Page images
PDF
EPUB
[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

*Judg. iii. 7; viii. 33, 34.—y Heb. with whom is. -z Deut. a Or, that smooth their tongues. xviii. 20; chap. xiv. 14, 15.

Verse 28. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord.] Do not mingle these equivocal matters with positive revelations. Do not consider a dream, even from a prophet, as that positive inspiration which my prophets receive when their reason, judgment, and spiritual feelings are all in full and in regular exercise. Mix none of your own devices with my doctrines.

Verse 29. Is not my word like as a fire?] It enlightens, warms, and penetrates every part. When it is communicated to the true prophet, it is like a fire shut up in his bones; he cannot retain it, he must publish it: and when published, it is like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces; it is ever accompanied by a Divine power, that causes both sinner and saint to feel its weight and importance.

e

Zeph. iii. 4.- Mal. i. 1. d Ver. 39. Heb, visit upon......

from the false, non-commissioned ones; those who run, though they are not sent, ver. 21. The word of him who has his commission from heaven shall be as a fire and as a hammer; sinners shall be convinced and converted to God by it. But the others, though they steal the word from their neighbour-borrow or pilfer a good sermon, yet they do not profit the people at all, because God did not send them, ver. 32; for the power of God does not in their ministry accompany the word. There may be an allusion to the practice in some mining countries, of roasting stones containing ore, before they are subjected to the hammer, in order tò pulverize them. In Cornwall I have seen them roast the tin stones in the fire, before they placed them under the action of the hammers in the stamp mill. The fire separated the arsenic from the ore, and then they were easily reduced to powder by the hammers of the mill; afterwards, washing the mass with water, the grains of tin sank to the bottom, while the lighter parts went off with the water, and thus the metal was procured clean and pure. If this be the allusion, it is very appropriate.

In the original words there is something singular: OND 1907 70 819 halo coh debari kaesh, "Is not thus my word like fire?" I suspect, with Dr. Blayney, that coh, thus, was formerly written coach, strength or power; and so it was understood by the Targumist: "Are not all my words strong, like fire ?" and probably the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews read it thus, Verse 30. I am against the prophets] Three cases and had it in view when he wrote: "For the word of are mentioned here which excited God's disapprobaGod is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two- tion: 1. The prophets who stole the word from their edged sword," Heb. iv. 12. This admitted, the text neighbour; who associated with the true prophets, got would read, "Is not my word powerful, like fire ?" or, some intelligence from them, and then went and pub"Is not the power of my word like fire?" But how-lished it as a revelation which themselves had receivever we understand the words, let us take heed lest ed, ver. 30. 2. The prophets who used their tongues; we think, as some have thought and affirmed, that the sacred writings are quite sufficient of themselves to enlighten, convince, and convert the soul, and that there is no need of the Holy Spirit. Fire itself must be applied by an agent in order to produce its effects; and surely the hammer cannot break the rock in pieces, un-made up false stories, which they termed prophecies, reless wielded by an able workman. And it is God's Spirit alone that can thus apply it; for we find it frequently read and frequently spoken, without producing any salutary effects. And by this very thing the true preachers of the word of God may be distinguished

phallokechim leshonam, who lick or smooth with their tongues--gave their own counsels as Divine revelations, flattering them in their sins, and promising peace, when God had not spoken; and prefaced them, "Thus saith the Lord," ver. 31. 3 The prophets who

vealed to them in dreams; and thus caused the people to err, ver. 32.

Verse 33. What is the burden of the Lord?] The word s massa, here used, signifies burden, oracle, prophetic discourse; and is used by almost every prophet.

The vision of the

A. M. cir. 3399.
B. C. cır. 605.

OI. XLII. 4.
Tarquinii Prisci,
R. Roman.,
cir. annum 12.

[blocks in formation]

ye say this

A. M. cir. 3399.

B. C. cir. 605. Ol. XLIII. 4. R. Roman., Tarquinii Prisci,

35 Thus shall ye say every LORD; therefore thus saith the one to his neighbour, and every LORD; Because one to his brother, What hath word, The burden of the LORD, the LORD answered? and, What and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD;

hath the LORD spoken?

36 And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God. 37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken?

cir. annum 12.

39 Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence:

40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall

38 But since ye say, The burden of the not be forgotten.

[blocks in formation]

But the persons in the text appear to have been mockers. "Where is this burden of the Lord?"-" What is the burden now?" To this insolent question the prophet answers in the following verses.

I will even forsake you] I will punish the prophet, the priest, and the people, that speak thus, ver. 34. Here are burdens.

Verse 36. Every man's word shall be his burden] Ye say that all God's messages are burdens, and to you they shall be such: whereas, had you used them as you ought, they would have been blessings to you. For ye have perverted the words of the living God] And thus have sinned against your own souls.

Chap. xx. 11.

Verse 39. I will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you and the city] Dr. Blayney translates :-I will both take you up altogether, and will cast you off together with the city. Ye are a burden to me: but I will take you up, and then cast you off. I will do with you as a man weary with his burden will do; cast it off his shoulders, and bear it no more.

Verse 40. I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you] And this reproach of having rebelled against so good a God, and rejected so powerful a Saviour, follows them to this day through all their dispersions, in every part of the habitable earth. The word of the Lord cannot fail.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Under the emblem of the good and bad figs is represented the fate of the Jews already gone into captivity with Jeconiah, and of those that remained still in their own country with Zedekiah. It is likewise intimated that God would deal kindly with the former, but that his wrath would still pursue the latter, 1-10.

A. M. 3406. B. C. 598.

Ol. XLV. 3. Anno

THE LORD showed me, and, behold, two baskets- of figs Tarquinii Prisci, were set before the temple of the R. Roman., 19. LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah,

Amos vii. 1, 4; viii. 1.62 Kings xxiv. 12, &c;

NOTES ON CHAP. XXIV. Verse 1. The Lord showed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs] Besides the transposition of whole chapters in this book, there is not unfrequently a transposition of verses, and parts of verses. Of this we have an instance in the verse before us; the first clause of which should be the last. Thus:

"After that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the Lord.”

A. M. 3406. B. C. 598. Ol. XLV. 3. Алпо R. Roman., 19.

and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them Tarquinii Prisci, to Babylon.

2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket

2 Chron. xxxvi. 10. See chap. xxii. 24, &c.; xxix. 2. the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad."

This arrangement restores these verses to á better sense, by restoring the natural connexion.

This prophecy was undoubtedly delivered in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah.

Under the type of good and bad figs, God represents the state of the persons who had already been carried captives into Babylon, with their king Jeconiah, compared with the state of those who should be carried away with Zedekiah. Those already carried away, being the choice of the people, are represented by the good figs: Verse 2. "One basket had very good figs, even like those now remaining, and soon to be carried into captiv

[blocks in formation]

4 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, Judah, and his princes, and the residue of saying,

5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.

6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

d Heb. for badness.- -e Heb. the captivity.xxix. 10.- Chap. xxxii. 41; xxxiii. 7; xlii. 10.6; chap. xxxii. 39; Ezek. xi. 19; xxxvi. 26, 27.22; xxxi. 33; xxxii. 38.——k Chap. xxix. 13.

Chap. xii. 15;
h Deut. xxx.
Chap. xxx.

ity, are represented by the bad figs, that were good for nothing. The state also of the former in their captivity was vastly preferable to the state of those who were now about to be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. The latter would be treated as double rebels; the former, being the most respectable of the inhabitants, were treated well; and even in captivity, a marked distinction would be made between them, God ordering it so. But the prophet sufficiently explains his own meaning.

Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:

9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, P to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt 4 and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.

10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

.D

Chap. xxix. 17.- - See chap. xliii., xliv. Heb. for removing, or veration. Deut. xxviii. 25, 37; 1 Kings ix. 7; 2 Chron. vii. 20; chap. xv. 4; xxix. 18; xxxiv. 17.—P Psa. xliv. 13, 14.- - Chap. xxix. 18, 22.

Verse 5. Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge] Those already carried away into captivity, I esteem as far more excellent than those who still remain in the land. They have not sinned so deeply, and they are now penitent; and, therefore, I will set mine eyes upon them for good, ver. 6. I will watch over them by an especial providence, and they shall be restored to their own land.

Verse 7. They shall be my people] I will renew my covenant with them, for they will return to me with

Set before the temple]—As an offering of the first- their whole heart. fruits of that kind.

Verse 2. Very good figs] Or, figs of the early sort. The fig-trees in Palestine, says Dr. Shaw, produce fruit thrice each year. The first sort, called boccore, those here mentioned, come to perfection about the middle or end of June. The second sort, called kermez, or summer fig, is seldom ripe before August. And the third, which is called the winter fig, which is larger, and of a darker complexion than the preceding, hangs all the winter on the tree, ripening even when the leaves åre shed, and is fit for gathering in the beginning of spring. Could not be eaten] The winter fig,-then in its crude or unripe state; the spring not being yet come.

Verse 8. So will I give Zedekiah] I will treat these as they deserve. They shall be carried into captivity, and scattered through all nations. Multitudes of those never returned to Judea; the others returned at the end of seventy years.

Verse 10. I will send the sword] Many of them fell by sword and famine in the war with the Chaldeans, and many more by such means afterwards. The first received their captivity as a correction, and turned to God; the latter still hardened their hearts more and more, and probably very many of them never returned: perhaps they are now amalgamated with heathen nations. Lord, how long?

CHAPTER XXV.

This chapter contains a summary of the judgments denounced by Jeremiah against Judah, Babylon, and many other nations. It begins with reproving the Jews for disobeying the calls of God to repentance, 1–7; on which account their captivity, with that of other neighbouring nations, during seventy years, is foretold, 8-11: At the expiration of that period, (computing from the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, to the famous edict of the first year of Cyrus,) an end was to be put to the Babylonian empire, 12-14. All this is again declared by the emblem of that cup of wrath which the prophet, as it

An exhortation

JEREMIAH.

to repentance. should seem in a vision, tendered to all the nations which he enumerates, 15-29. And for farther confirmation, it is a third time repeated in a very beautiful and elevated strain of poetry, 30-38. The talent of diversifying the ideas, images, and language, even when the subject is the same, or nearly so, appears no where in such perfection as among the sacred poets.

A. M. 3397. 607.

BC. 307

Ol. XLIII. 2.
Anno

THE word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the peoTarquinii Prisci, ple of Judah in the fourth year R. Roman., 10. of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon

2 The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,

b

3 From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; c but ye have not hearkened.

4 And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.

e

5 They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for

ever and ever:

and to worship them, and provoke
me not to anger with the works
of your hands; and I will do
you no hurt.

A. M. 3397. B. C. 607. OI. XLIII. 2.

[blocks in formation]
[merged small][ocr errors][merged small]
[ocr errors]

10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, m the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.

11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall

6 And go not after other gods to serve them, serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

a Chap. xxxvi. 1.

Chap. i. 2.- Chap. vii. 13; xi. 7, 8, 10; xiii. 10, 11; xvi. 12; xvii. 23; xviii. 12; xix. 15; xxii. 21. d Chap. vii. 13, 25; xxvi. 5; xxix. 19.- e 2 Kings xvii. 13; chap. xviii. 11; xxxv. 15; Jonah iii. 8.-f Deut. xxxii. 21; chap. vii. 19; xxxii. 30.

NOTES ON CHAP. XXV.

2 Chap. i. 15.
xlv. 1; chap. xl. 2.
perish from them.-
9; Ezek. xxvi. 13;
xii. 4.

Instead of

Chap. xxvii. 6; xliii. 10; see Isa. xliv. 28;
Chap. xviii. 16.- Heb. I will cause to
Isa. xxiv. 7; chap. vii. 34; xvi.
Hos. ii. 11; Rev. xviii. 23.- Eccles.

veel, "and ro Nebuchadrezzar," as in Verse 1. The word that came to Jeremiah-in the the common Hebrew Bible, seven MSS. of Kennicott's fourth year] This prophecy, we see, was delivered in and De Rossi's, and one of my own, have veeth, the fourth year of Jehoakim, and the chapter that" AND Nebuchadrezzar," which is undoubtedly the true contains it is utterly out of its place. It should be reading. between chapters xxxv. and xxxvi.

The defeat of the Egyptians by Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish, and the subsequent taking of Jerusalem, occurred in this year, viz., the fourth year of Jehoiakim.

Verse 10. I will take from them] See chap. vii. 34, and xvi. 9.

The sound of the mill-stones, and the light of the candle.] These two are conjoined, because they generally ground the corn before day, by the light of the candle. Sir J. Chardin has remarked, that every where in the morning may be heard the noise of the mills; for they generally grind every day just as much as is necessary for the day's consumption. Where then the noise of the mill is not heard, nor the light of the candle seen, there must be desolation; because Verse 7. That ye might provoke] Ye would not these things are heard and seen in every inhabited hearken; but chose to provoke me with anger.

The first year of Nebuchadrezzar] This king was associated with his father two years before the death of the latter. The Jews reckon his reign from this time, and this was the first of those two years; but the Chaldeans date the commencement of his reign two years later, viz., at the death of his father.

Verse 9. Behold, I will send] At this time Nebuchadrezzar had not invaded the land, according to this Version; but the Hebrew may be translated, "Behold I am sending, and have taken all the families;" that is, all the allies of the king of Babylon.

country.

Verse 11. Shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.] As this prophecy was delivered in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, and in the first of Nebuchadnezzar, and began to be accomplished in the same year, (for then Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judea, and took Jerusa

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

2 Chron. xxxvi. 21, 22; Ezra i. 1; chap. xxix. 10; Dan. ix. 2; 2 Kings xxiv. 1. Heb. visit upon.- Isa. xiii. 19; xiv. 23; chap. 1. 3, 13, 23, 39, 40, 45; li. 25, 26. Chap. 1. 41; li. 27.- Chap. xxvii. 24.———" Job xxi. 20; Psa. lxxv. 8; Chap. li. 7; Ezek. xxjii. 34; Nah. Chap. xxiv. 9.

xxi. 1, &c.; xlvii. 1; Chap. 1. 9; li. 27, 28. 7.- Chap. 1. 29; li. Isa. li. 17; Rev, xiv. 10. iii. 11. Ver. 9, 11.

6,

[ocr errors]

lem,) seventy years from this time will reach down to the first year of Cyrus, when he made his proclamation for the restoration of the Jews, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. See the note on Isa. xiii. 19, where the subject is farther considered in relation to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, and the city of Babylon.

Verse 12. And that nation] In “un haggoi hahu. Dr. Blayney contends that this should be translated his nation, and that hahu is the substantive pronoun used in the genitive case. It is certainly more clear and definite to read, "I will punish the king of Babylon, and HIS nation."

Will make it perpetual desolations] See the note on Isa. xiii. 19, where the fulfilment of this prophecy is distinctly marked.

Verse 14. Many nations and great kings] The Medes and the Persians, under Cyrus; and several princes, his vassals or allies.

Verse 15. Take the wine cup of this fury] For an ample illustration of this passage and simile, see the note on Isa. li. 21.

Verse 17. Then took I the cup-and made all the nations to drink] This cup of God's wrath is merely symbolical, and simply means that the prophet should declare to all these people that they shall fall under the Chaldean yoke, and that this is a punishment inflicted on them by God for their iniquities. "Then I

Chap. xlvii. Chap.

e

y Chap. xlvi. 2, 25.- -z Ver. 24.- Job i. 1. 1, 5, 7.- - See Isa. xx. 1. Chap. xlix. 7, &c.xlviii. 1. Chap. xlix. 1.- Chap. xlvii. 4. Or, region by the sea side. Chap. xlix. 23. Chap. xlix. 8. Heb. cut off into corners, or having the corners of the hair polled; - chap. ix. 26; xlix. 32.- m2 Chron. ix. 14. See ver. 20; chap. xlix. 31; 1. 3; Ezek. xxx. 5.

took the cup;" I declared publicly the tribulation that God was about to bring on Jerusalem, the cities of Judah, and all the nations.

Verse 19. Pharaoh king of Egypt] This was Pharaoh-necho, who was the principal cause of instigating the neighbouring nations to form a league against the Chaldeans.

Verse 20. All the mingled people] The strangers and foreigners; Abyssinians and others who had settled in Egypt.

Land of Uz] A part of Arabia near to Idumea. See on Job i. 1.

Verse 22. Tyrus and Zidon] The most ancient of all the cities of the Phoenicians.

Kings of the isles which are beyond the sea.] As the Mediterranean Sea is most probably meant, and the Phoenicians had numerous colonies on its coasts, I prefer the marginal reading, the kings of the region by the sea side.

Verse 23. Dedan] turah, Gen. xxv. 3. Tema] Was one of the sons of Ishmael, in the north of Arabia, Gen. xxxvi. 15.

Was son of Abraham, by Ke

Buz] Brother of Uz, descendants of Nahor, brother of Abraham, settled in Arabia Deserta, Gen. xxii. 21. Verse 24. The mingled people] Probably the Scenite Arabians.

« PreviousContinue »