2 Please inquire of Yahweh for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon makes war against us: peradventure Yahweh will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.
It happened in the seventh year, in the fifth [month], the tenth [day] of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of Yahweh, and sat before me. The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Is it to inquire of me that you have come? As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, I will not be inquired of by you.
Jeroboam said to his wife, Please get up and disguise yourself, that you not be known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get you to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, who spoke concerning me that I should be king over this people. Take with you ten loaves, and cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him: he will tell you what shall become of the child.
> We have heard with our ears, God; Our fathers have told us, What work you did in their days, In the days of old. You drove out the nations with your hand, But you planted them. You afflicted the peoples, But you spread them abroad. For they didn't get the land in possession by their own sword, Neither did their own arm save them; But your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your face, Because you were favorable to them. You are my King, God. Command victories for Jacob!
Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray to Yahweh your God according to your words; and it shall happen that whatever thing Yahweh shall answer you, I will declare it to you; I will keep nothing back from you. Then they said to Jeremiah, Yahweh be a true and faithful witness among us, if we don't do according to all the word with which Yahweh your God shall send you to us. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of Yahweh our God, to whom we send you; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of Yahweh our God.
Remember his marvelous works that he has done; His wonders, and the judgments of his mouth, You seed of Abraham, his servant, You children of Jacob, his chosen ones. He is Yahweh, our God. His judgments are in all the earth. He has remembered his covenant forever, The word which he commanded to a thousand generations, The covenant which he made with Abraham, His oath to Isaac, And confirmed the same to Jacob for a statute; To Israel for an everlasting covenant, Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan, The lot of your inheritance;" When they were but a few men in number, Yes, very few, and foreigners in it. They went about from nation to nation, From one kingdom to another people. He allowed no one to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes, "Don't touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!" He called for a famine on the land. He destroyed the food supplies. He sent a man before them. Joseph was sold for a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles. His neck was locked in irons, Until the time that his word happened, And Yahweh's word proved him true. The king sent and freed him; Even the ruler of peoples, and let him go free. He made him lord of his house, And ruler of all of his possessions; To discipline his princes at his pleasure, And to teach his elders wisdom. Israel also came into Egypt. Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. He increased his people greatly, And made them stronger than their adversaries. He turned their heart to hate his people, To conspire against his servants. He sent Moses, his servant, And Aaron, whom he had chosen. They performed miracles among them, And wonders in the land of Ham. He sent darkness, and made it dark. They didn't rebel against his words. He turned their waters into blood, And killed their fish. Their land swarmed with frogs, Even in the chambers of their kings. He spoke, and swarms of flies came, And lice in all their borders. He gave them hail for rain, With lightning in their land. He struck their vines and also their fig trees, And shattered the trees of their country. He spoke, and the locusts came, And the grasshoppers, without number, Ate up every plant in their land; And ate up the fruit of their ground. He struck also all the firstborn in their land, The first fruits of all their manhood. He brought them forth with silver and gold. There was not one feeble person among his tribes. Egypt was glad when they departed, For the fear of them had fallen on them. He spread a cloud for a covering, Fire to give light in the night. They asked, and he brought quails, And satisfied them with the bread of the sky. He opened the rock, and waters gushed out. They ran as a river in the dry places. For he remembered his holy word, And Abraham, his servant. He brought forth his people with joy, His chosen with singing. He gave them the lands of the nations. They took the labor of the peoples in possession, That they might keep his statutes, And observe his laws. Praise Yah!
Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of at all by them? Therefore speak to them, and tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Every man of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart, and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes to the prophet; I Yahweh will answer him therein according to the multitude of his idols; that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols. Therefore tell the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Return you, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. For everyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, who separates himself from me, and takes his idols into his heart, and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes to the prophet to inquire for himself of me; I Yahweh will answer him by myself:
For through the anger of Yahweh did it happen in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. It happened in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about. So the city was besieged to the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. In the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
It happened when Jerusalem was taken, (in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and besieged it; in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city),
Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet to him into the third entry that is in the house of Yahweh: and the king said to Jeremiah, I will ask you a thing; hide nothing from me. Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? and if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me. So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, As Yahweh lives, who made us this soul, I will not put you to death, neither will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life. Then said Jeremiah to Zedekiah, Thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then your soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and you shall live, and your house. But if you will not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape out of their hand. Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews who are fallen away to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me. But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver you. Obey, I beg you, the voice of Yahweh, in that which I speak to you: so it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live. But if you refuse to go forth, this is the word that Yahweh has shown me: behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, Your familiar friends have set you on, and have prevailed over you: [now that] your feet are sunk in the mire, they are turned away back. They shall bring out all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans; and you shall not escape out of their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and you shall cause this city to be burned with fire. Then said Zedekiah to Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and you shall not die. But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you, and tell you, Declare to us now what you have said to the king; don't hide it from us, and we will not put you to death; also what the king said to you: then you shall tell them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there. Then came all the princes to Jeremiah, and asked him; and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.
Behold, Yahweh's hand is not shortened, that it can't save; neither his ear heavy, that it can't hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good; For his loving kindness endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods; For his loving kindness endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords; For his loving kindness endures forever: To him who alone does great wonders; For his loving kindness endures forever: To him who by understanding made the heavens; For his loving kindness endures forever: To him who spread out the earth above the waters; For his loving kindness endures forever: To him who made the great lights; For his loving kindness endures forever: The sun to rule by day; For his loving kindness endures forever; The moon and stars to rule by night; For his loving kindness endures forever: To him who struck down the Egyptian firstborn; For his loving kindness endures forever; And brought out Israel from among them; For his loving kindness endures forever; With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm; For his loving kindness endures forever: To him who divided the Red Sea apart; For his loving kindness endures forever; And made Israel to pass through the midst of it; For his loving kindness endures forever; But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea; For his loving kindness endures forever: To him who led his people through the wilderness; For his loving kindness endures forever: To him who struck great kings; For his loving kindness endures forever; And killed mighty kings; For his loving kindness endures forever: Sihon king of the Amorites; For his loving kindness endures forever; Og king of Bashan; For his loving kindness endures forever; And gave their land as an inheritance; For his loving kindness endures forever; Even a heritage to Israel his servant; For his loving kindness endures forever: Who remembered us in our low estate; For his loving kindness endures forever; And has delivered us from our adversaries; For his loving kindness endures forever: Who gives food to every creature; For his loving kindness endures forever. Oh give thanks to the God of heaven; For his loving kindness endures forever.
But Jehoshaphat said, Isn't there here a prophet of Yahweh, that we may inquire of Yahweh by him? One of the king of Israel's servants answered, Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah. Jehoshaphat said, The word of Yahweh is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? get you to the prophets of your father, and to the prophets of your mother. The king of Israel said to him, No; for Yahweh has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab. Elisha said, As Yahweh of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward you, nor see you.
Now it happened, when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them; that they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men of it were mighty. Therefore 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 help me, and let us strike Gibeon; for it has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel. Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped against Gibeon, and made war against it. The men of Gibeon sent to Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Don't slack your hand from your servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the hill-country are gathered together against us. So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. Yahweh said to Joshua, Don't fear them: for I have delivered them into your hands; there shall not a man of them stand before you. Joshua therefore came on them suddenly; [for] he went up from Gilgal all the night. Yahweh confused them before Israel, and he killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth Horon, and struck them to Azekah, and to Makkedah. It happened, as they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth Horon, that Yahweh cast down great stones from the sky on them to Azekah, and they died: they were more who died with the hailstones than they whom the children of Israel killed with the sword.
The children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, when Ehud was dead. Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth of the Gentiles. The children of Israel cried to Yahweh: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, she judged Israel at that time. She lived under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill-country of Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel; but Yahweh thundered with a great thunder on that day on the Philistines, and confused them; and they were struck down before Israel. The men of Israel went out of Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, and struck them, until they came under Beth Kar. Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto has Yahweh helped us.
Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, Come, and let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that Yahweh will work for us; for there is no restraint to Yahweh to save by many or by few. His armor bearer said to him, Do all that is in your heart: turn you, behold, I am with you according to your heart. Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over to the men, and we will disclose ourselves to them. If they say thus to us, Wait until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up to them. But if they say thus, Come up to us; then we will go up; for Yahweh has delivered them into our hand: and this shall be the sign to us. Both of them disclosed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves. The men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armor bearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing. Jonathan said to his armor bearer, Come up after me; for Yahweh has delivered them into the hand of Israel. Jonathan climbed up on his hands and on his feet, and his armor bearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armor bearer killed them after him. That first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armor bearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were half a furrow's length in an acre of land.
Then said David to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day will Yahweh deliver you into my hand; and I will strike you, and take your head from off you; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky, and to the wild animals of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh doesn't save with sword and spear: for the battle is Yahweh's, and he will give you into our hand. It happened, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in his bag, and took there a stone, and slang it, and struck the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine, and killed him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
The king of Israel said to his servants, "You know that Ramoth-gilead is ours, and we are still, and don't take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?" He said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to battle to Ramoth-gilead? Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses. Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Please inquire first for the word of Yahweh. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? They said, Go up; for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king. But Jehoshaphat said, Isn't there here a prophet of Yahweh besides, that we may inquire of him? The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, there is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh, Micaiah the son of Imlah: but I hate him; for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. Jehoshaphat said, "Don't let the king say so."
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn back and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal Zephon. You shall encamp opposite it by the sea. Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, 'They are entangled in the land. The wilderness has shut them in.' I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will follow after them; and I will get honor over Pharaoh, and over all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh." They did so. It was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed towards the people, and they said, "What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?" He made ready his chariot, and took his army with him; and he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over all of them. Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel; for the children of Israel went out with a high hand. The Egyptians pursued after them: all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen, and his army; and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baal Zephon. When Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and they were very afraid. The children of Israel cried out to Yahweh. They said to Moses, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you treated us this way, to bring us forth out of Egypt? Isn't this the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians?' For it were better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness." Moses said to the people, "Don't be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh, which he will work for you today: for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall never see them again. Yahweh will fight for you, and you shall be still." Yahweh said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me? Speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward.
Go you, inquire of Yahweh for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found; for great is the wrath of Yahweh that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that which is written concerning us. So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the second quarter); and they talked with her.
It happened in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about. So the city was besieged to the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
There came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an army of a million troops, and three hundred chariots; and he came to Mareshah. Then Asa went out to meet him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. Asa cried to Yahweh his God, and said, Yahweh, there is none besides you to help, between the mighty and him who has no strength: help us, Yahweh our God; for we rely on you, and in your name are we come against this multitude. Yahweh, you are our God; don't let man prevail against you. So Yahweh struck the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar: and there fell of the Ethiopians so many that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before Yahweh, and before his host; and they carried away very much booty.
It happened after this, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. Then there came some who told Jehoshaphat, saying, There comes a great multitude against you from beyond the sea from Syria; and, behold, they are in Hazazon Tamar (the same is En Gedi). Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek to Yahweh; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. Judah gathered themselves together, to seek [help] of Yahweh: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek Yahweh. Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of Yahweh, before the new court; and he said, Yahweh, the God of our fathers, aren't you God in heaven? and aren't you ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and in your hand is power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did not you, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it to the seed of Abraham your friend forever? They lived therein, and have built you a sanctuary therein for your name, saying, If evil come on us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before you, (for your name is in this house), and cry to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save. Now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and didn't destroy them; behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. Our God, will you not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that comes against us; neither know we what to do: but out eyes are on you. All Judah stood before Yahweh, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. Then on Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of Yahweh in the midst of the assembly; and he said, Listen you, all Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you king Jehoshaphat: Thus says Yahweh to you, Don't be afraid you, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow go you down against them: behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz; and you shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. You shall not need to fight in this [battle]: set yourselves, stand you still, and see the salvation of Yahweh with you, O Judah and Jerusalem; don't be afraid, nor be dismayed: tomorrow go out against them: for Yahweh is with you. Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Yahweh, worshipping Yahweh. The Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise Yahweh, the God of Israel, with an exceeding loud voice. They rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: believe in Yahweh your God, so shall you be established; believe his prophets, so shall you prosper. When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who should sing to Yahweh, and give praise in holy array, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks to Yahweh; for his loving kindness endures forever. When they began to sing and to praise, Yahweh set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were struck. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, utterly to kill and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, everyone helped to destroy another. When Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked at the multitude; and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none who escaped. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. On the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah; for there they blessed Yahweh: therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah to this day. Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for Yahweh had made them to rejoice over their enemies. They came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets to the house of Yahweh. The fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when they heard that Yahweh fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; for his God gave him rest round about.
Come, see Yahweh's works, What desolations he has made in the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots in the fire. "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth." Yahweh of Hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
For, behold, the kings assembled themselves, They passed by together. They saw it, then they were amazed. They were dismayed, They hurried away. Trembling took hold of them there, Pain, as of a woman in travail. With the east wind, you break the ships of Tarshish. As we have heard, so we have seen, In the city of Yahweh of Hosts, in the city of our God. God will establish it forever. Selah.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on Jeremiah 21
Commentary on Jeremiah 21 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 21
This chapter contains Jeremiah's answer to King Zedekiah's message to him; in which he assures him of the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, and gives advice both to the people and the king. The names of the persons sent to him are mentioned, Jeremiah 21:1; and the errand they were sent upon, to desire the prophet to pray to the Lord, that the king of Babylon might be obliged to depart from Jerusalem, Jeremiah 21:2; the answer from the Lord by him is, that their opposition to the king of Babylon should be fruitless; that he should be so far from quitting the siege, that he should enter the city, Jeremiah 21:3; yea, that the Lord himself would fight against them, and destroy men and beast with the pestilence; and that such who escaped the sword, famine, and pestilence, should fall into the hands of the king of Babylon, Jeremiah 21:5; and then some advice is given to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to go out and give up themselves to the Chaldeans; which was the best way to save their lives, since the city would certainly fall into their hands, and be burnt by them, Jeremiah 21:8; and as for the royal family, they are advised to do justice and deliver the oppressed; the not doing of which, it is suggested, was the cause of their ruin, Jeremiah 21:11; and the chapter is closed with a denunciation of destruction upon the city, notwithstanding the vain trust and confidence of the inhabitants of it, Jeremiah 21:13.
The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord,.... This prophecy stands out of its proper place, being made in the times of Zedekiah, and when Jerusalem was besieged by the king of Babylon; whereas, after this, there are prophecies which were delivered in the times of Jehoiakim and Jeconiah, who both reigned before Zedekiah; see Jeremiah 22:11, &c.
when King Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah; this was another Pashur from him that is spoken of in the preceding chapter, and is called "Magormissabib"; he was the son of Immer; this of Melchiah; he was of the sixteenth course of the priesthood; this of the "fifth":
and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest; who was of the "twenty fourth" course; see 1 Chronicles 24:9; in Jeremiah 52:24, he is called the "second priest"; he was "sagan", or deputy to the high priest: they were both priests; wherefore the Syriac version renders it in the plural number, "priests". It may be observed, that the foregoing chapter is concluded with the prophet's cursing the day of his birth; and the last clause of it expresses the "shame" he imagined his days would be consumed in; and the next account we have is of an honour done him by the king, in sending two priests to him, with a message from him; whereby he tacitly owned him to be a true prophet of the Lord; as indeed he must now be convinced by facts that he was. Princes and people, who slight the ministers of God in time of prosperity, send to them, and are desirous of their assistance in times of distress:
saying; as follows:
Inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us,.... Or, "seek the Lord now for us"F14דרש נא בעדנו "interroga nunc pro nobis", Vatablus: Pagninus; "inquire nunc", Montanus. ; seek the Lord by prayer and supplication for me and my people, for this city and the inhabitants of it; entreat him that he would appear for us, and deliver us out of the hands of the enemy; for this they said in the name of the king that sent them, who knew that the prophet had an interest at the throne of grace, and was a favourite of heaven; and therefore desired him to be an intercessor for them:
for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; the same that is elsewhere called Nebuchadnezzar, commonly called by the Greeks Nebuchodonosor; he was now come up to Jerusalem, and was besieging it, as had been predicted:
if so be the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works; which he had done in times past for that nation; as by bringing them out of Egypt; driving out the Canaanites before them; delivering them out of the hands of their neighbours, time after time, when oppressed by them; and particularly by destroying the Assyrian army in Hezekiah's time, which was besieging the city of Jerusalem, and causing their king to depart and flee in haste; and their present case being similar to that, it is very likely that that was more especially in view:
that he may go up from us; namely, the king of Babylon; that he may rise up, and raise the siege, and depart into his own country, as Sennacherib did.
Then said Jeremiah unto them,.... The two priests, Pashur and Zephaniah, after he had sought the Lord, and knew his mind and will:
thus shall ye say to Zedekiah; by whom they were sent.
Thus saith the Lord God of Israel,.... Who had been, still was, and would be, Israel's God, even the God of such who are Israelites indeed; though he should, as he would, give up the present generation to ruin and destruction; they having by their sins forfeited his care and protection of them; and therefore it was in vain to hope for it from this character which they bore:
behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands; so that they should do no hurt to the enemy, but recoil upon themselves. The meaning is, that they should be useless and unserviceable; that they should neither be defensive to them, nor offensive to their enemies; but rather hurtful to themselves. It seems to suggest, as if they should fall out with one another; and, like the Midianites, turn their swords upon one another, and destroy each other:
wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans which besiege you without the walls; by shooting arrows at them from within the city; or by sallying out unto them with sword in hand: this, shows that the Chaldean army, under the command of the king of Babylon, was now without the walls of Jerusalem besieging it:
and I will assemble them into the midst of this city; either the weapons of war, as Jarchi and others; which the Chaldeans, breaking into the city, should cause to be brought in to them in the middle of the city, and there slay them with them: or rather the Chaldeans, as Kimchi; who, though now without the walls, and which the Jews thought a sufficient security for them; yet should not be long there, but the walls would be broken down, and they should enter the city, and rendezvous their whole army in the midst of it.
And myself will fight against you,.... So far from being entreated to do for them according to his wondrous works in times past, as their friend; that he will set himself against them as their enemy; and sad it is to have God for an enemy: if God be for a people, none can be against them to do them any hurt; but if he is against them, it signifies nothing who is for them: this must be much more terrible to them than the whole Chaldean army, and the king of Babylon at the head of them:
with an outstretched hand, and with a strong arm; such as he had used formerly in delivering Israel out of Egypt, but now in delivering them into the hands of their enemies; and out of the reach of such a hand there is no getting; and under the weight of such an arm there is no supporting; see Exodus 6:6;
even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath; because of their sins and iniquities. This heap of words is used to show the greatness of his indignation: this was not the chastisement of a father, but the rebuke of an enemy; not a correction in love, but in hot displeasure; a punishment inflicted in vindictive wrath by a righteous Judge, appearing in a warlike manner.
And I will smite the inhabitants of this city,.... With one or other of his arrows after mentioned: or, "them that abide in this city"F15את יושבי העיר "manentes in hac urbe", Gataker. ; that do not go out of it, and surrender themselves to the king of Babylon; see Jeremiah 21:9;
both man and beast; the latter for the sin of the former; particularly such beasts as were fit for food are meant, whereby the famine would be increased, and so the greater destruction of men:
they shall die of a great pestilence; both man and beast; a disease which comes immediately from the hand of God; hence Hippocrates used to call it το θειον, "the divine disease": here it denotes a very uncommon one, which should sweep away large numbers; called great, both for quality, or the nature of it, and for the quantity of persons that died of it.
And afterwards, saith the Lord God,.... After there should be so great a mortality among men and beasts:
I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants; the king himself shall not escape; though he shall not die by the pestilence, or famine, or sword, yet he shall fall into the hands of the Chaldeans, and also "his servants", his courtiers, and counsellors:
and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence,
from the sword, and from the famine; such of the inhabitants of the city, as well as those at court, that died not by the sword, famine, and pestilence: these should be delivered
into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; who was now with his army without the walls of the city besieging it:
and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life; the Chaldeans, who were their implacable enemies, and cruel, and whom nothing would satisfy but their lives:
he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; that is, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, or, however, the army under his command; for what was done by the one is ascribed to the other: this is to be understood of such that fell into their hands upon taking the city, and who endeavoured to make their escape; see Jeremiah 39:4;
he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy; they had no regard to rank or figure, to age or sex; the sons of the king were slain before his eyes, and then his eyes were put out; princes were hanged up by the hand; and no compassion shown to old or young, man or maiden; see Jeremiah 52:10. This verse is remarkably long.
And unto the people thou shalt say, thus saith the Lord,.... These are the words, not of the prophet to the messengers of the king, ordering or advising them what they each of them should say to the people; for the message by them is finished; but they are the words of the Lord to the prophet, directing him what he should say to the people at this critical juncture:
behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death; the way how to preserve their lives; and which, if they did not choose to take, would be inevitable death. The allusion seems to be to a phrase used by Moses, when he gave the law; obedience to which would issue in life, and disobedience in death, Deuteronomy 30:15.
He that abideth in this city,.... Imagining himself safe there; not fearing its being taken by the king of Babylon; though it was so often foretold by the prophet of the Lord that it should:
shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: by the first of these, in sallying out against the enemy; and by the other two, which raged within the city:
but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you,
he shall live; not fall upon them, as the words may be literally rendered; so it would describe such that went out of the city and sallied upon them; whereas it designs such who should go out of the city, and surrender themselves unto the Chaldeans; submit to them, so as to obey them, as the Targum adds; such shall have their lives spared:
and his life shall be unto him for a prey; it shall be like a spoil or booty taken out of an enemy's hands; it shall be with difficulty obtained, and with joy possessed, as a prey or spoil is.
For I have set my face against this city,.... Or "my fury", as the Targum; their sins had provoked the eyes of his glory; he was wroth with them, and determined to cut them off; his mind was set against them, and upon their ruin; and there was no turning him from it:
for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord; to bring the evil of punishment upon them for the evil of their sins, and not do any good unto them, they were so ill deserving of:
it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon; come under his power and dominion, by the will of the Lord; for it was he that gave it into his hands, because of the sins of the inhabitants of it:
and he shall burn it with fire; as he did, both the house of the Lord in it, the temple, the king's house or palace, the stately houses of the princes and nobles, and even the houses of all the people; see Jeremiah 52:13.
And touching the house of the king of Judah, say,.... Or "to the house of the king of Judah"F16לבית מלך "domui regis", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Schmidt. ; that is, his palace, as Calvin understands it; go to it, and there say as follows, as in Jeremiah 22:1; and some think that this part of the chapter belongs to that, and was not delivered at the time the former part of it was; but before the peremptory decree was gone forth, to deliver the city into the hand of the king of Babylon to be burned with fire; since, upon a reformation, some hope of pardon and salvation is yet given. The Syriac version joins this clause to Jeremiah 21:10; "and he shall burn it with fire, and the house of the king of Judah"; burn the city of Jerusalem, and particularly the king's palace; but by "the house of the king" is not meant his dwelling house, but his family, himself, his sons, his servants, his courtiers and nobles, to whom the following speech is directed:
hear ye the word of the Lord; and obey it; for not bare hearing is meant, but a reverent attention to, and a cheerful and ready performance of, what is heard.
O house of David, thus saith the Lord,.... This appellation is made use of to put them in mind of their descent, and to observe to them how much it became them to follow the example of so illustrious an ancestor, from whom they had the honour to descend; by doing judgment and justice as he did, 2 Samuel 8:15; or, otherwise, their being his seed would not secure them from ruin and destruction:
execute judgment in the morning; be at it early, and dispatch it speedily; show a hearty regard for it; prefer it to eating and drinking; and do not delay it to the prejudice of persons concerned. The power of judgment with the Jews belonged to the king; he was supreme judge in their courts; they judged, and were judged, the Jews sayF17T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 19. 1. ; by whom judgment was executed in a morning, and not in any other part of the day; and the case judged ought, as they say, to be as clear as the morningF18Ib. fol. 7. 2. :
and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor; that had anything taken from him by force or fraud; that was either robbed or cheated of his substance; or was refused what he had lent to or entrusted another with; or was by any ways and means wronged and injured by another in his person or property. This suggests that things of this kind were not done, and were the reason why the Lord would deliver them up into the hands of their enemies, or cause his judgments to fall upon them:
lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it; or put a stop to it, by all their prayers and entreaties, or by all that they can say or do:
because of the evil of your doings; it is a sad thing when princes set bad examples; it is highly provoking to God, whose deputies they are; and it becomes them to begin a reformation, and lead it on, or they cannot expect safety for themselves and their people.
Behold, I am against thee,.... Or, "behold, I unto thee"F19הנני אליך "ecce ego ad te", Munster, Montanus. ; to be supplied either thus, "behold, I say unto thee"F20"Ecce tibi dico", Strigelius; so Luther. ; what follows; and therefore take notice of it, attend unto it: or, "behold, I come unto thee"F21"Ecce ad te venio", Pagninus; so Kimchi. ; who bid defiance to all their enemies to come near them, as in the latter part of the verse. The Targum is,
"lo, I send my fury against thee;'
and the phrase denotes the Lord's opposition to them; his setting himself against them, and coming out unto them in his great wrath:
O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the Lord; a description of Jerusalem; between the lower and higher part of which lay a valley, called Tyropaeon, which divided the two hills, on which the city was builtF23Joseph. de Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 4. sect. 1. ; yea, the whole city was on high, on a rock, and around it a valley or plain; and because it was built upon a rock, and fortified with hills and mountains, the inhabitants of it thought themselves safe and secure, and even impregnable; hence it follows:
which say, who shall come down against us? who shall enter into our habitations? who of our neighbours dare to make a descent upon us? or are so weak and foolish as to attempt to break through our fortifications, natural and artificial, and enter into our houses, and take away our persons, and spoil us of our goods? we defy them.
But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings,
saith the Lord,.... The situation of their city, and the strength of its fortifications, however sufficient they might be thought to keep out an enemy from annoying them; yet it was impossible to hinder the Lord's coming among them, as he here threatens to do; and "visit" them, as the word signifies, in a way of wrath and justice, according to the demerit of their sins, expressed by "the fruit of their doings"; their punishment was the reward of their unrighteousness, the effect of their sinful practices; and, though this was dreadful and terrible, they could not but own it was just and equitable:
and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof; not in the forest of Lebanon, but in the city of Jerusalem; whose houses stood as thick as trees in a forest, and which many of them, at least the most stately, might be built or ceiled with cedars from Mount Lebanon and its forest; though some understand this of the cities and towns about Jerusalem; and so the Targum renders it, "in its cities"; and the Syriac version, "its towns"; but these seem rather meant in the following clause:
and it shall devour all things round about it; the mountains and trees upon them, the cities and towns adjacent.