. Put … burnt offerings unto … sacrifices … eat flesh—Add the former (which the law required to be wholly burnt) to the latter (which were burnt only in part), and "eat flesh" even off the holocausts or burnt offerings. As far as I am concerned, saith Jehovah, you may do with one and the other alike. I will have neither (Isa 1:11; Ho 8:13; Am 5:21, 22).
22. Not contradicting the divine obligation of the legal sacrifices. But, "I did not require sacrifices, unless combined with moral obedience" (Ps 50:8; 51:16, 17). The superior claim of the moral above the positive precepts of the law was marked by the ten commandments having been delivered first, and by the two tables of stone being deposited alone in the ark (De 5:6). The negative in Hebrew often supplies the want of the comparative: not excluding the thing denied, but only implying the prior claim of the thing set in opposition to it (Ho 6:6). "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice" (1Sa 15:22). Love to God is the supreme end, external observances only means towards that end. "The mere sacrifice was not so much what I commanded, as the sincere submission to My will gives to the sacrifice all its virtue" [Magee, Atonement, Note 57].
23. (Ex 15:26; 19:5).
24. hearkened not—They did not give even a partial hearing to Me (Ps 81:11, 12).
imagination—rather, as Margin, "the stubbornness."
backward, &c.—(Jer 2:27; 32:33; Ho 4:16).
25. rising … early—(Jer 7:13).
26. hardened … neck—(De 31:27; Isa 48:4; Ac 7:51).
worse than their fathers—(Jer 16:12). In Jer 7:22 He had said, "your fathers"; here He says, "their fathers"; the change to the third person marks growing alienation from them. He no longer addresses themselves, as it would be a waste of words in the case of such hardened rebels.
27. Therefore—rather, "Though thou speak … yet they will not hearken" [Maurer], (Eze 2:7), a trial to the prophet's faith; though he knew his warnings would be unheeded, still he was to give them in obedience to God.
28. unto them—that is, in reference to them.
a nation—The word usually applied to the Gentile nations is here applied to the Jews, as being east off and classed by God among the Gentiles.
nor receiveth correction—(Jer 5:3).
truth … perished—(Jer 9:3).
29. Jeremiah addresses Jerusalem under the figure of a woman, who, in grief for her lost children, deprives her head of its chief ornament and goes up to the hills to weep (Jud 11:37, 38; Isa 15:2).
hair—flowing locks, like those of a Nazarite.
high places—The scene of her idolatries is to be the scene of her mourning (Jer 3:21).
generation of his wrath—the generation with which He is wroth. So Isa 10:6; "the people of My wrath."
30. set their abominations in the house—(Jer 32:34; 2Ki 21:4, 7; 23:4; Eze 8:5-14).
31. high places of Tophet—the altars [Horsley] of Tophet; erected to Moloch, on the heights along the south of the valley facing Zion.
burn … sons—(Ps 106:38).
commanded … not—put for, "I forbade expressly" (De 17:3; 12:31). See on Jer 2:23; Isa 30:33.
32. valley of slaughter—so named because of the great slaughter of the Jews about to take place at Jerusalem: a just retribution of their sin in slaying their children to Moloch in Tophet.
no place—no room, namely, to bury in, so many shall be those slain by the Chaldeans (Jer 19:11; Eze 6:5).
33. fray—scare or frighten (De 28:26). Typical of the last great battle between the Lord's host and the apostasy (Re 19:17, 18, 21).
34. Referring to the joyous songs and music with which the bride and bridegroom were escorted in the procession to the home of the latter from that of the former; a custom still prevalent in the East (Jer 16:9; Isa 24:7, 8; Re 18:23).