Jeremiah sheweth their grievous judgment, JEREMIAH. and bewaileth their desperate estate. Before CHRIST about 600. Isa. 56. 11. ch. 6. 13. d Chap. 6. 14. 10. unto others, and their fields to them | good came; and for a time of health, 11 For they have 4 healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, Ezek. 13. saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. f Chap. 3. 3. & 6. 15. | Or, In gathering I will consume. g Isa. 5. 1, &c. h Matt. 21. 19. Luke 13. 6, &c. e 12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD. 13 ¶ || I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no 14 Why do we sit still? assemble & 23. 15. || Or, poison. k Chap. 14. 19. 15 We looked for peace, but no all care of doing that, which the word of God enjoins them; and how then can they challenge any true wisdom unto themselves? Bp. Hall. 10.-that shall inherit them:] Rather, that shall enter into possession. The Hebrew verb properly signifies to possess that which was the property of others, and therefore implies a dispossession of the former owners. Dr. Blayney. 13. — there shall be no grapes on the vine, &c.] These expressions appear to be metaphorical; signifying, that the nation should be deprived of all their real advantages, and also of what was ornamental, by a severe dispensation of God's providence. W. Lowth, Dr. Blayney. 14. - let us be silent there :] The verb, rendered "be silent," implies forbearing to act, as well as to speak. The Prophet therefore hereby seems to advise, not to take measures of resistance, as they would be ineffectually employed against what God had determined. Dr. Blayney. water of gall Or, bitter water; that is, a severe judgment, which is often expressed by "the cup of God's wrath," or "displeasure." See chap. xxv. 15. 17; and ix. 15; xxiii. 15. W. Lowth. 16.-from Dan :] Nebuchadnezzar, having subdued Phenicia, passed through the tribe of Dan in his way to Jerusalem. Dr. Blayney. strong ones;] The word, thus translated, signifies horses in several places: see chap. xlvii. 3; Judg. v. 22; and it is so understood here by the Seventy. W. Lowth. 17.—which will not be charmed,] See note at Ps. That some persons possessed the power of lviii. 4. Before CHRIST about 600. 16 The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land 1 Chap. 4. 15. trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and +all+ Heb. the that is in it; the city, and those that thereof. dwell therein. fulness 17 For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be m charmed, and they shall m Ps. 58. 4, bite you, saith the LORD. 5. 18 When I would comfort myself Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her 20 The harvest is past, the sum- 21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. entry of because of the them that are far of. rendering serpents harmless, is a well-attested fact: but whether by certain herbs, or musical sounds, or by breaking out their teeth, or in what manner, is uncertain. Whatever were the methods commonly practised, the enemies of the Jews are here compared to such serpents as were not to be mollified or disarmed by any of those means: "They shall bite you, saith the Lord." Dr. Blayney. 19. Behold the voice of the cry &c.] For, behold, methinks I hear already the shrieks and cries of the Jews, because of the Babylonians, that are come in upon them from Chaldea; and yet they are still ready to presume upon their title and interest with God; and say, Is not the Lord worshipped by us in Zion? Bp. Hall. 20. The harvest is past, &c.] "The harvest is past, the summer is ended," which might have given us hopes and opportunities of succours; yet we hear of none from Egypt, or any other our associates: so that we have now lost all hopes of deliverance. Bp. Hall. 21.-I am black;] I look ghastly, as those who are dying: compare chap. xiv. 2; Joel ii. 6; Nahum ii. 10. W. Lowth. 22. Is there no balm in Gilead ;] Either that particular balsam, now distinguished by the same name, and much celebrated by various ancient writers for its costliness and its medicinal virtues: or, as Bochart contends, the resin drawn from the terebinthus or turpentine tree, which was well known to have healing virtues; at least sufficient to answer the Prophet's question on this occasion: which was metaphorically to ask, if there were no salutary means within reach, or no persons that knew how to apply them, for the relief of his coun Jeremiah lamenteth Before CHRIST about 600. + Heb. Who will give my head, &c. a Isa. 22. 4. ch. 4. 19. b Chap. 12. 6. Mic. 7. 5, 6. CHAP. IX. CHAP. IX. 1 Jeremiah lamenteth the Jews for their manifold sins, 9 and for their judgment. 12 Disobedience is the cause of their bitter the sins of the Jews. Before tongue to speak lies, and weary CHRIST themselves to commit iniquity. 6 Thine habitation is in the midst calamity. 17 He exhorteth to mourn for both Jews and Gentiles. OH+that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! the daughter of my people? 8 Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit : one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait. e his for 2 Oh that I had in the wilderness 3 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD. 4 b Take ye heed every one of his Or, friend. neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders. 11 And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I fChap. 10. 22. will make the cities of Judah † deso- + Heb. late, without an inhabitant. 12 Who is the wise man, that desolation. try from those miseries, with which it was afflicted. ness. And therefore it is natural enough for those, who Dr. Blayney. Chap. IX. ver. 2. O that I had &c.] The corrupt and profligate manners of the people are here set forth at large, and the denunciation of Divine vengeance are renewed against them, ver. 2-17. God summons the mourning women to bewail the calamities of the nation, ver. 17-22; forbids setting any value on personal endowments, except the knowledge of God and his attributes only, ver. 23, 24; and shews the punishment of the surrounding nations, circumcised and uncircumcised, to be near at hand. Dr. Blayney. a lodging place of wayfaring men ;] Travellers in the East are not, nor ever were, accommodated at inns on the road, after the manner of the European nations. In some towns indeed, but not in all, there are large public buildings provided for their reception, which they call caravanseras: but these afford merely a covering, being absolutely without furniture, Judges xix. 15. And, in passing through the desert, it is well if they can light upon a cave, or a hut, which some one before them may have erected for a temporary shelter. This is what appears to be here meant by "a lodging place;" a solitary, and not very comfortable, situation; but yet preferable to the chagrin of living continually in the society of men of profligate manners. Dr. Blayney. 6. Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit;] These are the words of God to the Prophet. W. Lowth. through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the Lord.] The knowledge of God, which is true religion, is incompatible with the habitual practice of any wicked VOL. II. are resolved at all events to abide in their evil courses, to endeavour, if possible, to divest themselves of all religious principles, which, if insufficient to restrain, will be sure at least to be very troublesome to them. For this cause they are ready to "say unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways." Job xxi. 14. Dr. Blayney. 7.- Behold, I will melt them, and try them; &c.] In the fire of affliction. Bp. Hall. 10.—the habitations of the wilderness] This is more properly rendered in the margin, "The pastures of the wilderness." Compare Joel i. 19; ii. 22. "The wilderness" sometimes signifies the plain or champaign country, and is opposed to the mountains; see Isa. lxiii. 13; Lam. iv. 19; Joel i. 19. W. Lowth. It properly signifies a thinly-inhabited country, used chiefly for sheepwalks. Dr. Blayney. -neither can men hear the voice of the cattle;] There shall be heard no more, in the plains or on the mountains, either the bleating of sheep, or the lowing of oxen: there shall no animal, wild or tame, be seen any more. Calmet. 11.—a den of dragons ;] A place of horrour and desolation. Bp. Hall. The word, translated "dragons," among several other significations, is taken for a serpent, such as are usually found in ruins and desolate places. Compare chap. li. 37; Isa. xiii. 22; xxxiv. 13; Ps. xliv. 19. W. Lowth. 12. Who is the wise man, &c.] In this style of interrogation the Prophet indirectly declares himself to be the person qualified by Divine inspiration to answer the 2 A The Jews exhorted to mourn, and Before CHRIST about 600. | Or, tubbornness. may JEREMIAH. understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through? Before CHRIST not to trust in themselves, but in God. take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and about 609. our eyelids gush out with waters. 19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out. 13 And the LORD saith, Because 15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, g Chap. 8. 14. 8 with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. & 23. 15. h Lev. 26. 33. 16 I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them. 17 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come : 18 And let them make haste, and question proposed in the latter part of the verse; which he accordingly does in the verses that follow. Dr. Blayney. 15. — I will feed them,—with wormwood, &c.] Compare this expression with Ps. lxxx. 5; 1 Kings xxii. 27. W. Lowth. See the note on Deut. xxix. 18. 17.- the mourning women,―cunning women,] It was an ancient custom of the Hebrews, at funerals, and on other like occasions, to make use of hired mourners, whose profession it was to exhibit in publick all the signs and gestures of immoderate and frantick grief, and by their loud outcries and doleful songs to excite and stir up a real passion of sorrow in others. Women were chiefly employed in this office; and St. Jerome, in his comment upon this verse, says, that the practice was continued in Judea down to his days. As it required a degree of skill to discharge this office, for that reason these "mourning women' are likewise called "cunning;" that is, skilful women. Frequent allusions to this custom are to be met with in Scripture, particularly 2 Chron. xxxv. 25; Eccles. xii. 5; Amos v. 16; Matt. ix. 23; Mark v. 38. Nor was this practice peculiar to the Jews, as many instances of it occur in heathen writers. Dr. Blayney. وو It is usual at funerals in Barbary to hire women, who, like "the mourning women" of old, are mistresses of the art, and indeed perform their parts with such proper gestures and commotions, that they rarely fail to work up the assembly into some extraordinary pitch of thoughtfulness and sorrow. Dr. Shaw. Travellers inform us, that the same practice prevails in most of the provinces of the Levant. Calmet. 21. For death is come up into our windows, &c.] For the Chaldeans have scaled our walls, and entered into 21 For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets. 22 Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them. 23 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: 24 But i let him that glorieth glory i 1 Cor. 1. 31. in this, that he understandeth and 2 Cor. 10. 17. our cities; and are now breaking upon us in our houses, to inflict a sudden and cruel death upon us, wherein they will spare no age or sex, but put all without mercy to the sword. Bp. Hall. 22. - as the handful after the harvestman, &c.] This alludes to the manner of reaping corn in a field, where the reaper, as soon as he has cut what he can hold in his hand, lets it fall, and passes on; but is usually followed by another, who gathers what is cut, and binds it into sheaves. But here it is said, that there would be none to gather; and consequently the corn, after being cut, would lie neglected and rot on the ground; which renders the simile a very apt one. Dr. Blayney. 23. Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, &c.] Let not men value themselves for their wisdom, strength, or riches, which are things of themselves of a very uncertain continuance, and such calamities are coming, (see ver. 25, 26,) in which they will stand the owners of them in very little stead. The only true valuable endowment is the knowledge of God, not as He is in Himself, which is too high an attainment for poor mortals to pretend to, but with respect to his dealings with man; to have a serious sense of his mercies to the penitent, of his judgments to the obstinate, and of his truth and integrity, in making good his promises and threatenings to both. 'Tis in the exercise of these attributes God chiefly delights; and 'tis by these He desires to make Himself known to the world; and he, that forms an apprehension of God chiefly with regard to these perfections, will always demean himself suitably towards Him. "Judgment" and "righteousness" are often equivalent terms; but if we distinguish them here, "judgment" denotes God's severity against the The great disparity Before CHRIST knoweth me, that I am the LORD 2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. about 600. which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. 25 ¶ Behold, the days come, saith + Heb. visit the LORD, that I will + punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised; upon. wicked, and "righteousness" his truth or holiness. W. Lowth. 26. Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, &c.] See these judgments denounced more at large, chap. xxv. 18, &c. The Prophet places Judah among the heathen nations, because the Jews were, in effect, that is, in a spiritual sense, uncircumcised as well as they: contenting themselves with the outward sign of circumcision, without endeavouring to procure the inward purity signified by it. W. Lowth. - all that are in the utmost corners,] If we prefer the marginal reading, "they that have the corners of their hair polled," the expression denotes those Arabians who cut their hair upon the fore part of the head round, and let the hair behind grow long; which custom of theirs, Herodotus mentions, and tells us, that they did it in imitation of Bacchus. It is probable, that the precept in Lev. xix. 27, "Ye shall not round the corners of your heads," hath reference to this custom, which was a rite in several countries near Judea, whereby they devoted themselves to the worship of some false god. W. Lowth. Chap. X. The beginning of this chapter to the end of ver. 16, contains an earnest dissuasive against the practice of heathen idolatry, setting forth the vanity of idols in comparison with the true God. And this, no doubt, was designed by way of precaution to the Jews against the time of their removal out of their own land, to dwell amongst idolaters, as is predicted, ver. 17, 18. Jerusalem lamenteth the completion of her ruin, ver. 19; and humbly supplicateth the intervention of God's mercy, ver. 23, to the end. Dr. Blayney. Ver. 2. -be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; &c.] The word of God, far from encouraging groundless and superstitious horrours, cautions against them strongly. In all ages and nations, men have been terrified with eclipses of the sun and moon; in many, with conjunctions, oppositions, and aspects of the stars, and Before CHRIST about 600. statutes, or, 3 For the customs of the people + Heb. are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of ordinances the forest, the work of the hands of are vanity. the workman, with the ax. 4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. 7. 5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs a Ps. 115. 5. be borne, because they cannot go. b Isa. 46. 1, Be not afraid of them; for they can- c'Isa. 41. 23. not do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. 10. 6 Forasmuch as there is none like d Ps. 86. 8, unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. 7 Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for || to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee. e Rev. 15. 4. Or, it liketh thee. other celestial appearances: things altogether harmless. Therefore such groundless terrours the Prophet expressly condemns. But whatsoever things are real instruments of our Maker's will, we are to consider as such; and respect all that is wrought by them, as proceeding from his appointment. Abp. Secker. the signs of heaven;] The Chaldeans, among whom the Jews were destined to live in captivity, were particularly addicted to astrology, and attributed to the heavenly bodies a considerable influence over human affairs. This naturally tended to beget a religious dread and awe of those objects, from whence so much good or evil was supposed to be derived. Dr. Blayney. 5. They are upright as the palm tree,] This comparison agrees very well with those ancient statues which were seen in Egypt and elsewhere, before the Greeks had carried the art of sculpture to that perfection, to which it afterwards arrived. The Orientals, before the empire of the Greeks, had very little taste for things of this sort. Their figures were carved in a straight line, with their hands hanging down and fixed to their sides, their eyes closed, their feet joined: so that they differed little from the trunks of the palm trees, to which Jeremiah here compares them. Calmet. 7.- for to thee doth it appertain:] To Thee doth fear appertain. Dr. Durell. among all the wise men of the nations, &c.] The phrase, among all the wise," or the wisest, "of the nations," may signify, either all those nations which were most distinguished for the cultivation and improvement of their rational faculties; or else those from whom better notions of God and religion might have been expected, than from the rude and illiterate vulgar. And yet the fact was, that all their boasted wisdom and knowledge had failed of leading them to an object of worship, in any degree corresponding with the infinite perfections and majesty of the Divine nature. Dr. Blayney. The great disparity Before CHRIST JEREMIAH. 8 But they are altogether 'brutabout 600. ish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities. + Heb. in one, 9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Zech. 10. 2. Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning 9. W. Lowth. Tarshish,-Uphaz,] For "Tarshish," see the notes at 1 Kings ix. 28; x. 22. Bochart supposes Uphaz" to be the same with Ophir in India. W. Lowth. Concerning Ophir see the former note on Kings. blue and purple is their clothing:] The excellency of the Tyrian purple is celebrated by both sacred and profane authors. And the blue, which from many passages in Scripture we find to have been in great request, was also imported from remote countries, as an article of elegant and expensive luxury. See Ezek. xxvii. 7. 24. Dr. Blayney. between God and idols. Before CHRIST about 600. g Gen. 1.6. 12 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. ch. 51. 15. 13 When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings || with Or, for rain. rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. 14 Every man || is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 15 They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. Or, noise. Or, is more to know. 17, 18. brutish thas h Chap. 51. 16 The portion of Jacob is not i Chap. 51. like them: for he is the former of all 19. 11. Thus shall ye say unto them, &c.] This verse is written in Chaldee, as if the Prophet designed to put these words in the mouths of the Jews, wherewith they might make a publick profession of their own faith in the true God, and be able to answer the heathens that would entice them to idolatry. W. Lowth. The title, "Creator of heaven and earth," that is, of the universe, (see note on Gen. i. 1,) is that which most especially characterizes and distinguishes the true God from all false and fictitious deities: see Ps. xcvi. 5; 2 Kings xix. 15. 19; Acts xiv. 15; xvii. 24. Dr. Isaac Barrow. even they shall perish from the earth, &c.] The Prophet foretels, that there shall be a final period put to idolatry see ver. 15; Isa. ii. 18; xlv. 16; Zech. xiii. 2. God hath already blotted out the names of many of the heathen idols, as an earnest of the utter destruction of the remainders of idolatry in his due time. W. Lowth. : they are all the work of cunning men.] As the insignificancy of idols may be argued from the vile and 13. When he uttereth his voice, &c.] When God sigperishable matter out of which they are composed, (see nifies his will and pleasure; (compare Job xxxviii. 34;) Isa. xliv. 19,) the same may be inferred from their or when He sends his thunder, called in Scripture the being indebted to the art and labour of man for all "voice of God:" the clouds immediately fall down in their costly ornaments, their splendid outward shew. abundance of rain; and that moisture, coming upon "They are all," says the Prophet, internally and exter- the ground that was scorched with heat before, does nally "the work of cunning" or skilful men. And so not only cool and refresh it, but makes all vegetables says the prophet Hosea, "All of it the work of the grow and flourish in it. W. Lowth. craftsman," chap. xiii. 2. Upon what ground then could the thing formed pretend to a nature more excellent than its former? Dr. Blayney. 10. at his wrath the earth shall tremble,] Jeremiah here represents the power and the greatness of God by the effects which they produce in nature. The things which strike men with most astonishment are earthquakes, thunder, lightning, the production of rain and winds, the creation of the universe. All these things are the work of the Lord. In his wrath He makes the earth tremble. When He speaks, He causes the thunder. If He makes the lightning shine, it is to cause the rain to descend from the clouds. The winds are shut up in his treasuries; He confines them by his power. He draws from the ends of the earth the materials, of which He forms the clouds. Such was the notion of the Hebrews concerning the production of these effects, which strike mortals with astonishment. They referred them immediately to God, as their natural cause. Calmet. 14. Every man is brutish in his knowledge: &c.] Every workman is brutish, while he so employs his skill as to make a god to himself by his own art: every founder, if he had but reason to consider it, must needs be confounded in himself, at the sight of his own folly, in making that image which he will adore. Bp. Hall. 15. They are the work of errors;] The making of them is owing to men's erroneous notions concerning the nature of God. See ver. 8. W. Lowth. 16. The portion of Jacob is not like them:] Upon the principles of heathenism, every nation was committed to the care and superintendency of its own tutelary god; who might with propriety be styled its own "portion,' on account of the peculiar relation that subsisted between them. "The portion of Jacob" therefore is the same as the God of Jacob; He who had taken upon Himself the guardianship and protection of that family. But He was distinguished from all the rest, who, as before observed, were falsehood and vanity all of them, having no other existence than as lifeless images, the |