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CLARK'S 
 
 FOREIGN 
 
 THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY. 
 
 NEW SERIES. 
 VOL. XXXIX. 
 
 ©rellt's ^topJjecies of 3ramfaf}. 
 
 EDINBURGH: 
 T. & T. CLARK, 38 GEORGE STREET. 
 
 1889. 
 
PRINTED BY MORRISON AND GIBB, 
 
 FOR 
 
 T & T. CLARK, EDINBURGH, 
 
 LONDON, HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO. 
 
 DUBLIN, , . GEORGE HERBERT. 
 
 NEW YORK, 5CRIBNER AND WELFORD. 
 
THE 
 
 PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH. 
 
 EXPOUNDED BY 
 
 Dr. C. VON OKELLI, 
 
 BASEL, " 
 AUTHOR- OF "OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY," "THE PROPHECIES OK ISAIAH," KTC. 
 
 ExumUWa bg 
 Rev. J. S. BANKS, 
 
 HEADINGLEY COLLEGE, LEEDS. 
 
 EDINBURGH: 
 
 T. & T. CLARK, 38 GEORGE STREET. 
 
 1889. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1. The Prophet's Name and Descent, . 1 
 
 2. The Prophet's Times and Labour, 2 
 
 3. Jeremiah's Personal Characteristics, . 11 
 
 4. Contents of Jeremiah's Prophecy, . 14 
 
 5. Form of Jeremiah's Prophecy, . . 20 
 
 6. Jeremiah's Book, ... 22 
 
 7. Relation of the Hebrew to the Alexandrine Text, 24 
 
 8. Literature, ... 28 
 
 COMMENTARY. 
 
 SECTION 
 
 I. Jeremiah's Call to the Prophetic Office, i., 29 
 
 II. First Threatening Discourse, ii. 1-iii. 5, 34 
 
 III. Call to Turn and Repent, iii. 6-iv. 4, . 45 
 
 IV. The Approaching Judgment, iv. 5-vi. 30, . 52 
 V. The Temple Discourse, vii.-ix., . 74 
 
 VI. Against Idols, x. 1-16, . . . . 95 
 
 VII. Submission to God's Threatened Punishment, x. 17-25, 101 
 
 VIII. Opposition to God : God's "Wondrous Dealings, xi.-xii., 104 
 
 IX. Judgment on the Incorrigible, xiii., . . 114 
 
 X. On Occasion of a Threatening Famine, xiv. -xv., 120 
 
 XI. The Judge and Deliverer, xvi.-xvii. 18, . 133 
 
 XII. Hold the Sabbath in Honour, xvii. 19-27, . 144 
 
 XIII. The Doctrine of the Potter and the Clay, xviii., . . 148 
 
 XIV. Breaking of the Bottle, and its Consequences, xix. -xx., 154 
 XV. Respecting the Kings, xxi.-xxiii. 8, . . 164 
 
 XVI. Prophets and Prophecies, xxiii. 9-40, . 180 
 
 XVII. The Two Baskets of Figs, xxiv., . 189 
 XVIII. God's Judgment of the Heathen Nations, xxv., . . 191 
 XIX. Persecution of Jeremiah on occasion of the Temple-Discourse 
 
 under Jehoiakim, xxvi., . . , 203 
 vii 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 SECTION PAGE 
 
 209 
 209 
 
 XX. Jeremiah and the False Prophets, xxvii.-xxix., 
 
 1. The Yoke of Babylon, xxvii., 
 
 2. Jeremiah and Hanaiiiah, xxviii., . 214 
 
 3. Two Letters to Babylon, xxix., 218 
 XXI. Jeremiah's Book of Consolation, xxx.-xxxiii., 226 
 
 1. Comforting Oracles, xxx.-xxxi., . • 226 
 
 2. Buying a Field at Anathoth, xxxii., . . • 242 
 
 3. Second Series of Comforting Oracles for the Cap- 
 
 tives, xxxiii., . • 2o0 
 
 XXII. Zedekiah's Fate, xxxiv. 1-7, . . . 256 
 
 XXIII. A Shameful Breach of Vows, xxxiv. 8-22, 259 
 
 XXIV. A Humbling Example, xxxv. , . . . 263 
 XXV. Jeremiah's Prophetic Book, xxxvi. , . . 268 
 
 XXVI. Jeremiah's Fortunes during the Siege, xxxvii.-xxxix., . 276 
 
 1. His Imprisonment, xxxvii, . . 276 
 
 2. New Attack on the Prophet's Life, xxxviii., 281 
 
 3. Jeremiah at the Fall of Jerusalem, xxxix., . 288 
 XXVII. Warning against Settling in Egypt, xl.-xliii. 7, . 293 
 
 XXVIII. Nebuchadnezzar in Egypt, xliii. 8-13, . . . .311 
 
 XXIX. Last Testimony against the Idolatry of the Jews in Egypt, xliv., 314 
 
 XXX. Comforting Oracles to Baruch, xlv., . . . 323 
 
 XXXI. Jeremiah's Oracles respecting the Heathen, xlvi.-li., . 325 
 
 1. Two Oracles respecting Egypt, xlvi., . . 325 
 
 2. Oracle respecting the Land of the Philistines, xlvii., 333 
 
 3. Oracle respecting Moab, xlviii. , . . 335 
 
 4. Oracle respecting the Ammonites, xlix. 1-6, . 344 
 
 5. Oracle respecting Edom, xlix. 7-22, . 346 
 
 6. Oracle respecting Damascus, xlix. 23-27, 350 
 
 7. Oracle respecting the Arabians, xlix. 28-33, 351 
 
 8. Oracle repecting Elam, xlix. 34-39, . . 354 
 
 9. Oracle respecting Babylon, l.-li., 355 
 Appendix. — The Destruction of Jerusalem, lii., 379 
 
THE PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH. 
 
 INTKODUCTION. 
 
 1. THE PKOPHET'S NAME AND DESCENT. 
 
 The name Jeremiah, WW, seldom in the present book in the 
 abbreviated form nw (of. on xxvii. 1), is of doubtful signifi- 
 cation. If derived from the root nKn, it would mean : Yah = 
 Yahu =Yahveh hurls, in tbe sense of Ex. xv. 1, or of hurling 
 lightnings ; rather, according to Dietrich : Yahveh founds, 
 like ndi in Syriac, cf. fundamenta jacere and the Hebrew 
 nv, to found, from which also proper names come. LXX 
 'Iepejilas, Vulg. Jeremias. 
 
 The name was not uncommon in Israel (1 Chron. xii. 1 3 ; 
 2 Kings xxiii. 31, cf. Jer. xxxv. 3, and elsewhere). Our 
 prophet is more precisely described as son of Hilkiah (i. 1), 
 by whom we are not to understand, as has been done in 
 ancient and modern days, the high priest of this name who 
 held office in Josiah's days and took part in the reforms of 
 that king (2 Kings xxii., xxiii.), since, instead of the definite 
 statement which we should then expect, we have only a 
 general account : of the priests at Anathoth in the land of 
 Benjamin ; the high priest without doubt had his seat in 
 Jerusalem ; on the other hand, the priests settled at Anathoth, 
 the old Levitical town (Josh. xxi. 18), the present Anata (a 
 good hour north-east of Jerusalem ; according to Joseph. Ant. 
 x. 7. 3, twenty stadia from Jerusalem), probably belonged, 
 
2 JEREMIAH. 
 
 according to 1 Kings ii. 26, to the line of Ithamar, not to 
 that of Zadok. 
 
 II. THE PROPHET'S TIMES AND LABOURS. 
 
 Jeremiah prophesied from the thirteenth year of Josiah's 
 reign (i. 2, xxv. 3), i.e. about 628 B.C., to the destruction of 
 Jerusalem, 588 (587?) B.C., under the last kings of Judah 
 (Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah), and after 
 the fall of the capital several years longer at any rate in 
 Egypt, — thus perhaps for a period of about fifty years. 
 
 Josiah (640-609) came to the throne, after the murder of 
 his father Amon, in his eighth year, 2 Kings xxii. 1. See 
 respecting his disposition, xxii. 2, xxiii. 25. In the Chronicles 
 various preliminary reforms are noticed on the part of this 
 ruler before his proper systematic reformation. It is probable 
 in itself that such attempts came first, and we have no right to 
 mistrust the Chronicler, whose narrative is here more detailed 
 (against Ewald, Hist. iii. 207). He relates (2 Chron. xxxiv. 
 3-7), that already in the eighth year of his reign, and there- 
 fore the sixteenth of his life, Josiah sought the Lord, and in 
 the twelfth year (twentieth of his life) began to clear the land 
 of heathen idols. Kings and Chronicles then relate in 
 common, that in the eighteenth year of his reign (twenty- 
 sixth of his life), on occasion of the finding of the law-book 
 in the temple, Josiah carried out a consistent and rigid refor- 
 mation of worship in accordance with this Torah (2 Kino-s 
 xxii. 1-xxiii. 30 ; 2 Chron. xxxiv. 8-xxxv. 27). 
 
 The divine call of the prophet Jeremiah of Anathoth falls 
 five years earlier. In the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign 
 he does not appear to have been so well known and recognised 
 as a prophet at Jerusalem that official application would be 
 made to him for oracles. On the contrary, such application 
 is made by Josiah's servants to the prophetess Huldah, 
 2 Kings xxii. 1 4 ff. Jeremiah's earliest discourses (chs. ii.-vi.) 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 in the time of this king belong to the thirteenth year (ch. i.), 
 cf. iii. 6 (iv. 10, after the eighteenth year). Ch. xvii. 19-27, 
 too, belongs to this period, — a proof how the prophet also took 
 part, under higher impulse, in the attempt to lead the nation 
 back to observance of the law, all which he relates in xi. 1-8. 
 This movement must have had the warm sympathy of Jeremiah, 
 who is constantly complaining of idolatry and hill-worship, 
 and who shows himself full of the spirit of Deuteronomy. 
 All the more noteworthy is his independence of the pious 
 king. His testimony originates simply in the direct command 
 of the Lord ; his judgment respecting the nation and its con- 
 dition, certified to him as divine even at his call, was not 
 altered by Josiah's renovation of worship and morals ; it 
 must have remained essentially the same as indicated in 
 2 Kings xvii. 16 f., xxiii. 26, because the better efforts of 
 some in high place, while producing many outward changes, 
 did not penetrate the nation's heart, and were unable to 
 secure the sway of the Spirit of the Lord even among the 
 priesthood and the prophetic body. Jeremiah seems also to 
 have disapproved a vacillating policy in Josiah (ii. 36 f.). 
 How closely attached, nevertheless, he remained to this 
 excellent king, and how bitterly he mourned his premature 
 end (at Megiddo in the battle with Pharaoh-necho, 609), is 
 shown by the circumstance that he composed lamentations 
 upon him with whom the good genius of his people vanished, 
 — lamentations which were extant in the Chronicler's days 
 (2 Chron. xxxv. 25), but have not come down to us. In 
 that reformation -preaching of the covenant -law in Josiah's 
 days Jeremiah laboured also in other cities of the land (xi. 6); 
 whereas otherwise the proper scene of his labour was in 
 Jerusalem, where he was fond of addressing the multitudes 
 gathered at the feasts in the temple. He would also fain 
 have carried out this mission in behalf of the law in his 
 native town of Anathoth ; but there, like other prophets in 
 their own home, he met with fierce opposition, which issued in a 
 
4 JEKEMIAH. 
 
 dangerous plot against his life, from which a warning of the 
 Lord preserved him (xi. 18 ff.). Even his brethren and near 
 kinsmen entered into the conspiracy against him (xii. 6), 
 probably looking upon him as a dangerous enthusiast. 
 
 Jehoahaz,who reigned but three months (2 Kings xxiii. 31 f.), 
 is only mentioned in Jer. xxii. 10 ff. under the name of 
 Shallum (see on xxii. 11). He will not return to Jerusalem 
 from his journey to the Egyptian camp at Kiblah, where he 
 was taken prisoner and carried off to Egypt. 
 
 Jehoiakim, his elder brother, passed over by the people as the 
 less worthy, raised to the throne by Pharaoh-necho under the 
 above name, his previous name having been Eliakim, reigned 
 eleven years (609-598 B.C.). This king, in contrast to his 
 worthy father, favoured the prevailing heathen and untheo- 
 cratic usages (2 Kings xxiii. 37), into which path his brother 
 had already turned aside (2 Kings xxiii. 32). In social 
 respects, also, the rule of this vain, pomp-loving, and harsh 
 prince was a misfortune to the oppressed nation (Jer. xxii. 
 13 ff.). But it was his political treachery that was especially 
 full of danger. At first a partisan of Egypt, in his fifth year 
 he became tributary to Nebuchadnezzar, but again conspired 
 against him after three years' subjection. In this way he 
 brought about the devastation of the land by Syrians, 
 Moabites, and Ammonites, who gladly acted as the tools of 
 the Chaldaeans (2 Kings xxix. 1 f.), until Nebuchadnezzar 
 under his successor came to Jerusalem and revenged himself 
 by plundering and carrying away the people. On all these 
 accounts Jeremiah was forced severely to rebuke the kind's 
 conduct and to threaten him with personal punishment, which 
 also overtook him, xxii. 1-19 (xxi. 11-14). Cf. 2 Chron. 
 xxxvi. 6 f. The circumstances of his death are obscure. 
 Probably he came into the Babylonian camp, was there 
 unfavourably received and put in chains, but did not reach 
 Babylon. Under Jehoiakim the great temple-discourse was 
 uttered, chs. vii.-ix., x. 17-25, and this at the beginning of 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 his reign, according to xxvi. 1. The fourth year of Jehoiakim 
 was especially epoch-making in history and prophecy ; then 
 in the battle of Carchemish the superiority of the Chaldseans 
 over the Egyptians was decided, as Jeremiah, xlvi. 1-12, had 
 predicted. In this year, when all eyes were turned to the 
 movements of the great nations, Jeremiah in a survey of these 
 movements prophetically announces the consequences of the 
 approaching elevation of the Chaldeeans over Asia and Africa, 
 ch. xxv. From this year also spring specific oracles respecting 
 individual kingdoms, chs. xlviii., xlix. ; ch. xlvii. from a little 
 earlier time; xlvi. 13 ff. and xlix. 34-39 are of later origin. 
 Of the addresses to Judah, chs. xi., xii., xiv. 1-xvii. 18 
 (spoken on occasion of a drought) seem to us to have been 
 uttered under Jehoiakim, and this in his earlier days, before 
 enemies had invaded the land ; also xviii.-xx. The occurrence 
 in ch. xxxv. is expressly dated in these days. 
 
 It is easy to conceive that, under such a government, the 
 incorruptible and intrepid prophet had even at this early 
 period to endure severe attacks and persecutions at the hands 
 of the authorities. Cf. xvii. 18, xviii. 18 ff. Already, on 
 occasion of the temple-discourse just mentioned, according to 
 ch. xxvi. a capital charge was brought by the priests and 
 prophets against the inexorable preacher of woe, who spared 
 them least of all. Cf. the discourse against the prophets, 
 xxiii. 9-40. But the princes here showed themselves as yet 
 considerate and just; among them and the influential elders 
 of the land he did not lack well-disposed intercessors and 
 protectors. Nevertheless he did not escape actual ill-treat- 
 ment on the part of Pashhur who had charge of the police in 
 the temple, as ch. xx. relates. His attitude also to the 
 people became at this time more strained, as xvi. 1 ff. shows, 
 where among other things he is advised by God not to marry, 
 since the children of this land have nothing good to expect. 
 In consequence of his action in ch. xx., xxvi, access to the 
 temple- forecourt and labour among the people seem to have 
 
JEREMIAH. 
 
 been forbidden him, xxxvi. 5. This fact and the final crisis, 
 which the fourth year of Jehoiakim formed in the destiny of 
 his people as well as in his own prophetic work, explain how 
 it was, that in this very year he received the divine command 
 to collect in a book the prophecies respecting Judah and the 
 heathen which he had uttered up to this point, in order that 
 this review of his testimony might, if possible, lead to repent- 
 ance the people which had now the beginning of the fulfil- 
 ment before its eyes, ch. xxxvi. Baruch, his trusty disciple 
 (cf. ch. xlv.), was helpful to him in the writing, and read 
 Jeremiah's message to the people publicly in the temple. 
 When discharging this office in the fifth year of Jehoiakim 
 on a great fast-day, he was interviewed, as xxxvi. 9 ff. relates 
 in detail, by the princes, who carried the news of the incident 
 to the king. Jehoiakim burnt the roll on the spot, and com- 
 manded the prophet and his helpers to be seized. But they, 
 on the advice of the princes, had already concealed themselves, 
 and at once at God's bidding wrote the book anew, so that it 
 soon appeared again in an enlarged edition. 
 
 Jehoiachin, or Coniah as he is called in our book (see on 
 xxii. 24), son and successor of Jehoiakim, reaped what his 
 father had sown. After this eighteen-year-old prince had 
 reigned three months (2 Kings xxiv. 8 ; on the other hand, 
 2 Chron. xxxvi. 9 says eight years, perhaps a scribe's error), the 
 enraged Nebuchadnezzar appeared before Jerusalem and carried 
 him away along with the best part of his people to Babylon 
 (xxiv. 1, xxix. 2). Since Jehoiachin shared the unhappy 
 infatuation of his father (2 Kings xxiv. 9), — and ch. xiii., 
 which seems to fall in the months of his reign, shows that 
 sinful self-deception prevailed to the last, and the word of the 
 Lord was despised, — Jeremiah forewarned him in the most 
 express terms (xxii. 20-30) of his dismal fate, not without 
 betraying heartfelt sympathy with the misfortune of the 
 frivolous though not ignoble youth. The appendix, ch. lii., 
 concludes, like the Book of Kings, with an advancement, which 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 tins prince was permitted to enjoy in the thirty-seventh year 
 of his imprisonment at Babylon, lii. 3 1 ff. 
 
 Zedekiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar raised to the throne, was 
 the youngest son of Josiah (Jer. i. 3, xxxvii. 1), uncle of 
 Jehoiachin (2 Kings xxiv. 17), and was called Mattaniah 
 before he came to the throne. His almost eleven years' reign 
 (598-588 B.C.) sealed the destruction of Judah and Jeru- 
 salem, cf. 2 Kings xxiv. 19 f. (Jer. lii. 2 f.). Instead of 
 seeking help from the Lord and preparing the way of salva- 
 tion by righteous administration of justice, and cleansing 
 divine worship from its many heathen corruptions, this 
 worldly-minded prince gave loose rein to everything evil, and 
 trusted for deliverance to revolt against the Babylonian power, 
 from whose generosity he had received the throne. Thus he 
 belonged to the bad shepherds, whom the prophet contrasts 
 with the good one (xxiii. 1-8), who bears the name like 
 Zedekiah, but honours it in a different way. In regard to 
 the political situation, Jeremiah's message from first to last 
 pointed out, like a stedfast magnet, to the king the same 
 course as the only safe one, namely, sincere subjection to 
 Babylon's suzerainty as long as it was the Lord's pleasure to 
 allow it to continue. But Zedekiah was always of the 
 opposite mind, or complied against his will. In his fourth 
 year, perhaps when Elam was giving trouble to the Chaldsean 
 empire (cf. xlix. 34-39, belonging to this time), he planned, 
 along with the neighbours named in xxvii. 3, a revolt from 
 Babylon (xxvii. 1, read Zedekiah's instead of Jehoiakim's), 
 which undertaking Jeremiah was forced strongly to oppose by 
 word and act, chs. xxvii., xxviii. He illustrated his prophecy 
 in striking fashion by carrying about a yoke, and sealed it by 
 announcing the speedy death of an opponent, who defied 
 Yahveh's word, which sign was fulfilled within the given 
 time. Into that fourth year falls also the journey of the 
 king to Babylon, when the oracles respecting that city were 
 read by a trusty friend of Jeremiah and sunk in the Euphrates* 
 
8 JEREMIAH. 
 
 li. 59-64, which presupposes the existence in substance of 
 the part, chs. 1., li. The journey took place rather after than 
 before the conspirings at Jerusalem, see on li. 59. On the 
 other hand, the vision, ch. xxiv., and the letter to Babylon, 
 ch. xxix., spring from the first years of Zedekiah. "When 
 finally, despite every warning, the revolt of Judah from 
 Babylon actually took place, the nobles of Judah relying 
 especially on Egypt, the Chaldsean army came in Zedekiah's 
 ninth year to take revenge. What Zedekiah's prospects were, 
 the prophet at once foretold to him, xxi. 1-10, and repeated 
 incessantly during the long siege, xxxiv. 1-7, 8-22, xxxvii. 
 1-10, 17-21, xxxviii. 14 ff. Only, he said, in instant sur- 
 render to the generosity of the hostile ruler is there deliver- 
 ance for the king and the city, which without question will 
 fall into the hands of the Chaldaeans. But the king, who was 
 visibly impressed by the surprising turn of events which had 
 confirmed and fulfilled Jeremiah's words, recognising divine 
 truth in them, was now too flippant and vain, now too 
 cowardly and hopeless, to act on this conviction. 
 
 Thus he allowed the prophet at one time to be abused by 
 his enraged foes almost to death, at another he interposed to 
 protect him. Jeremiah's suffering reached its climax under 
 this king, especially during the siege of Jerusalem. The 
 military leaders of the nation, who had long been very angry 
 at the discouraging effect of Jeremiah's addresses, used the 
 opportunity, when he wished, during an interruption in the 
 siege caused by the approach of an Egyptian army (in which 
 interval also the narrative of xxxiv. 8 ff. falls), to visit his 
 native place, to treat him as a deserter, and to cast him into 
 close confinement, where he lingered a long period (xxxvii. 
 1 1 ff.). Jeremiah used an interview with the king, who had 
 secretly sent for him, to beg a milder imprisonment, which 
 he found in the " guard-court " belonging to the royal citadel 
 (xxxvii. 17 ff.). There he passed a tolerable existence, every- 
 thing necessary for his support being provided ; here also he 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 was able to exercise his prophetic office, and indeed at this 
 time oracles, for the most encouraging, were vouchsafed to 
 him. Chs. xxxii. and xxxiii. are expressly dated in this 
 period of imprisonment, and chs. xxx. and xxxi. also seem 
 not to be much older. The prophet's gaze, too, fell again and 
 again on the heathen world outside. Ch. xlvi. 13-28, the 
 second oracle against Egypt, is best assigned to the years of 
 the siege of Jerusalem. But the prophet had to encounter a 
 still worse design on his life during this time, as told in 
 ch. xxxviii. Those leaders of the nation, who hated him on 
 account of his preaching, which weakened the power and 
 spirit of resistance, finally decided to remove him out of the 
 way when they saw that he continued, from the guard-court 
 also, to exercise an influence in their view full of peril. They 
 used a weak moment of the king to request full authority to 
 deal with Jeremiah, and then let him down into a cistern 
 covered with mud, where he must have perished miserably 
 if speedy help had not come. Help, however, was given him 
 by a court - official Ebed - melech, who was able quickly to 
 change the king's mind, and brought the prophet back to his 
 former abode. Cf. on this, xxxix. 15-18. Here he remained 
 until the capture of Jerusalem. 
 
 After the catastrophe Jeremiah was treated with forbearance 
 at Nebuchadnezzar's special command (xxxix. 1 1 ff., xl. 1 ff.), 
 since the king knew well how strongly the prophet had again 
 and again protested against the revolt from Babylon and 
 resistance to its power. The " captain of the guard," who 
 was entrusted with the royal commands in Jerusalem, left 
 him free to proceed to Babylon or to stay in the country. 
 He chose the latter, since the trustworthy Gedaliah, who was 
 appointed governor by the Chaldseans, seemed to be a new and 
 promising centre for the remnant of Judah. This hope, alas ! 
 came to nothing in a few weeks. Gedaliah was assassinated 
 in his palace at Mizpah, where Jeremiah also had settled, by 
 a malcontent Jewish noble, Ishmael, who was instigated to 
 
1 JEREMIAH. 
 
 the crime by the Ammonites (xl. 7 ff., xli. 1 ff.). This 
 Ishmael, who intended to carry away the defenceless dwellers 
 in Mizpah as a rich prize to Ammon, was indeed compelled 
 to relinquish his booty and to take to flight before the Jewish 
 forces which hurried up. But a general panic seized those 
 who were left. What was to become of them, if the Chal- 
 daeans came to take revenge for the murder of their deputy ? 
 It was decided not to wait for this, but to migrate at once to 
 Egypt, if possible, with the entire remnant of the nation found 
 in the country, so as to be safe from the dreaded Chaldseans. 
 In the camp at Bethlehem, where the people assembled before 
 departing, Jeremiah was asked for a divine oracle on the 
 question (xlii. 1 ff.). His answer, ten days later, was a com- 
 plete prohibition of this migration-scheme, and an exhortation 
 to remain in the land in obedience to the Lord. But the 
 leaders adhered to their plan ; the fear of the Chaldeeans was 
 universal ; and thus the prophet was obliged here also to see 
 his good advice, which was really God's advice to his people, 
 rejected under futile pretexts and suspicions (xliii. 1 ff.). 
 The departure took place ; Jeremiah also was forced to join 
 in it ; they came to the city of Tahpanhes = Daphne, in Lower 
 Egypt. 
 
 That God spoke to him and through him even there on 
 foreign soil among a fragment of his people, scattered and 
 rejected of God, is proved first by xliii. 8-13, and again by 
 his last testimony (ch. xliv.) uttered several years afterwards 
 (yet before 570 B.C.). If the prophet was about twenty years 
 old on his call in the thirteenth reign of Josiah (about 628), 
 he had now reached the advanced age of from seventy to 
 eighty years. He probably died not long afterwards in Egypt. 
 The patristic story, that he was stoned by his own people at 
 Daphne (Hieron. Adv. Jovin. ii. 37 ; Tertull. Contra 6-nost. 
 c. 8 ; Pseud epiphanius, Be Projph. c. 8 ; Dorotheus, p. 146 ; 
 Isidorus, Ort. et Obit. Patr. c. 38), is unattested; and so is 
 the Babbinical one, that he was taken to Babylon along with 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1 1 
 
 Baruch by Nebuchadnezzar on the conquest of Egypt, and 
 died there (Seder Ohm rabbet, c. 26) ; or the other, that he 
 returned to Judaea (Eashi on Jer. xliv. 14). His grave was 
 afterwards shown at Daphne or in Cairo. The extraordinary 
 affection with which his memory was cherished among the 
 people, is shown by the legendary embellishments of his tife, 
 e.g. 2 Mace. ii. 1 f£, and references to him like 2 Mace. xv. 
 12—16, as well as by his identification with his nation's most 
 glorious hopes. Cf. Matt. xvi. 14. 
 
 III. JEREMIAH'S PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 The personality of Jeremiah looks out on us from his book 
 in more individual distinctness than that of any other pro- 
 phet. Not only are his life-incidents, interwoven as they are 
 most closely with his long prophetic work, more fully recorded 
 than is the case in similar books ; even in Jeremiah's discourses 
 his personal, subjective feelings come far more to the front 
 than in an Isaiah or Ezekiel. He reveals himself in these as 
 a soul of gentle nature, yielding, tender-hearted, affectionate, 
 with almost a woman's thirst for love, with which certainly 
 the iron, unbending firmness and immovable power of resist- 
 ance belonging to him in his prophetic sphere are in strange 
 contrast. There were in him two different, widely diverging 
 potencies, — the human flesh in its weakness, yet with all its 
 lawful generous impulses, and the Divine Spirit with its bound- 
 less strength. Though the former was thoroughly subject to 
 the latter, it suffered, sighed, bled under the heavy, almost 
 intolerable burden laid upon it by God's Spirit and word. 
 No doubt the youth received the divine revelations with 
 delighted eagerness (xv. 16) ; but it went hard with him to 
 be obliged to renounce every joy of youth on account of the 
 " hand of the Lord " that came upon him, and to be obliged 
 to experience and proclaim to his people nothing but wrath, 
 ruin, woe ! How utterly all this cut across his natural 
 
12 JEREMIAH. 
 
 inclination (xv. 17 f.) ! Moreover, the office of this witness 
 of Yahveh was in itself highly tragical ; he had to preach 
 repentance to a people unfaithful to its God, while knowing 
 that this final call to salvation would pass away unheeded ! 
 He had to picture to the nation and its God-forgetting leaders 
 the terrible danger accruing to it from its guilt, and he was 
 not understood, because no one wished to understand him ! 
 "No more apt motto could be prefixed to the Book of 
 Jeremiah than the sorrowful saying of Jesus : ovk ^eXjfo-are 
 (Luke xiii. 34), or vvv Se iicpv/3r) airb o</>0a\/iwi> aov (Luke 
 xix. 42)," Delitzsch, Messianic Prophecy. Thus he himself 
 suffered most under the disobedience of the nation which he 
 loved, without being able to save it. And at the same time, 
 he, the warmest, noblest friend of his country, was forced to 
 let himself be counted among traitors, as though in league 
 with the enemy ! And yet it was God's inspiration that 
 compelled him again and again to beat down without mercy 
 every deceitful hope to which sinking courage strove to cling ; 
 not cowardice but courage made him dissuade those eager for 
 war ; not treachery but love for people and city made him 
 enjoin submission to the conqueror chosen of God. If such a 
 position — in some respects like the one forced on Hosea in 
 the last days of the northern kingdom — would have been 
 terribly hard for any one, for the deeply sensitive Jeremiah, 
 who felt the wounds of his nation as his own, it was almost 
 crushing ! That he who interceded with priestly heart for 
 Judah saw himself rejected in his constant intercession before 
 God's throne (vii. 16, xi. 14, xiv. 11, xviii. 20), that he who 
 consumed himself for the salvation of his country and strove 
 only to avert the ruin threatened by God, had to listen to the 
 bitterest suspicions and revilings (ix. 1 ff., xii. 5 f., xv. 10, 
 xvii. 14-18, xviii. 23, etc.), often brought him to despair; 
 nor does he restrain his feelings. Nothing can again cheer 
 him and heal his inner wounds (viii. 18, 21) ; he wishes he 
 could dissolve in tears for his poor people (ix. 1, xiii 17) ; he 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 would fain dwell alone in the wilderness to escape the wicked- 
 ness of his surroundings (ix. 2) ; he wishes God had never 
 persuaded him to enter His service, since God's words make 
 him reel like wine (xxiii. 9) and burn in him like fire, when 
 he would suppress them (xx. 7 ff.). Yea, in this conflict 
 between his heart of human feeling and God's inexorable 
 word he wishes he had never been born (xv. 10, xx. 14-18), 
 like Job, iii. 1 ff. But just because what the Lord announces 
 to him is so contrary and painful to his natural feelings 
 and wishes, he is so certain that a stronger one has come 
 upon him ; and he opposes with invincible certainty of 
 triumph the false prophets, who publish the flattering dreams 
 of their own heart as revelations from above. Over against 
 all outward attacks he stands as an iron pillar and brazen 
 wall (i. 18, xv. 20), whilst inwardly mourning the ruin of 
 Judah and Jerusalem as none else does. 
 
 As well in the occasional murmurings and outbreaks of 
 despair, related in xv. 19 and elsewhere as faults of human 
 weakness in the prophet, as in the imprecations on his 
 enemies and persecutors, which Jeremiah now and then utters 
 less from prophetic authority than from excitement of spirit 
 (xi. 20, xv. 15, xvii. 18, xviii. 21-23), we see indeed the vast 
 distance between this sufferer and his New Testament anti- 
 type, the Son of man, who, bearing in love a far heavier 
 burden of sins of others, murmured not and threatened not, 
 when misunderstood and persecuted still more grievously. 
 But among the prophetic forerunners of this greatest Sufferer, 
 Jeremiah stands first, not only on account of his discourse 
 and teaching, but especially on account of his life and suffer- 
 ing. And that he even inspired his contemporaries, to whom 
 he was so unwelcome a messenger and so inconvenient a 
 witness, with high esteem, nay, divine reverence, is sufficiently 
 shown by the circumstance that King Zedekiah, despite his 
 constant disregard of the prophet's message, again and again 
 sent for him to learn God's will from him, and even after the 
 
14 JEREMIAH. 
 
 fall of Jerusalem the leaders of the people wished to have his 
 consent to their scheme of migrating to Egypt ; and when, on 
 the contrary, Jeremiah solemnly advised them against this 
 project, they carried the aged prophet himself with them to 
 that country, like a palladium, to ensure the welfare of the 
 nation ! If further proof were needed of Jeremiah's genuine, 
 unselfish, and absolute devotion to his people, it would be 
 found in the Lamentations, which we have good grounds, 
 according to tradition, for ascribing to him (Herzog, vi. 
 p. 527 ff.). There, where he appears not as God's prophetic 
 representative, but as a mournful singer, pouring out his 
 people's complaints to God, he is able at last to give free 
 course to his inmost human feeling, which he had long enough 
 suppressed by force, if he could not shake it off. 
 
 IV. CONTENTS OF JEREMIAH'S PROPHECY. 
 
 As is already evident from Jeremiah's call, ch. i., his special 
 mission was to warn his nation of judgment. But the reason 
 of this judgment was the terrible guilt with which the nation 
 had long been burdened. By way of example, the prophet 
 constantly mentions in the first line idolatry, falling away 
 from the true God, Yahveh, to other gods like Baal, Moloch, 
 the Queen of Heaven, etc., even literal image-worship. This 
 accusation runs like a dark thread through Jeremiah's 
 addresses from the first (ch. ii.) to the last one (ch. xliv.). 
 Idolatry is the main evil; on account of this deadly sin 
 judgment is coming on the nation, i. 16, ii. 5, 8, 11, 13, 20, 
 23, 27 f. (cf. xi. 13), iii. 1 ff., 6, 9, 13, v. 7, 19, vii. 18 t, 
 ix. 14, x. 2 ff., xi. 10 ff., 17, xii. 16, xiii. 10, 27, xv. 4, xvi. 
 11, 19 f., xvii. 2, xviii. 15, xix. 4, 13, xxxii. 29, 34 f., xliv. 
 8, 15, 17 ff. It is clear from these passages (and the writings 
 of Amos, Hosea, Isaiah et al. confirm) that hill-worship in 
 particular, i.e. the cultus practised outside Jerusalem in con- 
 secrated places, fostered heathenism, and, from the Mosaic- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1 5 
 
 prophetic point of view, had to be condemned as a dallying 
 with strange gods. But not merely were there ambiguous 
 cults, but also glaring heathen ones, and that in the close 
 vicinity of Jerusalem, where, in the vale of Hinnom in 
 the place Tophet, at least until the reformation of Josiah, 
 children were sacrificed in honour of Baal-Moloch, vii. 31, 
 xix. 5, xxxii. 35, and heathen idols stood even in the temple 
 itself, xxxii. 34. Baal is especially mentioned as the heathen 
 deity, standing in this sense almost appellatively (sing, and 
 plur.), because he was the supreme Semitic god, the universal 
 deity, of whom Moloch et al. were special forms ; also the 
 " Queen of Heaven," vii. 18 (see there), xliv. 19. 
 
 These heathen abominations were introduced into the land 
 principally by King Manasseh, who had shed the blood of the 
 Lord's faithful confessors and prophets, 2 Kings xxi. 1 ff., 16, 
 which heavy guilt was still cleaving to the land, Jer. xv. 4, 
 2 Kings xxiii. 26, when the worst abuses were abolished at a 
 stroke by Josiah. Because the nation had not really turned 
 away in heart from its heathen ways, perpetually falling back 
 into them, before God it stood guilty of all the apostasy into 
 which it had fallen since the days of Moses, ii. 5 ff., 9 ff., 
 vii. 25 ff., xi. 7 f., xiv. 20, xv. 4, xvi. 11 f. Thus the prophet 
 is familiar with the idea of an inherited burden of sin, which 
 the present generation must perforce carry, and in this he is 
 in full harmony with Lam. v. 7 ; only he points out plainly 
 enough that the generation of to-day has not to expiate its 
 fathers' guilt apart from its own (cf. especially xvi. 11 f.) 3 
 which again the singer of Lam. v. 16, 21 knows quite well, 
 and does not fail to notice. Jer. xxxi. 29 f., however, speaks 
 not of a present, but a future experience. 
 
 But if, according to Jeremiah, the nation's entire corruption 
 was rooted in its unfaithfulness to Yahveh, this led at once to 
 all manner of unrighteousness and immorality, against which 
 the prophet has also unceasingly to bear witness, v. 1 ff., 7 f., 
 26 ff., vi. 7, 13, vii. 5 f., 9, ix. 2-6, 8, xvii. 9 ff., xxi. 12, 
 
1 6 JEREMIAH. 
 
 xxii. 13 ff., xxiii. 10, xxix. 23 et al. From this it follows, 
 that with the fear of the true God reverence for His holy law 
 also vanished, and heathen profligacy hroke in. The great 
 laws of chastity, honesty, righteousness (e.g. in administering 
 justice) were neglected among high and low, even among 
 priests and prophets, who, instead of being organs of the 
 divine Torah, as to the majority of them, followed the spirit 
 of the age, countenanced worldly power, and thirsted after 
 mammon. Hence they were utterly incapable of raising the 
 nation morally. Where attempts were made at repentance 
 and amendment, they remained ineffectual beginnings. 
 
 The punitive judgment which Jeremiah has to announce is 
 mainly of a political kind. He takes occasion, indeed, to 
 point out to the people God's retributive hand in barrenness, 
 drought, etc. (v. 24, xiv. 1 ff.). But the chief judgment 
 which he announces from the first is one which foreign 
 nations will inflict on Judah and Jerusalem, such as the 
 Assyrians inflicted on Israel and Samaria. From the intro- 
 ductory vision onward, a power from the north is described as 
 the executor of judgment ; and the earlier discourses, up to 
 ch. xxv., in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, speaking generally, 
 do not go beyond this mysterious, indefinite description, 
 i. 13 ff., iii. 18, iv. 6 f., 13 ff. (cf. v. 15 ff., vi. 3 ff.), vi. 22 ff., 
 viii. 16, x. 22, xiii. 20 (cf. xvi. 15, xxiii. 8). On the other 
 hand, from xxv. 9 onward Nebuchadnezzar appears specifically 
 as God's instrument in punishing Judah and the heathen 
 world. Now it seems strange that he at last emerges as the 
 " northern " foe, whereas Babylon lies south-east of Palestine. 
 Some, therefore, have suggested the Scythians, who have been 
 recognised in the description of the approaching foe, ch. iv.-vi. 
 According to Herod, i. 103 ff., these Scythians, after conquer- 
 ing Media, also overran Asia Minor and penetrated as far as 
 Egypt. In doing so they passed through Beth-Shan (hence 
 called Scythopolis) to the coast, and then through Philistia 
 thus touching on Judsea (Maspero, Geschichtc d. morgenl. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 Volker, p. 468 ff.). This invasion, however, seems to have 
 taken place several years before the call of Jeremiah. It is 
 also certainly wrong to think that the prophet originally 
 understood the Scythians by that northern foe. Apart from 
 the consideration that particular features like the war-chariots 
 (iv. 13) do not suit them, the prophet speaks from the first 
 of a deportation of his people to that northern land (iii. 18, 
 v. 19), whereas he could not for a moment think that the 
 Scythians would carry such an exile into effect, Neverthe- 
 less we do not deny the influence of the appearance of those 
 wild horsemen upon Jeremiah's vision in a formal respect, as 
 in v. 15 ff., vi. 3 ff., 22 ff. How great was the impression 
 made upon the Jews by those hitherto unknown marauding 
 and warlike hosts is shown by Ezekiel's vision of Gog in the 
 land of Magog, ch. xxxviii. 39 (Herzog, v. p. 263 f.). More- 
 over, the great empires of Asia — Assyria, Babylon, and Persia 
 — always had peoples of this kind among their vassals and 
 auxiliaries. Jeremiah may therefore have those powers in 
 mind and yet employ the Scythians, who were regarded by 
 him and his contemporaries with terror. At all events it is 
 clear that the prophet in naming, from the fourth year of 
 Jehoiakim (or, after the battle of Carchemish), in the most 
 definite way, the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar as the 
 avenging foes, by no means intended to make any change in 
 his previous prophecy, but to continue it in direct line. He 
 now also represents the enemy as coming from the north and 
 carrying away Judah into that region (xxxi. 8). In order to 
 understand this view, we must remember — (1) that the Baby- 
 lonians did in fact advance into the country from the north ; 
 (2) that, as the heirs of the Assyrian empire, they belonged, 
 in the eyes of the Jews, to the group of northern nations. 
 Thus the only question is, whether Jeremiah, up to the time 
 when Nebuchadnezzar entered on the scene, really thought of 
 no one nation of this group (Nagelsbach), or, as ancient writers 
 think, from the first understood the Chaldaeans by the northern 
 
 B 
 
18 JEREMIAH. 
 
 peoples. We think that revelation at first showed him that 
 nation, in an indefinite way, as one coming from the north ; 
 but on reflection he could scarcely be doubtful at once that it 
 was Babylon, already contemplated in this character by Isaiah 
 (xxxix. 6) as well as Micah (iv. 10), and presently by 
 Habakkuk, that would carry this work of the Lord into effect. 
 
 In this preaching of judgment Jeremiah stands continually 
 in the strongest antagonism, first, to the priesthood, whose 
 chief interest lay in turning the theocracy to outward profit, 
 and to whom, therefore, the unbroken continuance of the 
 temple in Jerusalem was the first article of faith; and, secondly, 
 to the prophetic body which stood in close union with the 
 priesthood, and which was always ready by encouraging 
 oracles and dreams to heighten confidence in God's city and 
 state, and to conjure away gathering storms by their confident 
 language. Superficial optimism, therefore, is the constant sign 
 of these opponents of the prophet. See respecting the priests : 
 ii. 8, 26, v. 31, vi. 13, viii. 1, 10, xiii. 13, xiv. 18, xviii. 18, 
 xix. 1, xx. 1, xxiii. 11, xxvi. 7 ff., xxvii. 16 (xxix. 25 ff.), 
 xxxi 14, xxxii. 32, xxxiii. 21, xxxiv. 19 (xxxvii. 3). Eespect- 
 ing the prophets: ii. 8, 26, vi. 13 ff., viii. 1, 10, xiii. 13, xiv. 
 13 ff., 18, xviii. 18, xxiii. 9-32, 33-40, xxvi. 7 ff., xxvi. 20, 
 xxvii. 9, 14, 16, xxix. 21, 31, xxxii. 32, xxxvii. 19. 
 
 In contrast with these false prophets, who hoped to be 
 able easily to patch up the hurts of the nation, Jeremiah 
 announced from the beginning a complete destruction of the 
 southern kingdom, like the destruction inflicted by the 
 Assyrians on the northern one. The city will be taken and 
 destroyed. The people will be carried away, iii. 18, v. 19, 
 ix. 15 f., xii. 14 f, xiii. 1 ff., 19, xv. 2, xvii. 3 f., xx. 4 f.^ 
 xxi. 7, xxii. 26 f. (against Jehoiachin, etc.). According to 
 xxv. 11 (belonging to the year when Babylon's suzerainty 
 began), the Babylonian dominion is to last seventy years • so 
 also xxix. 10. Thus the time of the bondage also is limited, 
 several of the passages referred to above speaking already of 
 
INTRODUCTION. 19 
 
 the return from exile. According to chs. l.-li., Israel's redemp- 
 tion is closely connected with Baby Ion's fall. This conclusion 
 shows that the prophet with all his sad moods did not despair 
 of God's dealings with His people. The nearer the judgment 
 approached, and the more widely its terrors were felt, the 
 more scope Jeremiah was able to give to the promise. In his 
 early and earliest days, indeed, it was not wholly wanting 
 (iii. 14 ff., xii. 14 ff., xvi. 14 f.); but especially during the 
 period of heaviest tribulation under Zedekiah, whilst Jerusalem 
 was beleaguered, Jeremiah was permitted gloriously to unfold 
 the programme of deliverance, xxiii. 1 ff., xxiv. 6 ff., xlvii. 27 f., 
 and in his book of consolation, chs. xxx.-xxxiii. 
 
 It was the outward downfall of the theocracy, so painfully 
 felt by Israel and partly brought about by it, that gave the 
 deep-thoughted seer an insight into the profound inwardness 
 of the divine will such as scarcely any one else had. His 
 prophecies are just as much distinguished by such inwardness 
 as his minatory discourses condemn to destruction the outward 
 form of the theocracy. The outward covenant-sign of circum- 
 cision does not ensure God's goodwill to the Israelite (iv. 4, 
 vi. 10, ix. 26), unless an inward circumcision (of the ears) 
 is present. The outward temple, built of stone, is no pledge 
 of divine protection, as many have falsely dreamt since Isaiah's 
 days ; on the contrary, this temple, perverted into an asylum 
 and hiding-place of presumptuous sin, calls forth God's judg- 
 ment. See the temple discourse, ch. vii. ff., especially vii. 
 4, 10 ff., xi. 15, xvii. 3, xxvi. 6, 9, 12, xxvii. 16. In the same 
 way confidence, based on outward sacrificial worship, is vain ; 
 the Lord can take no delight in such ceremonial matters, vi. 2 0, 
 vii. 21 ff., xi. 15, xiv. 12. Not that the prophet regarded 
 the sacrificial ritual as in itself displeasing to God (see, on the 
 contrary, the enforcing of the Sabbath - commandment, xvii. 
 21 ff., 26, xxxiii. 18, and cf. vi. 20 and vii. 22 f.), but with- 
 out a corresponding spirit the ritual observance has no sort 
 of value. Nor does the divine Torah and legal erudition, on 
 
2 JEREMIAH. 
 
 which many greatly prided themselves, impart divine illumi- 
 nation ; for the Torah is often falsified by those who profess 
 to know it (viii. 8), even as ostensibly prophetic teaching 
 often falsely bears this name. Thus the goal of Jeremiah's 
 prophecy is a thoroughly inward and genuine union between 
 God and the nation. Then even the ancient ark of the 
 covenant, hitherto the outward medium and symbol of God's 
 spiritual presence, will be wanting (iii. 16) ; but the law of 
 the Lord will no longer be an outward one, written on tables 
 of stone and standing over against the nation, but will be 
 written in its heart (xxxi. 31 ff., cf. xxxii. 40). Thus the 
 Lord will not abolish the covenant once made with Israel and 
 David, but will give it a far more glorious form, xxxiii. 20-26. 
 But the Messianic glory is painted here in much less detail 
 than in Isaiah or Ezekiel ; only certain keynotes are struck, 
 like " the Lord our Eighteousness " (xxiii. 6, xxxiii. 16), or the 
 mysterious saying (xxxi. 22); but these leading chords are 
 capable of an inexhaustibly rich development. 
 
 v. form of Jeremiah's prophecy. 
 
 As concerns the form of these prophecies, visions in the 
 strict sense occur, even symbolical ones, i. 11, 13, xxiv. 1 f. ; 
 again symbolical actions especially, xiii. 1 ff., xix. 1 ff., 
 xxvii. 2 ff., xxviii. 10 ff., 12 ff., xliii. 8 ff., li. 63 f. ; in xviii. 
 2 ff., the spectacle of the potter and his work serves as 'a sym- 
 bolical phenomenon ; the object is by this means to impress 
 a certain truth, not merely on the seer, but especially on the 
 hearers. Jeremiah is fond of uniting figure and word-play, 
 cf. i. 11 f., xix. 1, 7; in the same way a symbolical maxim, 
 appealing to reflection, is prefixed (xxii. 12, xxxi. 22). He 
 presents a living example in order to inspire shame in xxxv. 
 1 ff. All these figures, however, are simple, unadorned ; just 
 so the symbolical actions are plain, almost sordid. Jeremiah's 
 chief strength clearly lies in speech ; his words are certainly 
 
INTRODUCTION. 2 1 
 
 often charged with all the force of a personality penetrated 
 by the Spirit of the Lord. The style, it is true, is not the 
 strong, terse style of an Isaiah ; it seldom surprises by bold 
 turns and brief apostrophes, as in the case of Amos, or so 
 frequently in Hosea ; the flow of discourse is broad, lucid, 
 uniform, the movement often halting, slow, and monotonous. 
 But this not merely arises from the late, reflective times of 
 Jeremiah, but has its chief ground in the subject of which he 
 has to speak, and in the mood filling him. He is not lacking 
 in poetic inspiration and original talent. In prophecies 
 respecting foreign nations, a bright, vivid, fiery tone often 
 reigns ; but where Jeremiah is speaking to his own people, it 
 is as if he were forbidden by deep earnestness, by inevitable 
 melancholy, from adorning himself with gay figures or striking 
 phrases. And like the rhythm of the clauses, so also the 
 language is marked by a certain looseness ; to the Aramaisms 
 (cf. Knobel, Jeremias Chaldaizans, 1831; Zimmer, Aramaismi 
 Jeremiani, i., Halle 1880) occasional negligences are to be 
 added. Jerome remarks in Prol. ad Jer. : " Jeremias propheta 
 sermone quidem apud Hebraos Isaia et Osea et quibusdam 
 aliis prophetis videtur esse rusticior, sed sensibus par est." It 
 is in harmony with the gentleness and flexibleness of this 
 prophet, and also with his task of summing up and closing the 
 whole series of prophets, that Jeremiah is specially fond of 
 resuming former divine messages and blending them with his 
 own words, not without impressing on them also his own indi- 
 viduality. Even where he repeats his own oracles, as is not 
 seldom the case, it is generally done with slight variations. 
 
 Thus in Jeremiah's book the impetuous torrents, gushing 
 forth at the bidding of the ancient prophets, have blended 
 into a placid sea crossed only by gentle currents and offering 
 a polished mirror ; but from its surface the sad image of his 
 time looks out on us : a devastated land, the heaven above it 
 hung with blackness, through whose murky night only a 
 strange gleam bursts now and then, illumining on the farthest 
 
2 2 JEREMIAH. 
 
 horizon a glorified city, over which is written in letters of 
 flame : The Lord our Eighteousness ! 
 
 VI. JEREMIAH S BOOK. 
 
 The first origin of this book is told in xxxvi. 1 ff. Accord- 
 to this account, Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim (i.e. 
 after twenty-three years' labour), at God's bidding wrote down 
 all his previous discourses, or had them written down, in one 
 roll. A former recording of the several oracles is not thereby 
 precluded, rather it is quite probable during such a long space 
 of time. Only Jeremiah not merely read such oracles to the 
 scribe Baruch, but gave them a new shape at one stroke. 
 Considering the mode of origin, it cannot seem strange that 
 the division of the several oracles and discourses is not every- 
 where evident, and they are very differently divided by 
 expositors. After this first roll had been burnt in the fifth 
 year of Jehoiakim, Jeremiah dictated it again, word for word 
 (xxxvi. 28). His remark, ver. 32: "Many similar words 
 were added besides," is perhaps meant to intimate that this 
 collection was gradually enlarged during the further activity 
 of the prophet. Smaller collections with specific contents, 
 received into this main book in the course of time, are seen in 
 the Consolation-book, xxx.-xxxiii. (see xxx. 2), and the oracles 
 against Babylon, 1., li. (see li. 60). 
 
 By this twofold recording under Jehoiakim, the original 
 matter grew into the present book. The recording undoubtedly 
 followed a chronological order, except, indeed, that at the close 
 (xxxvi. 2) discourses against the heathen also were added, 
 which now, leaving out of sight ch. xxv., come at the close of 
 the whole book. Moreover, in the present book the chrono- 
 logical order has been disturbed. Not only before chs. xxxv., 
 xxxvi., but even before ch. xxv. a series of prophecies from 
 Zedekiah's days has been interpolated (xxi. 1 ff., xxiii. 1 ff., 
 xxiv. 1 ff.), which therefore cannot have belonged to the first 
 
INTRODUCTION. 23 
 
 collection; probably for this reason, that ch. xxv. was regarded as 
 belonging to the conclusion referring to the heathen. The pre- 
 sent strange absence of arrangement is to be further explained, 
 partly by the fact that afterwards historical narratives (like 
 those of chs. xxvi., xxxv., xxxvi., etc.) were added, which, as 
 regards their contents, should in part have found their place 
 in the first book of discourses. Such supplements to the 
 proper book of discourses are found from ch. xxvi. onward. 
 Only the special book (chs. xxx.-xxxiii.) gives a connected 
 kernel of discourses proper ; then follow oracles bound up 
 with narratives (xxxiv.-xxxvi.), and to these the fortunes of 
 the prophet during the siege and after the fall of Jerusalem 
 join on (xxxvii. ff.). The heading, i. 1-3, applies as far as 
 ch. xxxix. inclusive ; in xl. 1 follows a heading answering 
 to the prophet's later work ; in xlvi. 1, one that comprises the 
 oracles against the heathen (up to ch. li.). Since Jeremiah, 
 after the great catastrophe in which his prophecy was so 
 terribly fulfilled, enjoyed several years of leisure in Egypt, 
 where also he had the help of Baruch, it is highly probable 
 that he there completed and rounded off his prophetic book. 
 A difference is observable between the sections where the 
 prophet speaks in the first person and those where the writer 
 speaks of him in the third person and with elaborate descrip- 
 tion. In the former, which are generally the earlier ones, 
 Baruch adhered strictly to the words dictated ; in the latter, 
 including principally historical accounts, he moved more freely. 
 In its main part the book seems to have been completed 
 before Jeremiah's death, since this event is neither mentioned 
 nor so much as intimated. 
 
 As concerns the genuineness and integrity of the book, it 
 bears almost everywhere the stamp of Jeremiah's literary 
 characteristics to such a degree, that doubt of its authenticity 
 as a whole is out of the question, and at most certain sections 
 may be distinguished as of another class. The sections 
 attacked by criticism are: (1) x. 1-16, where the orginality 
 
24 JEREMIAH. 
 
 is in fact doubtful, see on the section ; (2) xxv. 11-14, see on 
 the passage; (3) xxvii. 7, 16-22, attacked without sufficient 
 reason, mainly on account of the LXX, who have here greatly 
 abbreviated; (4) xxxiii. 14-26 the same, see on the passage; 
 (5) xxxix. 1, 2, 4-10 have been inserted; (6) xlviii. is said 
 by some critics to be greatly interpolated, see there ; (7) chs. 
 L, li., the oracle respecting Babylon, is denied by many to be 
 Jeremiah's ; but in our judgment not on conclusive grounds, 
 see after chs. 1., li. ; (8) ch. Hi. is an appendix added by a 
 strange hand, see after ch. lii. 
 
 VII. RELATION OF THE HEBREW TO THE ALEXANDRINE TEXT. 
 
 The Greek-Alexandrine text differs in a remarkable degree 
 from the Hebrew - Masoretic text of our book. Even the 
 arrangement of the parts and the order of the chapters are 
 partly different, the LXX inserting the oracles respecting 
 the heathen, which elsewhere form the conclusion, after 
 xxv. 13, and giving them, moreover, in an order altogether 
 different from the Hebrew text (xlix. 35 ff., xlvi., 1., li., 
 xlvii. 1-7, xlix. 7-22, xlix. 1-5, 28-33, 23-27, xlviii.). 
 The text of the LXX also corresponds far less to that of the 
 Hebrew codex than is the case in other books (except perhaps 
 Job and Daniel). Generally speaking, the Alexandrine text 
 has a much briefer, conciser recension, some 2700 words (i.e. 
 about one-eighth of the text) fewer than the Masoretic. From 
 this the inference has been drawn that the Greek translators 
 had before them a much more compressed Hebrew form of 
 the book, the original one, out of which the present Hebrew 
 text has grown by interpolation and glosses. Of course on 
 this supposition there would be strong presumption in regard 
 to variations in favour of the originality of the Greek form. 
 A fact alleged in support is, that the prophet spent the even- 
 ing of his life in Egypt, and perhaps also completed his book 
 there, so that a more original edition of it might be in circula- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 25 
 
 tioti in that country than among the Palestinian and Babylonian 
 Jews. Thus the Alexandrine version was preferred to the 
 present Hebrew text by J. D. Michaelis, Movers (Be utriusque 
 Recensionis Vaticiniorum Jer. Indole et Origine Coram. 1837), 
 De Wette (Introduction, from the 6 th ed. onward, whereas 
 previously he ascribed priority to the Masoretic text in the 
 usual way), Hitzig (it is true with frequent preference for 
 Masor.), Fr. Bleek (Einl. ins A. T.), A. Scholz (der Mas. Text 
 und die LXX = Uebersetzung d. B. Jerem. 1875), whereas 
 Ewald, Schrader, Kuenen give the preference to the Masor. 
 recension, while making both say pretty much the same. In 
 opposition thereto the critical inferiority and utter untrust- 
 worthiness of the LXX as regards this book have been 
 convincingly proved by Kueper, Havernick, Wichelhaus (de 
 Jeremice Versione Alexandrine/,, Halle 1847), Nagelsbach 
 (Jer. und Babylon, p. 86 ff.), Keil, and especially Graf 
 (p. xl. f.). Cf. also Ernst Kiihl, Bas Verhaltniss der Massora 
 zur LXX in Jeremia, Halle 1882. 
 
 In comparing the manner of this translator in passages 
 where there can be no serious question of a different reading, 
 we are struck at once with the fact, that on any slight 
 irregularity of the Hebrew text he easily misunderstands it, 
 and where no simple meaning occurs to him he corrects the 
 text without hesitation to get a suitable continuation. In 
 doing so he must either have used a manuscript specially 
 illegible, or have read it in a most cursory and superficial 
 way. Many of his variants are unquestionably to be ascribed 
 to such blunders of a translator little versed in Hebrew, not to 
 the recension of his codex. In confirmation of this opinion 
 we need only compare passages like the following, which 
 might easily be multiplied tenfold, ii. 2, 19, 20, 23, viii. 6, 
 18, x. 17 f., xii. 13, xv. 10, 16, xviii. 14, xx. 11, xxii. 15 f., 
 20, etc. 
 
 Since the translator shows himself so indifferent about the 
 exact wording of his original, being satisfied with expressing. 
 
2 6 JEREMIAH. 
 
 its general sense, whether in more diffuse or concise form, his 
 work is plainly little adapted to give the material of an inde- 
 pendent Hebrew text. Instead of two texts we have but one 
 Hebrew recension and an utterly untrustworthy version, which 
 can only serve at best as a secondary or tertiary source in 
 settling the text. For, of course, the inaccuracy of the LXX 
 does not exclude the supposition, that in some cases the 
 correct reading, which the Masor. text may have lost, may 
 have been preserved there. In the same way the Greek text 
 will be free from later additions which may have gained a 
 place in the Masoretic. But just in this respect the arbitrary 
 way in which the translator adapts the extent of the dis- 
 course to Hellenistic style, not to the original text, does not 
 create a favourable impression. In his version he often has 
 unmistakeable gaps like ii. 1 f., vii. 2, ix. 16, xvi. 5 ; whereas 
 elsewhere, although more rarely, he enlarges in the way of 
 gloss {e.g. iii. 19, iv. 2, v. 18, vii. 4, 9, viii. 21, xix. 3, etc.). 
 But in most of the cases in which he presents a briefer word- 
 ing, it is impossible to suppose that a later copyist would find 
 need to make enlargements (see Graf, p. xliii. f.). It is much 
 easier to find motives for abbreviation. Thus, the Greek 
 translator is fond of omitting obscure, unintelligible words 
 and clauses, or such as tally with the halting style of Jeremiah, 
 but might seem superfluous and difficult to the Hellenist ; 
 and further, such verses as were already contained in the 
 book ; e.g. xvii. l—5a is wanting in LXX, partly on account 
 of the difficulty of vv. 1, 2, partly on account of the repeti- 
 tion of xv. 13, 14 in vv. 3, 6. Also where the translator 
 stumbled at the contents, he omitted, as xxxiii. 14-26, where 
 also repetitions were to be avoided. Briefly, the motive of 
 the abbreviating translator is everywhere not hard to dis- 
 cover ; and therefore in reference to this different extent of 
 the two texts we may not speak of two recensions, since the 
 difference is to be put down exclusively or preponderantly to 
 the account of the free course pursued by the Alexandrian. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 2 7 
 
 Another main point i3 the different position of the foreign 
 oracles. This position is by no means more original in the 
 LXX. The arrangement of the oracles respecting foreign 
 nations is just as appropriate to the contents in the Masoretic 
 text as in the Alexandrine it is inappropriate. Moreover, the 
 inserting of this group after xxv. 13, cutting ch. xxv. asunder 
 in a clumsy way, is now scarcely defended by any one as 
 original, certain though it is that in the earliest editions of 
 the book most of the oracles respecting foreigners now found 
 at its close must have been found in the immediate neighbour- 
 hood of ch. xxv. The oracles in xlvi.-xlix. scarcely stood 
 before ch. xxv., as Ewald would wrongly infer from ch. xxv. 
 " these nations," but rather at the close. (Kiihl would insert 
 them after xxv. 29, so that vv. 30-38 would form a "resum- 
 ing argument.") The LXX were led to their insertion by the 
 words, not wrongly (so also Bleek), taken as heading : a iirpo- 
 tptfrevo-e 'Iep. iirl to, edvr] ; but these are a gloss, and apply 
 primarily to the remainder of ch. xxv., see on xxv. 13. This 
 peculiarity, therefore, establishes no claim of the LXX text 
 to pass as an original version on an equal footing with the 
 Masoretic. 
 
 The question remains whether the Greek text is superior to 
 the Masoretic in particular details, so that it may be used at 
 least in certain passages for restoring the original text. An 
 affirmative answer may be given. Passages like xi. 15, 
 xxiii. 33 are decisive ; here the Greek reading proves itself 
 better in a characteristic way. As by the passages named 
 the actual, although occasional, superiority of the LXX text 
 is proved, so also passages like viii. 3, ix. 21 (in both 
 cases words to be erased after LXX), xiv. 4, xvii. 19, xli. 9, 
 xlii. l,xlvi. 17, may be safely corrected. Only the authority 
 of that translation is never a sufficient ground for altering the 
 text, unless its character or contents imperatively demand a 
 change. 
 
28 JEREMIAH. 
 
 VIII. LITERATURE. 
 
 Calvini Prcelectioncs in Jeremiam et Thren., Genev. 1563. 
 
 Ferd. Hitzig, Der Prophet Jeremias, Leipzig 1841, 2 Aufl. 
 1866. 
 
 Heinr. Ewald, Jeremja u. Hezeqiel, Gottingen, 2 Aufl. 1868. 
 Translated into English. 
 
 Wilh. Neumann, Jeremias von Anathoth, 2 Bde., Leipzig 
 1856-58. 
 
 C. H. Graf, Der Proph. Jeremia, Leipz. 1862. 
 
 Ed. Nagelsbach, Der Proph. Jeremia, (Lange's Bibelwerk), 
 1868. Translated. 
 
 C. E. Keil, Komm. uber den Proph. Jeremia u. die Klagell., 
 Leipz. 1872. Translated in Clark's series. 
 
 T. K. Cheyne, Jeremiah, 2 vols., Pulpit Comm. 
 
 T. K. Cheyne, Jeremiah, his Life and Times, Nisbet & Co. 
 
 Streane, Comm. on Jeremiah, Cambr. Bible for Schools. 
 
 The Text of Jeremiah; A Critical Investigation of the 
 Greek and Hebrew. With the Variations in the LXX. re- 
 translated into the Original and Explained. By G. C. 
 "Workman, M.A. T. & T. Clark. 
 
SECTION I. 
 Jeremiah's Call to the Peophetic Office, Ch. i. 
 
 I. 1. The discourses of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the 
 priests at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2. to ■whom the 
 word of Yahveh came in the days of Josiah, the son of AmoD, 
 king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign, 3. and 
 came in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of 
 Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, son of 
 Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the 
 fifth month. 
 
 4. And the word of Yahveh came to me thus : 5. Before 
 I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou 
 earnest forth from the womb I sanctified thee ; I have 
 appointed thee a prophet to the nations. 6. Then I said : 
 Ah, my Lord, Yahveh, behold, I cannot speak ; for I am a 
 
 Chapter I. 
 
 Vv. 1-3. Heading, see p. 23. On the prophet's name and 
 descent, as well as on the three kings mentioned, see p. 1. 
 Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin are omitted, because they only reigned 
 three months each, 2 Kings xxiii. 31, xxiv. 8. In the same 
 way the prophet's labour after the destruction of the kingdom 
 of Judah (chs. xl.-xlv., etc.) is not taken into account, because 
 with that event, concluding the Jewish era, Jeremiah's labour 
 for the whole people also ceased, and the later discourses are 
 more supplementary in character, and perhaps were added as an 
 appendix to the book. Cf. on xl. 1. Ver. 3. amy until and 
 inclusive of the eleventh year, which certainly, as we are after- 
 wards reminded, was not completed, lii. 12, 27. Ver. 4 falls, 
 of course, in the thirteenth year of Josiah ; cf. xxv. 3. Observe 
 in bn fiTi the objective character of the prophecy. Ver. 5. 
 Kethib, probably in«K from TW="is;, to form (1 Kings vii. 15); 
 Keri, from imperf. "lift Ver. 6. "ij», LXX viiinpog, too young. 
 Cf. 2 Chron. xxxiv. 3 of Josiah in his sixteenth year. Jeremiah 
 
 29 
 
30 JEKEMIA.H I. 7-13. 
 
 youth. 7. Then Yahveh said to me: Say not, " I am a 
 youth ; " for to whomsoever I shall send thee thou shalt go, 
 and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. 8. Be 
 not afraid of them, for I am with thee to deliver thee, says 
 Yahveh. 9. Then Yahveh stretched out His hand and 
 touched my mouth, and Yahveh said to me : Behold, I have 
 put my words in thy mouth. 10. Behold, I have set thee 
 this day over the nations and over the kingdoms to pluck up 
 and to pull down, and to destroy and to demolish, to huild 
 and to plant. 
 
 11. Then the word of Yahveh came to me thus: What 
 seest thou, Jeremiah ? And I said : I see an almond-rod. 
 12. Then Yahveh said to me : Thou hast rightly seen ; for I 
 will watch over my word to perforin it. 
 
 13. And the word of Yahveh came to me the second time 
 
 may have been twenty years old. Ver. 7. «"!?y, LXX mpb; 
 wdvrag, not directly hostile, but = hx. Ver. 9. Tirtt and THpsn, 
 ver. 10, perfects of the completed act as in covenants, etc., 
 with secondary idea of firm assurance (Ges. § 126. 3c ; Eng. ed. 
 § 124) : I herewith put. Ver. 10. "pmpsn, Hiphil, to appoint as 
 T l pa > overseer. The prophet is to use God's word as a power to 
 chastise and bless. Observe the energy of that word : he that 
 utters it destroys or builds therewith ; cf. v. 14. E>ru (opposite 
 of JHM, cf. xxiv. 6), to pluck up, of plants ; applied to nations 
 (Deut. xxix. 27) : to drive thern out of the country, in which 
 they are rooted. JTU, to pull down, like Din of buildings, 
 statues, and the like (opposite of rm). Exceptionally dagesh 
 lene is wanting, for pre^l wub, Ges. § 45. 2. Ver. 11. npB>', 
 watchful (from l\yf), the almond-tree is so called because it 
 blossoms first, waking up from its winter-sleep (Pliny, Hist. Nat. 
 xvi. 42). Hence a rod or branch of this tree appears here as a 
 half-linguistic, half-figurative symbol (cf. xix. 1, 7) of the rest- 
 less vigilance with which the Lord will carry on the fulfilment 
 of His word, asver. 12 explains ; cf. invigilare alicui rei. The 
 linguistic allusion cannot be rendered, since " Wachholder " 
 =juniper (Ewald), gives the word-play but not the right figure 
 Ver. 12. nnD'n, Ges. § 142. 2 ; Eng. § 139. Ver. 13. A caldron 
 kindled (Job xh. 12), i.e. one around which the flame is already 
 kindled, so that the boiling contents soon run over. The 
 caldron (of metal, after Ezek. xxiv. 11) is not Judah= Jeru- 
 salem (as in Ezek. xxiv. 3 ff.), but the hostile power from the 
 
JEREMIAH I. 14-18. 31 
 
 thus : What seest thou ? And I said : I see a caldron 
 kindled, and it looks from the north. 14. Then Yahveh said 
 to me : From the north calamity shall break forth over all 
 the inhabitants of the land. 15. For, behold, I summon all 
 the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, says Yahveh, and 
 they shall come and set every one his throne at the entrance 
 of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round 
 about, and against all the cities of Judah. 16. And I will 
 utter my judgments over them because of all their wickedness, 
 in that they have forsaken me and burnt incense to other gods, 
 and worshipped the works of their own hands. 17. Thou 
 then gird thy loins and arise and speak to them all that I 
 command thee. Quail not before them, lest I make thee 
 quail before them. 18. But /, behold, I have this day made 
 thee a fortified city and an iron pillar and brasen walls 
 
 north, after ver. 14. Thus " its front is from the north " 
 indicates the direction from which the danger threatens, cf. 
 vi. 1. naiav, side towards the north = north side, as in ver. 15 
 with weakened n— of the direction, essentially = pax, Ges. § 88. 
 2& ; Eng. § 88. Among the Arabs also boiling vessels are not 
 seldom a symbol of the breaking out of war. Ver. 14. nnsri, 
 will be let loose. Such conjectures as nan, etc. (cf. LXX hxav- 
 (Sneirai), would give a play of words with maj, but are not 
 necessary. Ver. 15. rtiiax, see on ver. 13. To set down the 
 chair — to prepare to hold judgment (Ps. cxxii. 5). This, so to 
 speak, is done by the besiegers; they pass judgment on the 
 city lying at their feet ; but according to ver. 16 the proper 
 Judge is the Lord. The reference is not to the usual judgment- 
 place within the gate (Hitz., Cheyne), as though the walls had 
 already fallen, which the next words refute (cf. iv. 16 f.) ; but 
 nns means, as in xix. 2 and usually, the place outside the gate. 
 Ver. 16. DK D^DS^D iTt, peculiar to Jer. iv. 12, xii. 1, 
 xxxix. 5, lii. 9 ; 2 Kings xxv. 6 ; DniK for DPS. Jeremiah 
 often uses the former for the latter form, Ges. § 103. 1. a. 1 ; 
 Eng. § 101. in? may signify : to offer incense or burnt- 
 sacrifice, Herzog, xii. 484; here embraces both; the two 
 were often united. Piel is always used of illegal sacrifices. 
 Ver. 17. Cf. ver. 7 f. nnn, Niph. (of nnn) to be dismayed ; ISTiph. 
 nnn, to put into this state. If the prophet is unbelievingly 
 afraid of them, God will leave him to himself. Ver. 18. 'JNl 
 corresponds to nnxi above : if he boldly does his part, the 
 
32 JEREMIAH I. 19. 
 
 against the whole land : the kings of Judah, its princes, its 
 priests and the people of the land. 19. And they shall fight 
 against thee, but shall not overpower thee ; for I am with 
 thee, says Yahveh, to deliver thee. 
 
 Lord will do His. by in hostile sense : against the whole land. 
 b specializes further : in relation to the different classes with 
 which he will have to do. The plural Dion, mania, applies to 
 the entire circuit of the walls ; the sing, is found in the parallel 
 passage, xv. 20. Ver. 196 = 86. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. i. On the general heading of the book, 
 i. 1-3, which may be Baruch's, follows by way of introduction 
 the account of Jeremiah's call to be a prophet in his own 
 words, i. 4-19. The proper call and instating in the office 
 (vv. 4—10) is accompanied by two visions bearing closely on 
 Jeremiah's work (w. 11-16), and concluded by an encourag- 
 ing confirmation of the divine promise. 
 
 Ver. 5. The more painful the opposition in which Jeremiah 
 found himself involved as God's seer and spokesman (Nabi), 
 the more needful it was for him to know from the first that 
 a divinely-created harmony existed between his person and 
 his office, his calling having been present to God's thought 
 before he himself existed, and therefore determined the latter 
 in its very origin. Even then God knew him {i.e. discerned 
 his individual character and made it His own, God's irpo- 
 ryvaais of man being at once receptive and determining), and 
 sanctified him, i.e. set him apart to the service which he was 
 to perform, not only in Israel-Judah, but among the nations, 
 as a prophet whose word was of universal significance. Cf. 
 ver. 10, xxv. 17-26, xlvi.-li. 
 
 Ver. 6. The called one at once feels the heavy responsibility 
 laid upon him. In contrast with false prophets, who rush 
 uncalled into this honourable office, he struggles ao-ainst it 
 and appeals like Moses (Ex. iii. 11, iv. 10, 13) to his unfit- 
 ness, which he justifies by his youthful inexperience. But 
 
JEREMIAH I. 33 
 
 the Lord does not accept his urgent request to be relieved 
 from the burden, and silences his objection by reminding him, 
 that as prophet he has not to decide what he will say, but will 
 receive from Himself the matter and aim of his message as 
 well as all needful protection, ver. 7 f. Thus he is overcome 
 by God, cf. xx. 7. The touching of his mouth by the Lord's 
 hand, ver. 9, forms the answer to Jeremiah's complaint, ver. 7, 
 just as Isa. vi. 6 f. does to the complaint of Isaiah, vi. 5. 
 Here as there we must not suppose a mere poetical draping of 
 inward transactions, but an actual event, although in vision. 
 Jeremiah learnt, as he was told, that he was entrusted with 
 a divine message. The effect of the message is described 
 (ver. 10) by two pairs of words as destructive, and then by 
 one pair as edifying, because for the most part and at first 
 his message was to be of this nature, before there could be 
 any question of salutary edifying. This also is the gist of the 
 two visions, ver. 11 f., which set forth two peculiarities of 
 Jeremiah's prophecy : the almond-rod in token that in this 
 prophet fulfilment will follow close on the prophecy, and the 
 seething caldron, the symbol of a hostile martial power, here 
 described as yet indefinitely as a northern one. See Introd. 
 p. 16. This menace of judgment runs without break through 
 Jeremiah's discourses up to the time of fulfilment ; the 
 reasons for this are amply explained, ver. 16. After these 
 hints about the future subject of his prophecies, the Lord 
 again exhorts him to act boldly, since he would be lost 
 without such courage (ver. 1 7), while in God's strength he 
 will be able to defy the whole land with all its powers. The 
 figures, ver. 18 (cf. Ezek. iii. 8 f.), set off the unyielding, un- 
 conquerable firmness peculiar to Jeremiah as the divinely 
 sent and equipped prophet, in strong contrast with the 
 gentleness and tenderness of his disposition. As man he 
 melts in tears and pines away in sympathy ; as the hearer 
 of God's word he is firm and hard like pillar and wall, on 
 which the storm of a nation's wrath breaks in vain. 
 
 c 
 
SECTION II. 
 
 First Threatening Discourse, Ch. ii. 1-in. 5. 
 
 II. 1. And the word of Yahveh came to me as follows : 
 2. Go and preach in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: Thus 
 speaks Yahveh: I bear in mind for thee the favour of thy 
 youth, the love of thy betrothal, when thou walkedst after 
 me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. 3. Israel was 
 sanctified to the Lord, his first-fruit produce : All who con- 
 sume him shall suffer punishment, evil comes upon them, 
 says Yahveh. 4. Hear ye Yahveh's word, house of Jacob, 
 and all ye tribes of the house of Israel! 5. Thus says 
 Yahveh : What wrong, pray, did your fathers find in me, 
 that they went far from me and walked after emptiness, and 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 Ver. 2. The favour or friendliness and love is, of course, that 
 of the nation towards God, not conversely. Ver. 3. b&OE" vnp 
 (without iTii) tells not merely of something done once, but 
 reminds of the divine purpose whose fulfilment ran through 
 history, and had not altogether ceased then (xii. 14), and will 
 again take full effect when Israel again becomes God's people 
 (xxx. 16, li. 5). The element in the nation's holiness (Ex. xix. 6 ; 
 Deut. vii. 6, xiv. 2, xxvi. 19), here coming specially to notice, is 
 inviolableness. Whoever attacks it becomes guilty before the 
 Lord, and will taste His displeasure. For he attacks God's 
 property, His first-fruit produce (genit. appos.), i.e. the first- 
 fruit of the nations (cf. xxxi. 7 and Amos vi. 1, where certainly 
 the title is ironical), the Lord's revenue or property, as the first- 
 fruits of field produce are not to be enjoyed in profane manner, 
 and especially not to be eaten by foreigners, Ex. xxiii. 19 ; 
 Num. xviii. 12 f. ; Lev. xxii. 10, 13. Any one who ate them by 
 oversight had to pay a fine, Lev. v. 14 ff., xxii. 14 ff. Ver. 5. 
 hzr\, empty breath, nothingness ; a nickname used by Jeremiah 
 for idols, which are described in ver. 8 by l^W s6- also 
 
 34 
 
JEREMIAH II. 6-10. 35 
 
 became empty ? 6. And they did not consider : Where is 
 Yahveh, who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, who led 
 us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land 
 of drought and deadly darkness, through which no one passes, 
 and where no one dwells % 7. And I brought you to a land 
 of orchards, to eat its fruit and its good ; then you came and 
 defiled my land, and made my inheritance an abomination. 
 8. The priests asked not : Where is Yahveh ? and they that 
 handle the law knew me not, and the shepherds did me out- 
 rage, and the prophets prophesied through Baal, and ran after 
 those who profit not. 9. Therefore I will yet reckon with 
 you, says Yahveh ; and with your children's children I will 
 reckon. 10. For go to the isles of the Chittim and see, and 
 send to Kedar and inquire diligently, and see whether any- 
 
 plur. viii. 19, xiv. 22, as already Deut. xxxii. 21. In general 
 this first discourse evidently points to the song, Deut. xxxii. 
 Cf. 7\V, Deut. xxxii. 4. — Man becomes like his god (cf. Eom. 
 i. 21 f.) : they became themselves vain, untrue, unstable in 
 their spirit and walk, fears and hopes. Cf. xxiii. 16 ; 1 Kings 
 xvii. 5. Ver. 6. Poetical description of the wilderness as a 
 terrible land, in which they had enjoyed God's help in a 
 glorious manner. Land of gloom (nio^s), because darkening 
 the eye with pain and weakness, or according to the certainly 
 ancient Masoretic pointing : " land of the shadow of death." 
 Ver. 8. The handlers of the law, they who should handle it, 
 which was part of the office of the priests and Levites (cf. 
 viii. 8, xviii. 18; Deut. xvii. 9-11, xxxiii. 10), knew me not, 
 and were therefore unfit for the office. For it needs knowledge 
 of God and fellowship with Him to be able constantly to draw 
 from the law-book and rightly to apply the real Torah, instruc- 
 tion in the divine will. — "hw vb as in ver. 11, used with pre- 
 position and therefore substantivally: being incapable of action, 
 and so useless. Ver. 9. This sin is unexpiated and will remain 
 so. This presupposes that the backsliding itself has not ceased, 
 amendment has begun in appearance only ; cf. Ex. xx. 5. 
 Ver. 10. The Chittim, properly the inhabitants of the island 
 B^?, Cyprus (cf. the Phoenician colony K/r/ov there) : and then 
 more generally, as this passage shows, the inhabitants of the 
 western islands and coasts. Alongside these stand, also by 
 way of example, the sons of Kedar (son of Ishmael, Gen. 
 xxv. 13) dwelling in the east, an Arabian tribe ; this also had 
 become a general name for the Arabs of the desert. — p, Aramaic 
 
36 JEREMIAH II. 11-16. 
 
 thing like this has happened: 11. whether a nation lias 
 changed its gods, which yet are no gods, but my people has 
 changed its glory for that which profits not! 12. Be 
 astonished, ye heavens, at this, and shudder and be utterly 
 aghast, says Yahveh. 13. For my people has committed two 
 evils : They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, to 
 dig out for themselves springs, springs full of holes, which 
 hold no water. 
 
 14. Is Israel a slave or is he a home -born (slave) ? 
 Wherefore has he become a prey ? 15. Lions roar upon him, 
 they make their voice resound again, and they turn his land 
 into a desolation ; his cities are laid waste, without inhabit- 
 ants. 16. The sons of Memphis and Tahpanhes also shall 
 
 form = D« (iii. 1), here as particle of indirect question. Ver. 11. 
 Yahveh is Israel's glory, whereas the false gods are often called 
 riE'a, shame, iii. 24. Ver. 12. mn, chorbu, from T}n, to be stiff 
 (properly, to be dried up) with terror ; on the other hand, the 
 form chirbu, 1. 27, is used transitively. Ver. 13. The writing 
 1N3 instead of "ria (only again 2 Sam. xxiii. 15, 16, 20, Kethib) 
 reminds of the stem-word "W3 to dig (whence 1X3) ; cf. Deut. 
 vi. 11. According to usage, TO is a cistern for rain-water, hewn 
 or dug and walled round, in distinction from the living spring 
 and the stream running from it ("W3, seldom cistern). Ver. 15. 
 The roaring of lions is to be understood as in Amos iii. 4 : 
 heathen powers throw themselves on the prey, certain of victory, 
 nrisn, Kethib, fern, sing., the irregular form to be preferred as 
 in xxii. 6, xlvi. 19. In this case the word is to be derived 
 from HS3, to wrangle, contend, passively of cities : to be over- 
 thrown ; cf. ver. 16. The Keri reads tfiM, according to ix. 9, 
 from nv, to kindle ; hut originally a form of the stem used in 
 iv. 7 may have stood there as here and ix. 11. In "kso the p 
 does not indicate the cause, but strengthens the negation (Job 
 vi. 6) : in an uninhabited condition, the natural consequence of 
 devastation. Ver. 16. Even the Egyptians, on whose alliance 
 Israel at present relies, will rob the land of the last things 
 remaining to it, and so in a sense graze its crown; cf. Isa. 
 vii. 20 (LXX inaccurate). The inhabitants of two cities of 
 Lower Egypt are mentioned by way of particularizing : *p=*]b, 
 Hos. ix. 6, Memphis, the capital of Lower Egypt, Egyptian 
 men-nofer, "the good site" (Brugsch, Gesch. JEg. p. 44 i.), 
 Coptic Memphi or Manuphi, from which the two Hebrew forms 
 and the Greek one are explained. The ruin lies at the village 
 
JEREMIAH II. 17-20. 37 
 
 graze on the crown of thy head. 17. Does not thy back- 
 sliding from Yahveh, thy God, at the time when he was lead- 
 ing thee in the way, bring this upon thee? 18. And now, 
 what hast thou to do with the way to Egypt to drink the 
 waters of Shihor (the Nile) ? And what hast thou to do 
 with the way to Assyria to drink the waters of the river 
 (Euphrates) ? 1 9. Thy wickedness shall chastise thee, and 
 thy rebellions shall punish thee. Know then and perceive 
 how evil and bitter is thy backsliding from Yahveh, thy God, 
 and that thou hast no reverence for me, says the Lord, 
 Yahveh of hosts. 20. For thou hast ever broken thy yoke, 
 burst thy fetters, and said : I will not serve. For on every 
 high hill, and under every green tree, thou didst lie down as 
 
 of Mit = Eachene, south of Cairo. Tahpanhes (Keth. with a n, 
 probably copyist's error, perhaps from 1 Kings xi. 19 f. ; Keri 
 supported by xliii. 7, 8, 9, xliv. 1, xlvi. 14, somewhat differently 
 pointed in Ezek. xxx. 18), LXX Tapx»j and Tapvai, without 
 doubt = Adpai, Daphne, not far from Pelusium, but west of the 
 Suez Canal, now Tell Defenne, once a border-fortress of Egypt 
 on the north-east. Since according to xliii. 7 ff. it is the city in 
 which Jeremiah afterwards settled with a Jewish colony, vv. 
 14-17 have been critically attacked (Ewald), without reason, as 
 a later interpolation, or ver. 16 at least as a later addition in 
 the sense of xliv. 12, 14 (Nagelsbach). We rather see in the 
 passage a declaration, that the Egyptians also will contribute 
 their share to the overthrow of Judah, which was soon done, 
 2 Kings xxiii. 29. These cities are also mentioned in xlvi. 14, 
 before Jeremiah took up his abode there. Ver. 17. At the 
 time of thy leader = when He was thy leader. Thou hast lost 
 His guidance by thy unfaithfulness. This has come to thee 
 through thy backsliding in the wilderness, which has not ceased 
 since. Ver. 18. b "]b '""2, as in Hos. xiv. 9 : why dost thou run 
 to Egypt and Assyria to drink water there, i.e. to obtain means 
 of refreshment and support in those empires ? Cf. ver. 13 and 
 Isa. viii. 6. Shihor (properly black, turbid), poetical name for 
 the Nile ; the river = Euphrates, as already in Gen. xxxi. 21 
 and often. Ver. 19. Thy (own) wickedness, see on xiv. 16. 
 The subject : " thy irreverence towards me," is expressed by the 
 entire sentence: " fear of me (mns here only ; cf. Gen. xxxi. 42) 
 does not come nigh thee." Ver. 20. Vn2& and \npru, not 1 
 sing, but 2 sing. fern, with the ancient ending e, especially 
 frequent in Jer. and Ezek., Ges. § 44. 2. a. 4, although the 
 
38 JEREMIAH II. 21-26. 
 
 a harlot. 21. But I had planted thee a noble vine of wholly 
 genuine seed; how then hast thou changed thyself for me 
 into bastards of a strange vine ? 22. For although thou 
 wash thyself with lye, and take to thee much soap, thy guilt 
 remains written before me, says the Lord, Yahveh. 23. How 
 canst thou say : I have not defiled myself, nor followed after 
 Baalim ? Look on thy way in the valley, learn what thou hast 
 done, a young fleet she-camel that crosses her ways ! 24. A 
 wild she-ass, used to the desert, that snaps at the air in her 
 soul's desire ; who can restrain her heat ? All who seek her 
 will not weary themselves, they will find her in her month. 
 
 25. Take heed to thy foot lest it lose its shoe, and to thy 
 throat lest it become thirsty ! But thou sayest : In vain ! 
 no ! for I now love strangers, and after them I will go. 
 
 26. As a thief is perforce ashamed when he is caught, so 
 
 Masoretes have not noticed this in the present passage (as e.g. 
 in ver. 33). The same is to be said of their Keri thva, instead 
 of which the Kethib is to be preferred, expressing the people's 
 love of licence, which has always shaken off the divine com- 
 mands and shaped its worship according to carnal fancy. On 
 every high hill, so to speak, and under every shady tree, it has 
 surrendered itself to semi-heathen worships. This indication 
 of place points to former prophetic sayings, Hos. iv. 13 ; cf. 
 Deut. xii. 2, and so the description of the hybrid worship as 
 unchastity. nyn, elsewhere to bend, incline. On sacred heights 
 and trees, see Baudissin, Studien, ii. Ver. 21. pic, as in Isa. 
 v. 2, a particular species of noble, precious vine. "ilD, that which 
 has turned aside, shoot, twig, bastard. Ver. 22. im, Greek 
 vlrpov or Xirpov. Alkali is meant, and that mineral ; whereas 
 JTH3 is vegetable, obtained from the soap - plant ; cf. Prov. 
 xxv. 20. onaa, inscribed (root Dna allied to ana), according to 
 others = foul. Ver. 23. The valley is the valley of Hinnom, 
 see on vii. 31. — T®, to twist, here to cross the ways by vague, 
 wild roaming about in the state of heat. Ver. 24. They who 
 desire her need not run far after her ; she is accessible to all in 
 her month, i.e. pairing-time. Ver. 25. Ironical warning to one 
 restlessly going here and there in her lust after strange 
 creatures : weary not thyself too much, inij, Kethib for ~]irM ; 
 elsewhere also the mater lectionis is not seldom transposed: 
 xvii. 23, xxvii. 1, xxix. 23, xxxii. 23,xlii. 20. See explanations 
 of such transposing in Nagelsbach on xvii. 23. To all kindly 
 warnings she replies : it is useless, wasted labour (as in xviii. 
 
JEREMIAH II. 27-32. 39 
 
 shall they of the house of Israel be put to shame, — they, their 
 kings, their princes, along with their priests and their pro- 
 phets, 27. which say to the log: "Thou art my father," and 
 to the stone : " Thou hast borne me ; " for they turn their 
 back to me, and not their face; but in the time of their 
 calamity they will say : Arise and help us ! 28. Where then 
 are thy gods, which thou madest for thyself ? Let them arise, 
 if they can help thee in the time of thy calamity ; for as 
 many as thy cities are thy gods, Judah ! 
 
 29. Wherefore do you contend against me ? You have all 
 done me outrage, says Yahveh. 30. In vain I smote your 
 children, they received not correction ; your sword has 
 devoured your prophets like a destroying lion. 31. 
 generation that you are, see ye the word of Yahveh : Have 
 I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of darkness ? 
 Wherefore has my people said : " We have no lord, we will 
 not come to thee again " ? 32. Does a virgin then forget her 
 jewelry, a bride her girdle ? But my people has forgotten me 
 
 12). Ver. 26. riea here put in infinitive. — Etah, the second 
 Hiphil form of B>13 (as if formed from EOJ), whereas the first 
 form B> -, 3n as a rule signifies = to put to shame. Ver. 27. They 
 have descended to fetish-worship. To gods of wood and stone 
 they say father and mother (pN, fern.). This would be true if 
 they were really life-giving deities, as supposed, Deut. xxxii. 6, 
 18 ; Isa. Ixiv. 8.— Kethib 'om^. Ver. 28. Thou hast enough of 
 
 gods ; properly, the number of thy cities are thy gods ; the 
 LXX has also the addition of xi. 13. This saying often holds 
 good in heathenism, in paganised Judaea also it was not mere 
 hyperbole. Ver. 30. I have smitten your children without 
 salutary result, i.e. smitten with afflictions of every kind, not 
 specifically with the sword. God has brought one generation 
 of you after another under His rod ; but you and the nation 
 itself are no better. The prophets who announced and inter- 
 preted these blows of God, and thus were the medium of kindly 
 chastening, encountered deadly hate instead of gratitude. Cf. 
 examples in 1 Kings xviii. 4, 13, xix. 10 ; 2 Chron. xxiv. 20 ff. 
 (2 Kings xxi. 16, xxiv. 4; Jer. xxvi. 23). Ver. 31. Indignant 
 warning appeal to the present generation (cf. Deut. xxxii. 5). 
 — n^BND, composed of i=P hswo, darkness of the Lord == extreme 
 darkness, cf. Cant. viii. 6, unless it is to be taken as a simply 
 
40 JEREMIAH II. 33-111. 1. 
 
 days without number. 3 3 . How excellently thou trimmest thy 
 way to seek after love ; therefore also thou hast accustomed 
 thy ways to evil things. 34. Also in thy skirts is found 
 the blood of the souls of the poor, the innocent, whom thou 
 didst not catch at breaking in. For respecting all this 
 (I will reckon with thee). 35. Yet thou sayest: I am 
 verily acquitted, certainly his wrath is turned away from me. 
 Behold, I will reckon with thee respecting this, that thou 
 sayest: I have not sinned. 36. Why runnest thou away so 
 eagerly to change thy way ? Of Egypt also thou shalt be 
 ashamed, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. 37. Prom it 
 also thou shalt come forth with thy hands on thy head ; for 
 Yahveh has rejected those on whom thou trustest, and thou 
 shalt have no success with them. 
 
 III. 1. [And the word of Yahveh came to me] as follows: 
 If a man dismiss his wife, and she go away from him and 
 become another man's, will he return to her again ? "Would 
 not such a land be shamefully polluted ? And thou hast 
 played the harlot with many paramours, and wouldst thou 
 
 intensive form of bzixa. Ver. 33. The love, which she is so 
 skilful and quick in finding, is irregular, ungodly love. There- 
 fore no shameful deed is surprising in her. In VTny? (see on 
 ver. 20) the ending e is removed by the Keri, whilst in ver. 34 
 dtikvd is left, because not known. Ver. 34. nta bo bv "O, abrupt 
 and obscure. Perhaps words like tjay anx have fallen out. 
 mnnD, breaking in (from "inn, to break through), alludes to the 
 law, Ex. xxii. 2, according to which it was not reckoned murder 
 to slay any one breaking in at night. The victims referred 
 to are not thieves and murderers, but innocent, harmless 
 people. The religious persecution under Manasseh is especially 
 suggested, 2 Kings xxiv. 4. Ver. 35. Now when they are 
 suffering outwardly, they speak with such confidence and com- 
 placency as if nothing ailed them. BBtM, see on i. 16. Ver. 
 36. '^n for fyw? (Ges. § 68. 2 ; Eng. § 67), from bm, to go away. 
 Having come to shame by one false friend (Assyria), why dost 
 thou so quickly choose another (Egypt)? Thou wilt at last 
 come back from this one in despair. 
 
 Chapter III. 
 Ver. 1. Before "I»t6, which cannot stand alone nor be joined 
 with the preceding DN», some words have dropped out, perhaps 
 
JEREMIAH III. 2-5. 41 
 
 return to me ? says Yahveh. 2. Lift up thine eyes to the 
 bare heights and see : where hast thou not been dishonoured ? 
 By the ways thou didst lurk for them like an Arabian in 
 the wilderness, and didst pollute the land by thy wantonness 
 and thy wickedness. 3. Verily the showers could not fall, 
 and latter rain — there was none ; but thou hadst a whore's 
 forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed. 4. Hast thou not now 
 first cried to me : " My Father ! " " Thou art the friend of 
 my youth ! " 5. " "Will he be angry always, or bear wrath 
 for ever ? " Behold, thou speakest thus and doest evil, and 
 that exceedingly. 
 
 as in i. 11, "98 'n "m TV!, p, Behold, points to a supposed case, 
 and so is conditional, see on ii. 10. The case taken into view 
 is the one treated of in Deut. xxiv. 1-4. After the completion 
 of divorce, she, who has meanwhile been married to another, 
 cannot become again the wife of the first husband, to whom 
 she is counted impure ; such trifling with the marriage-covenant 
 would be an abomination to God, and would defile the whole 
 land. After the last word in Deut. xxiv. 4, ton is to be taken 
 hypothetically : would not this or the same land (in which this 
 occurred) be defiled ? The LXX read or translate as more easy 
 ne^n instead of Y^an, so that ppnn=nNOBn, Deut. xxiv. 4. n:r 
 with accus. as in Ezek. xvi. 28. 31B>1, not imper. (Syr., Targ., 
 Jerome), but infin. : and to return to me ? shouldest thou 
 do so straight away, after having had to do, not merely with 
 another husband, but with many lovers ? Ver. 2. D^BC (from 
 W', bareness), bare, unwooded hill, such as were used for hill- 
 worship. Instead of bw, regarded as obscene, Keri everywhere 
 a3E> (here also Pual). As the marauding Arabian waits for the 
 passer-by, so dost thou for thy lovers. Ver. 3. Even divine 
 visitations moved thee not to contrition ; boldness is natural 
 to a harlot, who is incapable of shame. Ver. 4. nnjJD, opposite 
 of ii. 20, 32. All at once she addresses tender words to her 
 God in order to creep again into His favour. Ver. 5. iDy 
 instead of "\)st\ Ges. § 66. a. 1 ; Eng. § 65. iQ3, sc. iax, retain His 
 wrath, as in ver. 12. With these pious phrases (cf. the sincere 
 saying, Ps. ciii. 9), in which she appeals to God's fatherly heart, 
 her conduct ill agrees, ioini, and thou display est strength, 
 carriest it through ; the energy was in the evil action, not in 
 the fair words. Ver. 4 f. plainly allude to the attempt at 
 reformation made under Josiah, which had not the necessary 
 depth and energy. 
 
42 jeremiah ii. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ii. 1-iii. 5. Accusation of an Unfaithful 
 Nation: 1. Its Ungrateful Faithlessness, ii. 2-13. 2. The 
 Grievousness of its Apostasy, ii. 14-28. 3. Its Self-Bighteous- 
 ness, ii. 29-37. 4. The Difficulty of Eepentance, iii. 1-5. ^ 
 This first larger discourse of the prophet, ch. ii., which is 
 followed in iii. 1-5 by a smaller, independent oracle con- 
 nected with it in time and contents, belongs, like the other 
 discourses up to ch. vi., to Josiah's days. It was perhaps 
 uttered soon after the prophet's call, when the reformation 
 was not yet carried through, though the worst offences were 
 abolished. The prophet regards the nation and its leaders as 
 still lying under the ban, which they had incurred by many 
 years' apostasy, and warns it against superficial self-righteous- 
 ness, which definite facts show is not accompanied by a cor- 
 responding spirit (e.g. courting Egypt's favour). — The prelude 
 is a reference to the Lord's unchangeable fidelity (ver. 2 f.), 
 to which the base apostasy of the nation forms a sad contrast 
 (vv. 4-13). Ever-increasing severity of judgment should at 
 last open the eyes of the nation to its unfaithfulness, which 
 becomes more and more manifest (vv. 14-28). But it 
 pollutes itself in this way still more, and especially at present 
 by dallying with Egypt (vv. 29-37). Ch. iii. 1-3 condemns a 
 superficial repentance and amendment consisting in words only. 
 II. 2 f. The Lord has never forgotten the first love shown 
 by Israel to God, as He has again and again proved by 
 punishing the foes of His people. The time of the desert- 
 march is mentioned as the time of this first bliss ; cf. Hos. 
 ix. 10, xi. 1, ii. 16 ff. We know, and Jeremiah knew (vii. 25), 
 enough of the disobedience and rebellion of that period, even 
 the betrothal-period of the covenant-making at Sinai (Ex. 
 xv. 24, xvi. 2, xvii. 2). But still the nation had obeyed God's 
 call, not without confidence (Ex. iv. 31) and enthusiasm, and 
 had been willingly led by Him through the sea and the path- 
 
JEREMIAH II. 43 
 
 less desert. God's gracious eye dwells with pleasure on the 
 little, imperfect love which Israel had shown Him. Nor had 
 it reason to repent its first love. God watched jealously over 
 His people, long after they had proved untrue to Him. 
 
 Vv. 4-13. Over against this forbearance of the Lord, 
 ver. 4 ft', sets Israel's faithlessness. Down from the time of 
 the judges they have surrendered themselves to idols, as if 
 they had discovered something evil in their God (cf. Micah 
 vi. 3 ff.), forgetting how carefully He had led them through 
 the terrible wilderness, and how graciously He had bestowed 
 on them the fairest of lands. The divinely-appointed leaders 
 of the nation, — the priests and the expounders of the law, the 
 shepherds (= kings) and prophets, — instead of correcting the 
 nation, led it still farther astray. The result was a frightful, 
 unexampled apostasy, still unexpiated and still continuing. 
 Not even the heathen (whose religion was inextricably bound 
 up with their national life) exchange their gods, worthless as 
 they are ; whereas Israel gave up the true God, who was its 
 chief glory, for such worthless idols. The charge is summed 
 up in the twofold reproach, ver. 13. The figure used here 
 pictures inimitably the distinction between the God of Israel 
 and the heathen gods. The former reveals Himself purely, 
 vividly, continually ; the heathen religions are effete remnants 
 of divine revelation, which are always becoming more scanty 
 and corrupt. The heathen, wearily collecting uncertain traces 
 of the Deity, are not to be despised ; but it is inexcusable for 
 those standing at the source of revelation, instead of resorting 
 to it, to resort to the artificial creations of the human hand, 
 or even the human understanding and fancy. The different 
 position of Israel and the heathen has a deeper reason in the 
 fact that the latter see in their deities the reflection of their 
 own nature, whereas Israel must first have its nature changed 
 and sanctified before it can serve its God, and hence is 
 inclined by nature to apostasy. 
 
 Vv. 14-37. Ver. 14 f. stands in sharp contrast to ver. 3. 
 
44 JEREMIAH II., III. 
 
 From present appearances one might think Israel was a slave 
 or serf of men instead of God's free first-born son (Ex. iv. 22). 
 He has become a helpless victim, a plaything of the nations. 
 But this is the punishment for its apostasy, running through 
 its whole history and bringing it nothing but woe and shame, 
 and therefore also a proof that God will not let Himself be 
 mocked. Eeckless towards God, this nation was servile to 
 men; stupid towards God, it was skilled in all the arts of 
 courtship towards the world. The two figures of the camel 
 and wild ass show (ver. 23 f.) how, carried away by its 
 unbridled lust, it ran after strange gods and heathen sins. 
 Eut political apostasy went hand in hand with religious and 
 moral. As no heathen cultus that came near the Israelites 
 failed to bewitch them, so now one, now another heathen 
 power attracted them. From the time of Manasseh to the 
 destruction of the kingdom there seems to have been a con- 
 stant alternation of Egyptian and Assyrian friendship. The 
 reproach of a new Egyptian alliance is the climax in which 
 the discourse, ver. 36 f., ends. Moreover, the other accusa- 
 tions must be constantly repeated, because the national 
 corruption is not even perceived (vv. 23, 29, 35), although 
 crass image-worship (ver. 27) and the shedding of innocent 
 blood (ver. 34) are common. 
 
 III. 1-5. Nor can such sins on the part of Israel be done 
 away by a momentary, seeming repentance. It was forbidden 
 by the law that a man should receive back a wife he has 
 divorced after she has married another. But Israel has 
 become a public, shameless strumpet. How could God again 
 receive Israel, when in time of need she professes love to 
 Him, whilst disposition and acts prove the opposite ? Ver. 5 
 explains how this oracle agrees with the call to repentance 
 sounded in the next discourse. Only by a miracle of divine 
 
 mercy — not on the ground of any common legal claim can 
 
 the Lord receive back His polluted people, but not so long as 
 conversion is merely outward. 
 
SECTION" III. 
 
 Call to Turn and Eepent, Ch. hi. 6-iv. 4. 
 
 III. 6. And Yahveh said to me in the days of king 
 Josiah: Hast thou seen' what the apostate one, Israel, has 
 done ? She went on every high mountain and under every 
 green tree, and played the harlot there. 7. And after she 
 did all this, I said : Eeturn to me ! But she returned not. 
 And the faithless one, her sister Judah, saw it, 8. and saw 
 that, because of all the times that the apostate one, Israel, was 
 adulterous, I had sent her away and given her her bill of 
 divorce ; but the faithless one, her sister Judah, was not 
 afraid, but went and played the harlot also herself. 9. And 
 it came to pass that the land was defiled by the cry of her 
 wantonness, and she committed adultery with stone and with 
 stock. 10. And even for all this the faithless one, her sister 
 Judah, returned not to me with her whole heart, but feignedly, 
 is Yahveh's oracle. 
 
 Chapter III. 6-25. 
 
 Ver. 6. naCD, here throughout like a species of proper name 
 (without article) : the apostate one (properly, apostasy), which 
 Israel (the kingdom of Ephraim) is. To this corresponds " the 
 faithless one " (niUD, Ges. § 95. a. 4 ; Eng. § 93) = Judah. 
 ytm for |W1, Aramaism ? (Ges. § 75. a. 17 ; Eng. § 74). Cf. on 
 ii. 20. Ver. 7. The Lord's permitting Israel, after all this, to 
 return, according to iii. 1, was a miracle of grace, ntnrn, Kethib, 
 for the usual vrvn. Ver. 8. tOKl, copyist's error for N"ini, arose 
 from "iDNl, ver. 7. After various calls to return, which were 
 not obeyed, God finally handed Israel a bill of divorce, dis- 
 missed her definitively. Ver. 9. bpv, by her infidelity, carried 
 on with ostentation, she polluted the whole land, which was 
 filled with the scandal, ^nm, better read as Hiphil. Ver. 10. 
 " Por all this " alludes to the terrifying example of Israel. 
 Judah's half-true and therefore rejected conversion, by which 
 
 45 
 
46 JEREMIAH III. 11-16. 
 
 11. Then Yahveh said to me: The apostate one, Israel, is 
 better able to justify her soul than the faithless one, Judah. 
 12. Go and cry these words to the north, and say: Turn 
 again, thou apostate one, Israel, is Yahveh's oracle ; I will not 
 look angrily on you, for I am merciful, is Yahveh's oracle ; I 
 will not bear anger for ever. 13. Only know thy trans- 
 gression, for thou hast sinned against Yahveh, thy God, and 
 made thy ways wander after strangers under every green tree ; 
 but to my voice you have not hearkened, is Yahveh's oracle. 
 14. Turn again, ye apostate sons, for I am weary of you ; yet 
 I will take you, one from a city and two from a tribe, and bring 
 you to Zion, 15. and will give you shepherds after my own 
 heart, so that they shall feed you with knowledge and wisdom. 
 16. And it shall come to pass, when you multiply and become 
 fruitful in the land in those days, is Yahveh's oracle, they 
 shall no more say " the ark of the covenant of Yahveh," and it 
 shall no more come to mind, and they shall no more remember 
 
 she betrayed God and herself, alludes again to the change 
 under Josiah. Ver. 11. 10N' , 1 links on to the same word in 
 ver. 6. Has justified herself = appears justified before me. 
 Ver. 12. Directed to the north, because there Israel is in exile 
 (ver. 18) ; thus Assyria figures as a northern empire, ^sn 
 D^D, properly, to let the eyes fall in confusion or anger; cf. Kal, 
 Gen. iv. 5 f. — "liBN, cf. ver. 5 ; there it was mere words, here it 
 is an utterance of God. Ver. 13. Thou " scatterest " thy ways ; 
 makest them diverge right and left (cf. ii. 23 £, 36) ; here in 
 reference to religious and moral apostasy. Ver. 14. v6lD, I am 
 your lawful lord and owner, is unsuitable here and xxxi. 32 ; 
 better after the Arabic : I am weary of you ; see Gesen. 
 Thesaurus, p. 223. Then the next verb is in opposition. I had 
 rejected you (therefore you could not return to me), but' here- 
 after I will, etc. The inhabitants of the northern kingdom are 
 addressed, whose lot certainly the Judseans were to share, 
 ver. 18. The Lord will indeed only bring a sparse remnant to 
 Zion, which again becomes the centre of the new kingdom, 
 but there it will rapidly multiply. Ver. 16. The ancient bless- 
 ing of creation (Gen. i. 28) renews the nation's youth, and the 
 temple arises anew in undreamt-of divine glory, so that the 
 covenant-ark is no longer necessary. That the ark no longer 
 existed in Jeremiah's days, can no more be inferred from the 
 way in which it is spoken of than from 2 Chron. xxxiii. 16 
 
JEREMIAH III. 17-22. 47 
 
 it, nor miss it, nor prepare it again. 17. At that time they 
 shall call Jerusalem " Yahveh's throne," and all heathen nations 
 shall assemble to the name of Yahveh at Jerusalem, and shall 
 no more walk after the hardness of their evil heart. 
 
 18. In those days the house of Judah shall go to the house 
 of Israel, and they shall come together from the north land to 
 the land which I gave your fathers for an inheritance. 19. 
 And indeed I had said : How shall I put thee in the children's 
 place and give thee a charming land, a royal inheritance among 
 the royalties of the nations ? And I had said : You shall call 
 me " My Father," and not depart from following me. 20. 
 But, as a wife is faithless to her husband, you were faithless 
 to me, house of Israel, is Yahveh's oracle. 21. Hearken to 
 what is heard on the bare heights : suppliant weeping of the 
 children of Israel, because they have perverted their way, for- 
 gotten Yahveh, their God. 22. Turn again, ye apostate sons, 
 I will heal your wanderings ! " Behold, we come to thee, for 
 
 (Movers, Ew. et al.) ; see, on the contrary, 2 Chron. xxxv. 3. 
 That it will disappear along with the present temple certainly 
 follows from the present passage, and the judgment on Judah 
 presupposed in ver. 18 is thereby suggested. Cf. end of ch. 
 xxvii. Ver. 17. If the ark was hitherto God's throne, the seat 
 of the Shekinah (Ex. xxv. 22 ; Num. vii. 89 ; Ps. lxxx. 1, xcix. 1), 
 then the whole of Jerusalem shall be so. The nations throng 
 to the name, i.e. to the revelation of Yahveh peculiar to Jeru- 
 salem. Ver. 18. Judah also the prophet sees in exile, and that 
 likewise in the north, but not in the same place as Israel. 
 Ver. 19. vnDK "03N1 states the precise circumstances of the 
 V^run. God's gracious purpose to the following effect had 
 indeed been crossed, ver. 20, but according to ver. 18 and the 
 preceding verses it still awaits a glorious fulfilment. 'Jl irpK'K 
 applies not to the possessions of children (Hitzig), but to filial 
 relation to God. Certainly Israel is not one son among others ; 
 but he belongs to the category of sons, and the individual 
 Israelites are sons ; cf. lxnpn (Keri fern. sing, inaptly). — niN3¥, 
 here clearly plur. of »3V. Ver. 20. pK, affirmative then adversa- 
 tive : however, but. — JD companion, here = husband (not in 
 malam partem, as in ver. 1). Ver. 21. Properly, a voice is 
 heard on the bare hills ; see on ver. 2. They mourn for their 
 guilt where they have sinned. Ver. 22a. God addresses the 
 penitent in loving tones, as in ver. 14 ; 22& begins their 
 
48 JEREMIAH III. 23-IV. 2. 
 
 thou art Yahveh, our God! 23. Certainly the hills are 
 deceitful, the multitude of the mountains ; certainly in Yahveh, 
 our God, is the salvation of Israel. 24. But the infamous 
 god has swallowed up the inheritance of our fathers from 
 our childhood, their sheep and their cattle, and their sons and 
 their daughters. 25. We will lie down in our shame, and our 
 disgrace shall cover us ; for against Yahveh, our God, we have 
 sinned, we and our fathers, from our childhood and until this 
 day, and have not listened to the voice of Yahveh, our God." 
 IV. 1. If thou turnest, Israel, is Yahveh's oracle, thou 
 shalt return to me ! And if thou puttest away thy abomina- 
 tions from my sight, thou shalt not remain a fugitive ! 2. 
 And thou shalt swear: "As truly as Yahveh lives" in 
 sincerity, justly and uprightly, and the heathen shall bless 
 
 confession, n?nx like n"b ; N is wanting in uriK, Ges. § 75. a. 
 22 ; Eng. § 74. Ver. 23 continues the confession. The first 
 half of the verse seems corrupt; best translated with 
 Jerome, as above. In this case nijns and lion should stand ; 
 niMJD (of course without dagesh) elsewhere : priests' turbans ; 
 may certainly here mean heights. Ver. 24. Idolatry, they 
 continue, instead of bringing blessing, has, on the contrary, 
 swallowed up the fruit of wearisome toil. riEOn, the infamous 
 god, referring often to Baal especially, Hos. ix. 10. — From our, 
 i.e. the nation's, youth. Even in the wilderness, and especially 
 in the time of the Judges, it was so. Ver. 25. Expression of 
 deepest contrition. Penitents used sometimes to lie down in 
 sackcloth and ashes (Job xlii. 6) ; in their penitence they 
 would make their own shame their bed, and cover themselves 
 with their own disgrace. The discourse cannot end with such 
 extreme self-humiliation. The answer follows in iv. 1 f. 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 Ver. 1. Modern expositors make the apodosis begin in ver. 26 : 
 If thou turnest, returnest to me . . . and wanderest not, and 
 swearest, they shall bless themselves. But the double DltJ» is 
 to be taken as in xv. 19, xxxi. 18, and the sentence alludes to 
 iii. 1. TO means " to be homeless," but evidently not 
 " to wander from God " (LXX), like Tn, ii. 31. Ver. 2. Con- 
 tinues describing the state after repentance, the first clause 
 describing an ethical fruit of it and a condition of the blessing, 
 the second the abundance of the blessing. With the perf.' 
 
JEREMIAH IV. 3, 4. 49 
 
 themselves by him and glory in him. 3. For thus says 
 Yahveh to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem : Break up 
 for yourselves a fallow field, and sow not among thorns. 4. 
 Circumcise yourselves to Yahveh, and take away the foreskins 
 of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, 
 lest my fury go forth like fire and burn, when none can 
 quench, because of the wickedness of your misdeeds. 
 
 cf. vii. 23, DJWro. The swearing is an act of confession, since 
 we swear by God whom we place highest. Israel swore by 
 strange gods (v. 7, xii. 16), and even if it swore by Yahveh, did 
 so dishonourably and falsely (v. 2) ; disposition and conduct 
 did not correspond to the confession. The second clause recalls 
 the patriarchal promises, but is not a literal citation ; hence 
 n is better applied to God than to Israel. Israel will be so 
 blessed, that the nations will long for the blessing of this God, 
 and glory in Him. Ver. 3 f. Practical, hortatory application to 
 the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. In order to escape 
 the judgment fallen on Israel, they must thoroughly reform. 
 This is expressed in a figure borrowed from agriculture, after 
 Hos. x. 12 : the soil must first be cleared of rank thorns and 
 briers, and made arable again, before one can sow with success. 
 Ver. 4. The purifying repentance, which it needs, is next set 
 forth as a circumcising of the heart ; yet outward circumcision, 
 in itself of no value, as the prophet reminds us, is meant to 
 symbolize the removing of the impure, God-offending state of 
 nature, cf. vi. 10, ix. 24 ; Herzog, ii. 345. With the threat, 
 cf. Amos v. 6. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of iii. 6-iv. 4. Call to turn and repent : 1. The 
 Apostate Sisters, iii. 6-10. 2. Invitation to return, iii. 
 11-17. 3. Pardon upon repentance, iii. 18-25. 4. Pro- 
 sperous future, iv. 1—4. 
 
 The prophet follows up the sharp rebuke (iii. 1-5) by a 
 discourse belonging also to Josiah's days, and summed up in 
 the call : Turn again ! Of course, in order to the possibility of 
 true repentance, the heinousness of backsliding must first be 
 understood. Therefore the sin of Judah, the " faithless one," 
 is compared with that of northern Israel, " the apostate one," 
 
 n 
 
50 JEREMIAH III., IV. 
 
 and found greater. Although Judah had not broken with 
 Yahveh so long and so openly as Israel, she was in secret the 
 more faithless and outwardly the more hypocritical. And yet 
 she had not only received more gracious divine manifestations 
 than Israel, but should have been deterred by the terrible 
 doom which had overtaken the sister nation from the same 
 bad way, instead of imitating her. But after this severe 
 accusation of Judah, instead of sentence of condemnation 
 being passed on it, repentance and return are preached even 
 to Israel (ver. 12) that has outwardly gone even farther from 
 God, nay, is completely severed from Him, if it will only 
 acknowledge its sin. A few, yet enough to represent the 
 whole nation, shall return to rebuild the kingdom around 
 Zion, and under God's blessing and a government acceptable 
 to Him shall multiply beyond measure. At the same time 
 the prophet sees God's dwelling-place wondrously glorified 
 by His presence. The ark of the covenant, the most sacred 
 and glorious palladium of the ancient temple, shall no longer 
 be remembered, when instead of it all Jerusalem is the abode 
 of God's glory, which is now hidden and veiled no more. 
 Here the seer advances beyond the limits of the old covenant, 
 and foretells for that time of grace a far richer revelation, a 
 more direct indwelling of the Lord in His Church (Orelli, 0. T. 
 Prophecy, p. 332). So overpowering will be this revelation, 
 that the heathen will abandon their stolid indifference and 
 crowd together to this Church. Then God's original purpose 
 respecting Israel will find its fulfilment (ver. 19), according 
 to which it was to receive not merely the most glorious 
 earthly inheritance, but divine adoption. This prospect attract- 
 ing the apostate ones, the prophet hears already (ver. 2 1 ff.) 
 how in deepest contrition they pour out their penitence and 
 confession to the Lord. The Lord's answer, iv. 1-4, passes 
 from Israel to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, because it receives 
 practical application at their hands. Only by complete change 
 of mind (fierdvoia) can peace with God be restored and the 
 
JEREMIAH III., IV. 51 
 
 doom threatened on Judah be turned aside. If Israel will 
 repent, the door of return stands open to it, despite iii. 1 ; 
 the condition is utter abandonment of idolatry and sincere 
 submission to Yahveh ; the result will be that the blessing 
 promised to the patriarchs will be realized in the nation, and 
 God will be glorified. This should move even Judah to 
 repent. 
 
SECTION IV. 
 
 The Approaching Judgment, Ch. iv. 5-vi. 30. 
 
 IV. 5. Publish ye in Judah and announce in Jerusalem, 
 and bid tbe trumpet blow in the country ! Cry aloud and 
 warn: Gather ye together, and let us go into the fenced 
 cities ! 6. Lift up a standard toward Zion ! Flee, and stand 
 not still ! For I bring evil from the north, and mighty 
 destruction. 7. A lion has gone forth from its thicket, and 
 a destroyer of nations has arisen, has gone out of its place, to 
 make thy land a desolation, that thy cities may be laid waste, 
 without inhabitant. 8. On this account gird yourselves with 
 sackcloth, complain and howl ! For the wrath of Yahveh is 
 not turned away from us. 9. And it shall come to pass on 
 that day, is Yahveh's oracle, the king shall lose his senses 
 and the princes their reason, and the priests are amazed and 
 the prophets confounded. 10. Then I said: Alas! Lord 
 
 Chapter IV. 5-31. 
 
 Ver. 5. IVPDI, tbe 1 to be struck out with Keri. Properly, " call 
 ye, make full " = clamate plena voce, call at the top of the voice. 
 Ver. 6. On account of the approaching hostile hosts, they are 
 to flee into the fenced cities, especially to Zion, whither a 
 banner or signal, going before the crowd, will direct the country 
 people. ■OB>, common word in Jeremiah, fragment both of a 
 member (hence often joined with blow and wound, x. 19, etc.) 
 and of a wall ; both are transferred to the ruin of a state and 
 nation (Amos vi. 6). Ver. 7. The foe is here first of all set 
 forth symbolically as a lion rising up from the thicket (T]hD), 
 where it lurks, to satisfy its thirst for blood (cf. Num. xxiii. 24). 
 3SW pso nrxn, see on ii. 15. There lions in general are referred 
 to, here a particular one. Ver. 8. It is seen that the hope, 
 generally cherished under Josiah, of the Lord's wrath bein<? 
 turned away (ii. 35, iv. 10), was a vain one. Ver. 10 is usually 
 referred, but wrongly, to the assurances of false prophets, for 
 
 52 
 
JEREMIAH IV. 11-17. 53 
 
 Yahveh ! Verily thou hast greatly deceived this people and 
 Jerusalem, saying : " You shall have peace/' whereas the 
 sword reaches to the soul. 
 
 11. At that time it shall be said to this people and to 
 Jerusalem : A rough mountain-wind in the wilderness is on 
 the way to the daughter of my people, not to winnow and 
 not to cleanse. 12. A wind too strong for such things ap- 
 proaches me ; now then will I also pronounce judgments 
 respecting them. 13. Behold, like clouds he comes up, and 
 like the hurricane his chariots; fleeter than eagles are his 
 horses — Alas for us, we are spoiled ! 14. "Wash thy heart 
 from evil, Jerusalem, that thou mayest be saved. How 
 long yet shall thy vain thoughts dwell within thee ? 15. For 
 one proclaims aloud from Dan, and one announces evil from 
 the mountains of Ephraim. 16. Publish ye to the nations ! 
 Behold, make known respecting Jerusalem : Besiegers come 
 from a far land, and raise their cry against the cities of Judah. 
 17. Like field-watchers they shall stand around her, because 
 
 which Jeremiah will not make God responsible. "We rather 
 go back to 2 Kings xxii. 18-20, the saying of the prophetess 
 Huldah, according to which there was to be peace in Josiah's 
 days. The catastrophe seems so near to the seer, that it would 
 come into inexplicable contradiction with that promise. Ver. 11. 
 The storm of judgment appears first as a sharp wind sweeping 
 over the hills of the wilderness, too strong to be used for 
 winnowing (xiii. 24). ns, usually clear, not = hot, suits a sharp 
 wind blowing through a very transparent atmosphere, nan, 
 Hiph. with pathach, Ges. § 67. a. 6 ; Eng. § 66. Ver. 12. A 
 wind fuller, stronger than one useful for such field labours. 
 The Lord Himself comes in this storm of nations to judgment, 
 cf. i. 15. Ver. 15. The first messenger comes from Dan in the 
 extreme north, the foe penetrating the country from there ; 
 then one comes from the hills of Ephraim lying directly north. 
 Cf. viii. 16. Of all the routes which an invader coming from 
 north or east could take to advance against Egypt, that across 
 Dan and Ephraim was the worst, as it would devastate the 
 land in its entire length and take him safe to Jerusalem. Ver. 
 16. Give a sign to the nations. The allusion is to an invasion, 
 which will not be limited to Canaan. n:n drawn by the 
 accent, perhaps rightly, to what follows, belongs to : Besiegers 
 ("TO, Isa. i. 8) come. Ver. 17. As field - watchers guard an 
 enclosure, they guard the investment-ring, that no one escape 
 
54 JEEEMIAH IV. 18-24. 
 
 she rebelled against me, is Yahveh's oracle. 18. Thy walk 
 and thy misdeeds have brought this upon thee. Thy wicked- 
 ness causes this; yea it is bitter, yea it touches thy very 
 heart. 
 
 19. My bowels, my bowels! I writhe with pain. The 
 walls of my heart ! My heart throbs within me. Keep 
 silence I cannot : for thou hast heard the sound of trumpets, 
 my soul, blasts of war ! 20. Euin meets ruin ; for the whole 
 land is spoiled ; suddenly my cots are overwhelmed, in a 
 moment my tents. 21. How long yet shall I behold the 
 standard, must I hear the sound of trumpet? — 22. Because 
 my people is foolish, they have not known me ; they are 
 simple children, and are without understanding; they are 
 wise indeed to do evil; but to do good they understand 
 not. 23. I looked on the earth, and lo, it was bare and void, 
 and up to the heavens — and they had no light. 24. I looked 
 
 from the city, n^jj applies to the capital. Ver. 18a, cf. ii. 17. 
 186. This is thy wickedness, i.e. its effect and fruit. Ver. 19. 
 The bowels as the seat of birth (Gen. xv. 4), hence rpinx, the 
 bowels (also the seat of deepest maternal sympathy), give the 
 prophet pain, as the mother before a birth. Without figure : 
 his inmost sympathy is painfully excited by what he bears 
 within of evil to come. Instead of the incorrect nbinix, Kethib, 
 read rtanx or nVnx, not rh"na (Keri), " I will wait," which is 
 unsuitable. — nwp. the walls of my heart ! exclamation parallel 
 to tyo, as ^ i$> non is parallel to rforiK. His heart throbs as 
 though its beating would burst its walls. V\yow, 2 fern, sing., see 
 on ii. 20. Ver. 20. Overthrow upon overthrow (see on ver. 6) 
 is announced, published, but better Kip = rnp as in xxxii. 23. 
 The land presents an unbroken series of ruins. TilJJ'T, properly 
 curtains, hence poetically tents, synonym of ^nx as in Hab. 
 iii. 7. Ver. 22. God's voice is heard, giving the reason of the 
 visitation. LXX read less suitably ^n or tyx (2 Kings 
 xxiv. 15) instead of T'W. bap fool, foolish, as in v. 21. Vv. 
 23-26. The seer speaks again, and describes how the land, yea, 
 the earth, will look a posteriori, so far as it offers itself to his 
 gaze, after God's fiery wrath has gone through it. The world 
 has, so to speak, fallen back into the chaotic state in which it was 
 before creation, without life and order, Gen. i. 2. Ver. 24. Pilp. 
 of 9?p (to be light, movable), to move, shake ; Hithpalp. to move 
 
JEREMIAH IV. 25-31. 55 
 
 on the mountains — and lo, they trembled, and the hills began 
 to shake. 25. I looked — and lo, there was no man, and all 
 the birds of heaven had fluttered away. 26. I looked — and 
 lo, the fruitful plain was now a wilderness, and all its cities 
 were overthrown before Yahveh, before the flame of his wrath. 
 27. For thus has Yahveh spoken : The whole land shall 
 be made desolate, but I will not make a full end. 28. There- 
 fore the earth mourns, and the heavens are veiled in black, 
 because I have spoken, have decided, and I repent not, and I 
 depart not from it. — 29. The whole city is in flight before 
 the uproar of the horsemen and bowmen : they enter into the 
 crevices and mount up to the rock ; the whole city is forsaken, 
 and none remains therein. 30. And thou, spoiled one, what 
 wilt thou do ? Though thou clothe thyself in purple, though 
 thou put on jewels of gold, though thou tear open thy eyes 
 with paint, in vain wilt thou adorn thyself ; thy lovers scorn 
 thee, they seek thy life. 31. For I have heard a voice like 
 a travailing woman's, a cry of anguish as of one bearing her 
 
 lightly. The mountains have lost their firmness. Ver. 26. 
 PDian, appellatively as in ii. 7, in opposition to desert. The 
 most fruitful land had become desert (complete desert); converse 
 change in Isa. xxxii. 15 ; cf. xxix. 17. Ver. 27. The whole 
 land is to be laid waste by divine decree, without being utterly 
 destroyed, rfa riE>y, to make completion = full end, as in v. 10. 
 Ver. 28. The LXX transpose in order to make easier. Ver. 29 
 turns back to describe the human side of God's judgment. 
 The whole city (not : every city, LXX more simple, Y~wn ta) is 
 in flight before the horsemen, bowmen, which reminds us of 
 the Scythians. The inhabitants give up their city, which they 
 do not think strong enough, and flee into the thickets and 
 ravines. Cf. Judg. vi. 2 ; 1 Sam. xiii. 6 ; Isa. ii. 10, 19, 21. In 
 pictorial description that is affirmed of a particular city which, 
 as jm intimates, holds good of the cities generally. The strong 
 capital, which, of course, they do not abandon, is first mentioned 
 in ver. 30 f. Ver. 30. 'nK, Kethib, original form, Ges. § 32. a. 4. 
 The coquetry, which once served thee so well with the great 
 powers, will get thee no favour with these deadly foes. The 
 phrase jnp, to rend the eyes with paint, intimates the unnatural 
 character of this custom, which appears also in 2 Kings ix. 30, 
 and still flourishes in the East. 3JJ? only in Jer. and Ezek. 
 of sensual love. Ver. 31. r6in, not from r6n, to be sick, but 
 
5 b JEREMIAH V. 1-4. 
 
 first child ; the voice of the daughter of Zion that groans, that 
 spreads forth her hands: Alas for rue now, for my soul 
 succumbs to murderers ! 
 
 V. 1. Go ye to and fro in the streets cf Jerusalem, and see 
 now and observe and search in its highways, if you can find a 
 man, or if there is one, who practises right, who concerns 
 himself about fidelity— then I would forgive her. 2. But 
 although they say, "As truly as Yahveh lives," they neverthe- 
 less swear deceitfully 3. Yahveh, thy eyes — are they not 
 upon fidelity ? Thou hast smitten them, but they discerned 
 not ; thou hast wasted them, they refused to receive correc- 
 tion ; they made their face harder than rock, they refused to 
 turn. 4. I thought indeed : These are only the poor ; they 
 behave foolishly, because they know not the way of Yahveh, 
 
 according to the context, part. act. fern, of Tin for i"6n, Ges. 
 § 72. a. 1. 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 Ver. 1. IODIC, Dikduke Hateamim (Strack and Baer, 1879), 
 p. 14. 22. DIB", Pil., to wander round in zealous search, as in 
 Amos viii. 12. — The E"K prefixed is supplemented by the 
 following attributes. — 'n cpuo, one striving after fidelity 
 (see on ver. 3), diligent in it. Ver. 2. DKl intimates that there 
 are still serious men who by such oaths acknowledge Yahveh, 
 or that it is done in the most serious moments ; nevertheless 
 even then truthfulness is wanting : they nevertheless swear 
 falsely, p? here exceptionally in adversative sense : for all 
 this, despite this. Ver. 3. LXX rightly, o) rxpHaXpoi eou e!g 
 -rritsriv, thine eyes are directed to faithfulness, desire to see it 
 (otherwise Hitzig, Ewald : Are not thine eyes faithful, trust- 
 worthy ?). ruiDN, stedfast, loyal disposition of heart, express- 
 ing itself in intercourse with men as honesty, justice, in re- 
 lation to God as unreserved believing obedience, see Hab. ii. 4. 
 God made known His displeasure unmistakeably by chastise- 
 ments, which, however, bore no fruit, lbn with tone drawn 
 back instead of vn, from npn, here not to be sick, but to feel 
 pain. Cf. Micah vi. 13, and Delitzsch on Prov. xxiii. 35. 
 Drra, of course, to be understood in limited sense. They made 
 their countenance harder than rock, i.e. showed an insolent 
 front ; God's punishments left no trace of shame and sorrow 
 on their face. Cf. Ezek. iii. 7 f. Ver. 4. The prophet for a 
 
JEREMIAH V. 5-7. 67 
 
 the law of our God. 5. I will yet go to the great ones and 
 speak with them ; for they are acquainted with Yahveh's way, 
 with the law of their God. But they had altogether broken 
 the yoke, burst asunder the fetters ! 6. Therefore the lion 
 from the wood shall slay them, the wolf of the desert destroy 
 them, the panther lies in wait against their cities : whoever 
 comes forth from them shall be torn in pieces. For their 
 offences are many, their unfaithfulnesses exceeding great. 7. 
 "Wherefore then should 1 forgive thee ? Thy children have 
 forsaken me and sworn by no-gods ; and when I made them 
 swear, they committed adultery and crowded together in the 
 
 long time comforted himself with the thought, that it was only 
 the poor, uneducated, and therefore less capable of reflection 
 among the people, to whom God's sentence of rejection applied ; 
 but he was soon made to feel that the higher classes were 
 thoroughly godless, because with their better knowledge they 
 rejected the divine yoke more deliberately. D'bl, properly, the 
 faint, hence needy — here a social class, opposite of D , ?"U. 
 naps to be read after Dikduke, p. 41. 19. Only the needy 
 (petty) are they (Dn) of whom that statement holds good. 
 They act foolishly, because . . . "6x13, from btv = bm, to be 
 foolish, whence TIK, iv. 22. The passage shows that an im- 
 portant difference existed between the classes in regard to 
 religious culture. The common people were not taught at all. 
 taSE'D, discipline, as teaching, ordinance, system. Ver. 5. DniK 
 for Drix, see on i. 16. "]K, but these have broken all together. 
 Knowledge is not wanting here, but the chief matter. nnDiD 
 refers to divine fetters also in Ps. ii. 3. Ver. 6. nan, prophetic 
 perfect. The savage beasts point to bloodthirsty, booty-loving 
 foes. DTTC", imperf. Kal for W ; cf. IW, xlix. 28 ; Ges. § 20. 
 1. wn, the tone advancing to the last syllable, Ges. § 67. a. 
 12; Eng. § 66. Ver. 7. nsti' 'N, properly, where— for this? 
 The "N gives to such demonstratives a simply interrogative 
 force, therefore = wherefore, synonymous with nub. ni^DN, 
 Kethib, fuller ; Keri, usual form. Swearing by " no-gods " 
 (unreal fictions of their imagination) was a denial of the true 
 God Yahveh. jratJW, LXX, Vulg., Syr. and many codd. and 
 editions with '& : I filled them to the full, which is unsuitable 
 to the solemnity of the context ; rather : I made them swear, 
 namely, the covenant with me at Sinai and often afterwards 
 (cf. under Josiah, 2 Kings xxiii. 3), yet they broke this 
 
58 JEREMIAH V. 8-14. 
 
 harlot's house. 8. Well-fed horses, they roamed about, every 
 one neighed after his neighbour's wife. 9. Should I not visit 
 for these things, is Yahveh's oracle, or should not my soul 
 take vengeance on a nation like this ? 
 
 10. Mount ye up on her walls, and destroy ; but make not 
 a full end ! Tear away her tendrils, for they are not Yahveh's. 
 11. For they have acted faithlessly to me, the house of Israel 
 and the house of Judah, is Yahveh's oracle. 1 2. They have 
 denied Yahveh, and said : " It is not he, and calamity will not 
 come on us, we shall see neither sword nor famine. 13. And 
 the prophets shall become wind, and he that speaks is not in 
 them; so shall they themselves fare." 14. Therefore thus 
 
 solemnly-sworn marriage -covenant. Hitzig suggests the actual 
 marriage-covenant which God caused husband and wife to 
 swear (Mai. ii. 14). But the primary subject is the relation 
 between God and the nation. Yet unchastity actually went 
 hand in hand with religious apostasy ; hence the next verse 
 mentions it. The harlot's house, in which they crowded 
 together, may have been the temple of the false god, which in 
 many cases deserved the name literally as well as religiously, 
 since the worship often encouraged this vice. Ver. 8. In their 
 brutish heat, which they cannot restrain, they are compared to 
 horses. WiW, Kethib of JIT. Aramaic, to nourish, feed : well- 
 nourished horses, haughty and wanton ; LXX, Sri'kvfj.anTe, lewd 
 horses, Keri from ]V, superfluous. D'OK'D, from n3K>, to roam 
 about (cf. rw), part. Hiphil here only. Ver. 9, like ver. 29, 
 ix. 8. Ver. 10. ni"iEJ, according to the versions = walls, thus = 
 ni"W, to be explained as contraction of nVw. riOTJ are 
 tendrils (from B'BJ, to stretch out), in xlviii. 32 of the vine ; cf. 
 Isa. xviii. 5. The idea is that of a vine (not a vineyard) 
 running on a wall. But the city walls suggest the figure ; they 
 are represented as a protecting wall, on which the living vine 
 (the population) hangs ; cf. also Isa. xviii. 5. Ver. 12. sin t6, 
 not quite = sin px : he exists not ; but they deny God in His 
 special revelation through the prophets, deny that He speaks 
 through them. Kin s^, antithesis to sin MX. Ver. 13. The 
 prophets become wind, they disappear with their message, they 
 prove themselves worthless, la'nn, finite verb with article. 
 He who professedly speaks in them is not in them. " So shall 
 it happen to them " many refer to the becoming wind, better 
 to sword and hunger, the judgment in general which they 
 preach to us. Ver. 14. In reference to the energy of the pro- 
 
JEREMIAH T. 15-22. 59 
 
 says Yahveh, the God of hosts : Because you speak this word, 
 behold ! I make my words in thy mouth fire, and this nation 
 wood, that it may consume them. 15. Behold, I bring upon 
 you a nation from afar, house of Israel, is Yahveh's oracle ; 
 it is an indestructible nation, it is a nation of ancient date ; a 
 nation whose language thou knowest not, nor understandest 
 thou what it says. 16. Its quiver is an open grave ; they are 
 all heroes. 1 7. And it shall devour thy harvest and thy 
 bread, devour thy sons and thy daughters, devour thy sheep 
 and thy cattle, devour thy vine and thy fig tree ; it shall lay 
 in ruin thy fenced cities, in which thou trustest, with the 
 sword. 1 8. But even in those days, is Yahveh's oracle, I will 
 not make a full end of you. 19. And it shall come to 
 pass, when you shall say : Why has Yahveh, our God, done 
 all this to us ? thou shalt say to them : Like as you have 
 forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so 
 you shall serve foreigners in a land which is not your own. 
 
 20. Declare ye this in the house of Jacob, and publish it 
 in Judah: 21. Hear ye this now, simple people, and with- 
 out understanding, who have eyes and see not, have ears and 
 hear not ! 22. Will you not fear me, is Yahveh's oracle, nor 
 tremble in my presence, who have set the sand as a limit to 
 the sea, an everlasting boundary, which it oversteps not ? Its 
 
 phet's words, cf. i. 10, and the figure Obad. 18. Ver. 15 f. On 
 the people here described, cf. Introd. p. 16. Deut. xxviii. 
 49-52 is the basis. Ver. 16. His quiver an open grave swallow- 
 ing up everything, Ps. v. 9. Ver. 17. ?3X, to eat up, consume, used 
 first in the proper sense, then more generally. Ver. 18 f. See 
 on iv. 27. Here '3 nK>j/ is construed with Jin =cum (cf. Judg. 
 xi. 27), which might also make cases like xlvi. 28 doubtful, 
 where it seems to be accusative. Yet the latter passage is 
 assured by Nah. i. 8 ; Neh. ix. 31. Ver. 19 concludes, justify- 
 ing the punishment by communicating God's righteous sentence, 
 i. 16. nnn elsewhere in place of something, here in return for 
 something. When was their guilt of such magnitude, that so 
 fearful a doom must repay it ? To this the Lord replies, 
 intimating in the form that guilt and punishment exactly 
 correspond. Ver. 20. New opening like iv. 5. Ver. 21 like 
 Ezek. xii. 2 ; cf. Deut. xxix. 3 ; Isa. vi. 10. Ver. 22. K>w, to 
 push; Hithp. to push each other, crowd, wave to and fro. By 
 mere sand the Lord keeps the tossing, roaring sea in check. 
 
60 JEREMIAH V. 23-28. 
 
 waves surge to and fro and prevail nothing; they roar and 
 cannot pass over. 23. But this nation has an obstinate and 
 rebellious heart; they have backslidden and gone away; 24. 
 and they said not in themselves : Let us now fear Yahveh, 
 our God, who gives rain, early and latter rain, in its season : 
 He will reserve for us the firmly-fixed weeks of harvest. 
 25. Your transgressions have thrown these into disorder, and 
 your sins have kept back good from you. 26. For villains 
 are found among my people ; they lurk, as fowlers crouch ; 
 they have set a trap, they catch men ! 27. As a cage is full 
 of birds, their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have 
 become great and rich. 28. They became fat, yea plump; 
 they excelled in wickedness : right they never procure, the 
 right of the orphan, — that they should prosper ; and the cause 
 
 Ver. 23. mioi "HID as in Deut. xxi. 18, 20. They will not see, 
 and thus are defiant and rebellious. Ver. 24. Properly, " the 
 weeks of the (Hitzig, Graf: the in apposition) terms of harvest" 
 = firmly fixed harvest- weeks. The weeks between the Pass- 
 over and Pentecost are meant, when according to law the 
 harvest was to proceed, which, of course, made it necessary 
 that God Himself should preserve these terms. Ver. 25. ion 
 is usually taken in the sense of " turn away," like IJHO ; but it 
 is rather to be understood after the analogy of DB^D nan : your 
 transgressions have made God's order totter, properly = altered 
 its normal state. !"6k thus applies to the fixed modes of bless- 
 ing. In later times this normal course was much disturbed, and 
 by the failure of rain the harvest was delayed and greatly 
 injured. Ver. 26 assigns the reason for this, 7|K>, infin. constr., 
 Ges. § 67. a. 3 ; Eng. § 66. The persons compared to fowlers 
 contrive what causes destruction, as fowlers set traps, and take 
 men like helpless birds ! This DTiCD seems to have been a 
 technical term in bird-catching for the trap or some part of it. 
 Ver. 27. yt>2, basket woven of willows (Amos viii. 1) ; then 
 cage for birds, scarcely trap for catching them (LXX, way/s 
 ipesra.uhri), rather one which fowlers bring for sale. The figure 
 alludes indeed to ver. 26, but is new. Their houses are so full 
 of deceit, i.e. of goods deceitfully obtained, p bv, therefore, i.e. 
 because they practise deceit. Ver. 28. incy, properly, to shine, 
 refers here to fatness and well-fed appearance, vnj>, as to bad 
 things, they go beyond, exceed all measure therein (according 
 to others : overflow with evil). The divine limits, which even 
 the sea acknowledges, they regard not, allow not even the 
 
JEREMIAH V. 29-VI. 2. 61 
 
 of the poor they settle not. 29. Should I not visit for this, 
 is Yahveh's oracle, or should not my soul take vengeance on 
 a nation like this ? — 30. A terrible and horrible thing has 
 happened in the land : 31. The prophets prophesy deceitfully ! 
 and the priests rule on their side, and my people love it so ! 
 But what will you do when the end comes ? 
 
 VI. 1. Flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, ye children of 
 Benjamin ! And at Tekoah blow the alarm-trumpet ! And 
 on Beth-hakkerem raise the high signal ! For from the north 
 ruin breaks in, and mighty irruption. 2. The comely one 
 
 orphan to obtain its rights, which yet according to universally 
 acknowledged law was to them the condition of success. Ver. 
 29 like ver. 9. Ver. 30 f. Brief final saying, putting a seal on 
 the whole threatening discourse. Ver. 31 points to the chief 
 authors of this dreadful state. The prophets prophesy falsely 
 in a direction opposed to God's will, and the priests rule (rm, 
 rule, here guide and govern) on their side as their agents. See 
 an example, xxix. 24-26. What will you do in the end thereof 
 (suff. neuter), which will necessarily be judgment ? How will 
 you then be saved ? See Isa. x. 3. 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 Ver. 1. Observe the three cases of alliterative word-play, 
 |W2 "32, lypn jnpro, nxCD inb>. The Benjamites, who dwelt 
 of old along with the Judseans at Jerusalem (Josh. xv. 8, 63, 
 xviii. 16 ; Judg. i. 21 ; 1 Chron. ix. 3, 7 ff.), are called on to flee 
 from the city, partly because the poetical style of prophecy is 
 fond of individualizing (cf . the following Tekoah, Beth-hakkerem), 
 partly and especially because they are the prophet's country- 
 men (i. 1). Tekoah, home of the prophet Amos, now Tekua, 
 south-south-east of Bethlehem, lying high, hence suited for 
 communicating signals. Beth-hakkerem, vineyard-house, vine- 
 yard, only again Neh. iii. 14. Jerome still knew it as a place also 
 lying on a hill between Jerusalem and Tekoah. Very probably 
 it is the commanding " Hill of the Franks " to the north and 
 near Tekoah. By the high signal, which is to be raised, is perhaps 
 to be understood not a mere flag, but a smoke and- fire signal, 
 cf. Judg. xx. 38, 40. These signs are to direct the crowds of 
 fugitives and country people to the south, as the invasion comes 
 from the north, "iat5>, see on iv. 6. Ver. 2. nun, not meadow, 
 but fern. adj. for mw from rnw, often in Canticles, hence 
 perhaps belonging to the phraseology of love = lovely, charm- 
 
62 JEREMIAH VI. 3-7. 
 
 there, the delicate one — the daughter of Zion I root out 3. 
 Shepherds come to her with their flocks, they pitch their 
 tents against her round about, they graze every one his 
 portion. 4. " Consecrate a war against her ! Up ! Let us 
 advance at noon ! Alas for us, that already the day declines, 
 that the evening shadows lengthen ! 5. Up ! Let us 
 advance in the night, and destroy her palaces ! " 6. For 
 thus has Yahveh of hosts said : Hew ye down her timber, and 
 throw up a mound against Jerusalem. This is the city which 
 is visited ; she is full of oppression within. 7. As a cistern 
 keeps its water cool, so she keeps her wickedness fresh ; 
 outrage and violence are heard in her ; wounds and weals are 
 
 ing. i:y, Pual part., made delicate, luxurious, synonymous with 
 miy. — riDT as in Hos. iv. 5 f. Ver. 3 would suit nomadic 
 hordes very well, but may be understood generally of princes 
 with their armies which pitch their tents (like shepherds) and 
 graze the land, i.e. make it bare by wasting and plundering 
 (Num. xxii. 4). IT nx, properly, his hand, his side, then his 
 place, Num. ii. 17 ; Deut. xxiii. 13. Yer. 4. The enemy says 
 'o EHp, sanctify, consecrate a war = prepare for it, because it 
 began with sacrifices and other solemnities. These enemies are 
 full of indefatigable ardour. At hot noon they begin the 
 advance, are sorry when evening falls before they have reached 
 the goal, but still are not restrained by it from their destroying 
 work ; in the night they undertake the attack. Compare 
 how Habakkuk, Jeremiah's contemporary, pictures the rapidity 
 of the Babylonian troops in similar terms, Hab. i. 6-11. Ver. 
 6. This work they execute with barbarous energy. God has 
 given it them in charge, nvy rro, a proceeding forbidden by 
 the humane law, Deut. xx. 19 f., according to which passage nvi' 
 " her timber," for iTO$|, The Assyrian and Babylonian armies 
 were notorious for destroying woods (Hab. ii. 17). Not seldom 
 their rulers boast of this outrage in their inscriptions. In this 
 passage the hewn timber is to be used in strengthening the wall 
 (cf. xxxii. 24) that is thrown up partly as a defence during the 
 besieging of the city, but especially in order to reach the level of 
 the city walls, and so be able to attack ; cf. 2 Sam. xx. 15 ; Hab. 
 
 i. 10. — She is full of oppression; literally, "her entirety 
 
 oppression is in her midst." pB>j? and Ipan recall Lev. v. 23 
 which passage was in the prophet's thoughts (Nag.). Ver. 7.' 
 "Tip (after the noun "lip, rnpjD, and adjective ip), Hiph.,tokeep 
 cool, fresh (LXX), not " to spring ; " for a cistern has not sprint 
 
JEREMIAH VI. 8-13. 63 
 
 ever before my face. 8. Eeceive correction, Jerusalem, 
 lest my soul sever itself from thee, lest I make thee a 
 desolation, a land uninhabited. 
 
 9. Thus has Yahveh of hosts said : Verily men will glean 
 on the remnant of Israel as on a vine ; turn again thy hand 
 like a vine-dresser to the shoots. 10. To whom shall I 
 speak and testify, that they may hear ? Behold, their ear is 
 uncircumcised, that they cannot hear. Behold, the word of 
 Yahveh has become a scorn to them, they delight not in it. 
 11. But I am full of the fury of Yahveh, I am weary of 
 holding it in. Pour out upon the child in the street and 
 upon the circle of young men together ; for even the husband 
 shall be taken with the wife, the old man with him that is 
 full of days. 12. And their houses shall be turned to others, 
 fields and wives together ; for I stretch out my hand against 
 the inhabitants of the land, is Yahveh's oracle. 13. For 
 from the least to the greatest among them they all overreach, 
 and from the prophet to the priest they are all deceivers. 
 
 water (see onii. 13). The Keri, perhaps T3 (="iN3?), is to be re- 
 jected. The figure says plainly : the city is like a walled cistern, 
 since it constantly keeps wickedness fresh in its cool walls. — 
 ^n, here wound in consequence of ill-treatment, cf. 1 Kings 
 xxii. 34. Ver. 8. J)?'' (imperfect only, perfect J>p3), to loose one- 
 self, fall out (cf. Arabic wakcta, to fall), to be separate, 
 estranged, as in Ezek. xxiii. 17 f. Ver. 9. bhv, to make a 
 gleaning (inf. abs.). Already only a remnant of Israel (observe 
 the name) is left ; even it is still visited judicially, as a vine- 
 dresser after gleaniDg again turns his hand to the tendrils of 
 the vine in order to gather any single grapes that may be left. 
 In "IT 3E>n the prophet is addressed, he replies in ver. 10 ; he 
 is the medium of the judgment according to i. 10, v. 14, vi. 11. 
 By omitting the suffix in "IT 1 (Hitzig, Graf, Cheyne) the passage 
 is spoilt. ni^D, not baskets (LXX), an inappropriate figure, 
 but the slim tendrils of the vine, cf. Isa. xviii. 5, d s ;>6t. Ver. 
 10. Used of uncircumcised ears here only and Acts vii. 51; of the 
 heart, Jer. iv. 4, ix. 25. Their ears are covered with a foreskin, 
 i.e. closed to the prophet's testimony by their impure heart. 
 Ver. 11a. The seer himself is so filled with the fire of the 
 divine anger, that he can no longer keep it to himself. On 
 this complaint he receives the divine command : Pour out, etc., 
 i.e. on all alike, for captivity awaits all. Here, too, the prophet 
 
64 JEEEMIAII VI. 14-18. 
 
 14. And they patch the rent of my people slightly, saying, 
 " Peace, peace!" when yet there is no peace. 15. Although 
 they were put to shame, because they committed abomination, 
 they were not at all ashamed, nor were they conscious of 
 dishonour. Therefore shall they fall among them that fall ; 
 at the time when I visit them, they shall stumble, Yahveh 
 has said. 
 
 16. Thus said Yahveh: Stand ye in the way and see, and 
 ask after the paths of ancient days, which yet is the way of 
 salvation, and walk therein, and you shall find rest to your 
 souls. Then they said : " We will not so walk." 1 7. And 
 I appointed watchmen over you : Hearken to the sound of 
 the trumpet ! — and they said : " We will not hearken." 18. 
 Therefore hear, ye nations, and observe for thyself, congrega- 
 
 is the channel of judgment. Ver. 14 = viii. 11; cf. xxiii. 17; 
 Ezek. xiii. 10, 16, in the wake of Micah iii. 5. — T\2 is wanting in 
 the ancient versions and many Hebrew MSS. It would have 
 to be explained as in iv. 11 : Daughter of my people, gen. 
 appos., which is my people. They are like frivolous physicians, 
 who heal a break or hurt superficially, the hurt remaining. 
 Ver. 15. D'pan, they were insensible to reproach, so hardened 
 and shameless are they ; viii. 11 has Niphal for this. Therefore 
 nothing is left to the Lord but to destroy them utterly. For 
 DTflpE, perf., which would be somewhat strange, Ewald reads 
 DrnpB, after LXX, as in ix. 15 and often. Ver. 16. They are to 
 take up such a position as to be able to see and compare the 
 different ways (life with and without God), and also to take into 
 account the experiences of the past as far back as primitive days. 
 D^IJJ nUTO perhaps implies no commendation (differently xviii. 
 15), but there was a way pleasing and a way displeasing to 
 God from of old. jnno (from Wi ; to withdraw ; cf. the Arabic 
 meaning " to turn back "), rest, resting-place ; cf . Matt. xi. 29. 
 LXX inaccurately uyngp.6v. 1KXD1 •■■13b imperatives in pro- 
 tasis and apodosis, Ges. § 130. 2; Eng. § 127. Ver. 17. Climax. 
 Since they did not know and take the right way of themselves, 
 God set watchers over them, who were to deter them from the 
 evil way by the warning cry of the trumpet ; even to these 
 loud sounds they were deaf. The prophets are often called 
 "scouts" in the above sense; they discern approaching evil. 
 Tieprri, this grammatical form carries us back to the moment 
 when God decided on this measure ; it is not purely narrative 
 as in xxxvii. 15. Ver. 18. Difficult and variously emended' 
 
JEREMIAH VI. 19-24. 65 
 
 tion that belongs to them. 19. Hear, earth, behold I 
 bring ruin upon this people, the fruit of their thoughts, 
 because they hearkened not to my words ; and my law — this 
 they despised. 20. What use to me is the incense coming 
 from Sheba, and the costly sweet cane from a far land ? 
 Your burnt - offerings are displeasing, and your sacrifices 
 delight me not. 21. Therefore thus says Yahveh : Behold, I 
 lay stumbling-blocks before this people, over which fathers 
 and sons shall stumble together, inhabitant and neighbour 
 shall perish. 
 
 2 2. Thus said Yahveh : Behold, a people comes from the 
 north, and a mighty nation stirs itself up from the ends of 
 the earth. 23. They carry bow and spear; it is cruel, and 
 they have no pity, their roar thunders like the sea, and they 
 career on horses, armed like a man for battle against thee, O 
 daughter of Zion. 24. "We heard its fame, our hands are 
 slack, anguish has seized us, pangs like a travailing woman." 
 
 As it stands, it is most simply understood to the effect, that 
 along with the heathen, the congregation, the present genera- 
 tion, the body of hearers is addressed " which is among them," 
 which belongs to that people rebellious of old. riN, nota accus. 
 Sense : I mean you who reckon yourselves of them. mj?=to 
 receive the testimony (in which case 1$ni would need to be 
 read), " which goes forth about you," is tame. Ver. 20. Accord- 
 ing to this passage and Isa. lx. 6, the Israelites procured 
 incense from Sheba, in south-west Arabia (Herzog, xii. 487) ; 
 perhaps from the same place the " sweet cane," calamus, from 
 which fragrant cane the sacred oil was prepared, Ex. xxx. 23. 
 That incense-offerings were not in Jeremiah's eyes an un- 
 warranted innovation, is shown by xvii. 26 (cf. Lev. ii. 1), 
 according to which passage they are part of the normal cultus. 
 Ver. 21. V13N', Kethib without Vav to be preferred. HIT is best 
 joined to this clause. Ver. 22. TOT, the corners of the earth, 
 its most secret, because most remote places. According to 
 Ezek. xxxviii. 6, 15, xxxix. 2, Gog dwells ]1SX vavz (certainly 
 a somewhat different phrase), which would suggest the Scythians. 
 Cf. however, xxxi. 8. Ver. 23. Cf. iv. 29, v. 16, on the equip- 
 ment of this nation of horsemen, and also Hab. i. 8. The whole 
 nation resembles a warrior ready for conflict. Ver. 24 describes 
 the impression which the mere report of its attack will make, 
 mbra PTi, from Micah iv. 9. The comparison with such a woman 
 
 E 
 
66 JEEEMIAH VI. 25-29. 
 
 25. Go not out into the field, and walk not in the street; for 
 the sword of the enemy — horror is all around. 26. O 
 daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth and sprinkle 
 thee with ashes, prepare for sorrow for thy first-born, for 
 hitter mourning ; for suddenly the destroyer comes upon us. 
 
 27. I have appointed thee an assayer to my people, a 
 piece of ore, that thou mayest test their walk. 28. They are 
 all arch-rebels, retailers of slander, copper and iron, they are 
 all corrupters together. 29. The bellows has blown fiercely, 
 from their burning there was — lead ; in vain one refined and 
 
 occasions the sing, in ver. 25. Ver. 25. " The enemy has a 
 sword." Better : hostile sword, namely, is there, horror on 
 every side. The latter is a favourite phrase with Jeremiah for 
 a desperate situation, from which no way of escape appears, 
 xx. 3, 10, xlvi. 5, xlix. 29. Ver. 26. •'Dj; m, see on ver. 14. 
 "B^ann, see Micah i. 10 ; cf. Zech. xii. 10. The reference is no 
 longer to penitential sorrow which might remove the inward 
 grief ; but the latter will so certainly come that they already 
 had reason to mourn ; cf. ix. 16 ff. Ver. 27. Final saying of the 
 discourse, stating its aim and result. 1S3D, "fortress," as in 
 i. 18, could only arise from a misunderstanding of the authors 
 of the points, who thought they ought to follow that passage. 
 Here rather the allusion is to metals, and the word is allied to 
 ")V3, piece of gold or silver (properly, something broken off). 
 Ewald and Graf would read "i5f2D, refiner, a meaning not proved. 
 It is better, with rTagelsbach, to regard 1V3D as a synonymous 
 form for the simple ")X3. Yet the matter remains doubtful. 
 Ver. 28 gives the result of the testing. DTiD 'ID, strongest 
 climax. Both forms may be derived from TtD, and the former 
 also from tid (the most faithless of the backsliders), ^i 
 slanderer, from ^3"i, to wander about, elsewhere of a trader'; 
 hence it readily unites with l^n. They are neither silver nor 
 gold, but common copper and iron. Ver. 29. A little obscure, 
 irn, not Niph. of Tin, to be burnt, to glow, but from "im, after 
 Arabic and Aramaic, to puff, snort. The bellows has laboured 
 hard. DfiBtei?, Kethib, from their burning — plainly applying to 
 the smelting, which the prophet is to perform on his contempo- 
 raries — lead ! i.e. base metal, instead of the silver hoped for. 
 Thus all the labour is lost. The Keri certainly deserves con- 
 sideration, an e>Kp ; from the fire, i.e. in consequence of its 
 violence all has become the lead, which was added to fuse the 
 mass. In this case certainly Diw must be read instead of the 
 
JEREMIAH VI. 30. 67 
 
 refined, since the wicked could not be sifted out. 30. 
 Eejected silver they shall be called, for Tahveh has rejected 
 them. 
 
 masc. Dn, after Ezek. xxiv. 11 f., on which this explanation is 
 based. The wicked cannot be separated. Thus the whole 
 massa is perdita, nothing is to be done with it, 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 This discourse or group of oracles, iv. 5-vi. 30, announces 
 the approaching judgment in the form of a conquering nation, 
 which, attacking from the north, lays waste the land, besieges 
 and storms the capital. It is to be regarded as spoken under 
 Josiah, and indeed soon after his eighteenth year (see on 
 iv. 10). 
 
 The remembrance of a former invasion of the Scythians 
 seems to have had considerable influence on the picture of 
 the bow-carrying cavalry host (iv. 29, v. 15 ff., vi. 1 ff., 
 22 ff.) ; yet the seer's thoughts by no means dwell on such a 
 tribe only, but on a great power belonging to the northern 
 group, which will inflict exile on Judah such as Israel suffered 
 at the hands of Assyria (v. 19, vi. 11 f.). Both he and his 
 hearers perceive more and more clearly that the Chaldseans 
 are meant, who not long afterwards were similarly described 
 by Habakkuk. See Introd. p. 16. As to the rest, the vivid 
 way in which the judgment passes before the eyes of the seer, 
 and its increasing definiteness of form from ch. i. onward, are 
 characteristic of prophecy, which does not infer certain pre- 
 dictions from general considerations, but already sees in the 
 future God's living government. 
 
 The contents divide according to the chapters as follows : 
 a. The Appearance of the " northern " foe, ch. iv. : a. Descrip- 
 tion of this appearance, iv. 5-18; /3. Lyrical Outburst on 
 account of this fearful Calamity, iv. 19-31. 6. The Apostasy 
 and Euin of the Nation, which is itself to blame for the 
 Calamity, ch. v. : a. the Accusation, v. 1-9 ; /3. the Prophetic 
 
68 JEREMIAH IV. 5- VI. 30. 
 
 Judgment, v. 10-19; 7. New and Stronger Accusation, v. 
 20-31. c. Universality of the Judgment and Corruption, ch. 
 vi. : a. the Enemy before the Capital, vi. 1-8 ; /3. Greatness 
 and Depth of the Inner Evil, vi. 9-21; 7. Jerusalem's 
 Deadly Need, vi. 22-26; 8. Eesult of the Prophet's Work, 
 vi. 27-30. Thus the prophet's gaze falls alternately again 
 and again upon the terrible vision of judgment and the guilt 
 of his nation; one calls to the other; both appear to him 
 more and more dreadful and dismal, the peaceful assurances 
 of the false prophets more and more deceptive, his own warn- 
 ings more and more fruitless. 
 
 a. IV. 5-31. The connection with what precedes is pretty 
 close, since Jeremiah afterwards dictated the sections chs. i.-vi. 
 one after another. Even the division at iv. 5 cannot be 
 established with full certainty. The new feature is, that the 
 enemy coming from the north, who is only pointed at in 
 symbol in i. 13, here suddenly emerges before the prophet in 
 the most vivid way as a conqueror — a genuine example of 
 actual prophetic vision. It is not mere poetry when he calls 
 into the fenced cities the people still dwelling securely in the 
 country, — he actually sees in spirit the approach of the 
 nation-destroying lion, who, traversing the whole land in a 
 few leaps, destroys every strong place, makes the open country 
 like a desert, and finally encamps round Jerusalem, which 
 will certainly become his prey. The prophet perceives that 
 this time it is not a salutary visitation that is coming, merely 
 to cleanse and purify, like a gentle wind that sifts the chaff 
 from the corn, but a tempest sweeping away and destroying 
 everything (iv. 11). This, indeed, is not an immutable 
 decree ; Jerusalem might yet anticipate destruction by repent- 
 ance (iv. 14). But since the people are impenitent, the 
 prophet sees these things already immediately near. The 
 impression he receives of this is so overwhelming that he 
 needs time to collect himself, and give expression to his 
 profound feeling of pain (iv. 19-31). In iv. 19-21 he 
 
JEREMIAH IV. 5-VI. 30. 69 
 
 expresses his own personal feelings, and also the sorrow of 
 the whole land ; but, finding it hard to accept God's hard 
 decree, he receives in answer (iv. 22) a divine declaration, 
 which forms the theme of ch. v. In iv. 23-26, in brief 
 strokes, but with terrible gravity, he depicts the cheerless, 
 gloomy outlook, on which only a rare yet significant ray of 
 hope falls (iv. 27), since such judgment on His land and 
 people cannot be the end of God's ways. The close of the 
 chapter gives a striking picture of Zion in the agonies of 
 siege. 
 
 &. V. 1-31. Was the judgment announced in the former 
 chapter unjust and unmerited ? By no means, is the answer 
 of the accusing section, v. 1-9. Only observe how universal 
 the moral corruption in Jerusalem. There is no man there 
 whose fidelity might move the Lord to forgive the city (cf. 
 Gen. xviii. 23 ff.; Ezek. xiv. 14, 18, 20). Ch. v. 1 is 
 commonly described as rhetorical hyperbole, appeal being 
 wrongly made to Jeremiah himself as a praiseworthy exception. 
 Besides the fact that he was not a Jerusalemite, he here 
 stands in contrast with the city, and even describes his 
 experiences (v. 4 f.) as a representative of God's cause. He 
 describes not merely his personal impressions, but, above all, 
 the view of God, who sees into the heart. According to that 
 view, sin had so become the universally ruling power in 
 Jerusalem, that no one in God's sight is free from its stain, or 
 could intercede for the city. The corruption embraces all 
 classes of the population, not merely the common, untrained 
 people, not regularly taught God's " way," and the mode in 
 which to fear and serve Him, but even the well-to-do and 
 educated, in whom apostasy has no palliation, but springs 
 from wilful rebellion (v. 4 f.). Thus moral and religious evil 
 are twined inextricably together ; one grows out of the other. 
 Dishonesty and treachery of every kind (v. 1) flourish, because 
 reverence for the Most High and Most Holy has vanished 
 (v. 2). Keeping no faith with the Lord God despite all 
 
70 JEREMIAH IV. 5-VI. 30. 
 
 their vows of homage, they even attack the holy marriage- 
 covenant, surrendering themselves without shame to reckless 
 lust, to which they are especially instigated in their heathen 
 sacred feasts (v. 7 f.). Therefore nothing can await them 
 but merciless judgment. To their security, yea, their bold 
 mockery of the threats of the genuine prophets (v. 12 f.), the 
 Lord opposes the deep gravity of the judgment threatened 
 (v. 10-19). It is carried into terrible effect by the nation 
 from the north mysteriously announced in iv. 7, and now 
 more minutely described v. 15 ff. If several features fit the 
 Scythians very closely, such as greediness or love of plunder, 
 those hordes being, in fact, more influenced by this than by 
 political motives, ch. v. 19 (cf. vi. 11 f.) decides to the 
 contrary. The prophet can on no account have had in view 
 merely an invasion of such robbers, for he could not dream of 
 an exile being inflicted by them. Bather in iii. 18 already 
 the Judseans were threatened with an exile into the north 
 country, analogous to the Assyrian one, but not to the same 
 place. In this exile, awaiting Judah and Jerusalem, Jeremiah 
 can only be thinking of Babylon after Isa. xxxix. 6 ff., Micah 
 iv. 10. If, then, the Scythians come on the scene, it is still 
 only in connection with the Babylonian power, and as a tribe 
 in the service of that empire. Moreover, the Babylonians 
 had many similar auxiliary nations. That it was a divine 
 Nemesis which befell Judah is briefly put in a sort of Mashal 
 (v. 19), such as Jeremiah is fond of, cf. ii. 13, v. 30 f. 
 Then the ingratitude to God, and the disobedience of which 
 the nation is guilty, are further set forth, v. 20 ff. The 
 wondrous order and control of nature might teach it, that it 
 should fear Him, the Creator, as a God able with strong hand 
 to sustain His government (v. 22), and by this very govern- 
 ment richly bless His people (v. 24). But His people have 
 rebelled against that power, and lost that blessing. There 
 are many among them who simply use the sacred life of their 
 fellow-men to satisfy their cruel lust and greed (v. 26 f.)„ or 
 
JEREMIAH IV. 5-VI. 30. Vl 
 
 even trample on the rights of the poor and wretched, widows 
 and orphans, which God has declared inviolable, or let them 
 be trampled on. What other end could such a state have than 
 sudden judgment? The last saying (v. 30) sums up thus: 
 Events exciting horror and trembling will certainly happen in 
 the land. Ver. 31 indicates not so much the contents as the 
 main reason of this state. It arises from this, that a lying spirit 
 speaks in the prophets, who ought to awaken and alarm the 
 conscience ; while the priests, forgetful of their sacred office as 
 guardians of the law, willingly assist the false prophets who 
 encourage to resistance against God ; and finally, the people, 
 instead of lamenting such perverseness, take pleasure therein, 
 because under such guides they are free from the strict rule 
 of the holy God, and can give free scope to their impure 
 passions. 
 
 c. Ch. vi. 1-30. The alarm becomes still more intense. 
 Even Jerusalem cannot be retained. Hence (differently in 
 iv. 6) they are to flee from this city also towards the south, the 
 enemy coming from the north. Thither the crowds of fugitives 
 are to be directed by signals of smoke and fire. Already the 
 hostile hosts press forward with unwearied speed, and carry 
 on the work of investment with alarming energy in order to 
 destroy guilty Jerusalem, which the prophet with a last 
 urgent entreaty exhorts to repentance, vi. 8. In vi. 9 ff. 
 follows the condemnation in the form of alternate addresses 
 of God and the prophet. The latter is called upon to com- 
 plete the judgment passed upon the vine Israel by a gleaning. 
 This gleaning must, of course, fall on the remnant of Judah, 
 which, however, does not exclude the promises, iv. 27, v. 18. 
 The prophet rightly understands this charge to mean, that he 
 is to punish Judah by a prophetic message of judgment 
 carrying in itself God's action, but complains (vi 10) that 
 his people has no ear for God's message, preaching is therefore 
 useless, and that he himself can no longer conceal such woes 
 in his bosom (ver. 1 la). The Lord, therefore, bids him pour 
 
72 JEREMIAH IV. 5-VI. 30. 
 
 out the whole matter of the judgment — exile, impoverish- 
 ment, privation, etc. — upon the multitude without distinction. 
 Since no one is terrified by the warning cry, or will withdraw 
 from fellowship with sinners, no one shall be excepted from 
 fellowship with judgment. From child to old man all fall a 
 prey to it, because all share in the guilt. Here also, vi. 1 3 
 (as in v. 27 f.), unbridled covetousnes3 is made especial 
 matter of complaint, and the accusation culminates as in 
 v. 31, being directed against the priests and prophets, who 
 also are given up to such base greed, and therefore preach 
 lucrative falsehood instead of truth and self-denial. Entangled 
 in such self-seeking, they dare not, of course, expose the evils 
 of the community entrusted to them, but are forced to white- 
 wash them and apply superficial remedies. They cry, Peace, 
 when there is no peace ! This Hebrew word shalom, of course, 
 is not quite equivalent to our word " peace ; " it is more 
 comprehensive, describing properly a state of undisturbed 
 prosperity, and including, therefore, comfort and competence 
 just as much as calm security. In prophetic language it 
 applies chiefly to unbroken harmony between God and man, 
 then to the effects of this harmonious relation : peace and 
 safety in outward life. The false prophets, in saying, Peace, 
 Peace, heal the deep breach, consisting in backsliding from 
 God, superficially ; they hush it up. They first of all deny 
 the actual severance between God and His people, the divine 
 wrath that is called forth by the people's enmity to God ; 
 and next, they consistently question the threatened ruin and 
 confirm the people in their security. In both respects they 
 are the antipodes of the prophet Jeremiah, whose mission it 
 is to proclaim the schism between God and the nation, and 
 the judgment coming on the nation in consequence. That 
 the nation does not discern its evil condition, is bad enough. 
 Neither by examples of blessing and judgment in the present 
 and past (vi. 16), nor by the trumpet-voices of the prophets 
 (vi. 17), could it be brought to discernment. It must there- 
 
JEREMIAH IV. 5-VI. 30. 73 
 
 fore reap the fruit of its frivolous spirit ; the Lord will make 
 it an example to the whole world, and will not he restrained 
 from this course hy hypocritical sacrifices. Cf. with vi. 20 
 the following discourse, vii. 21 ff. At the end the northern 
 conquerors appear once more, vi. 22 ff. ; cf. on v. 15 ff, and 
 Introd. p. 16. At the conclusion of this longer discourse or 
 group of discourses from Josiah's days the prophet is taught 
 in a figure the design and issue of his work, vi. 27-30. The 
 fire of his message would sift the hearers and separate a 
 penitent portion from the corrupt mass, if such an one existed. 
 But although he spared no effort, all his expenditure of 
 strength failed to discover such a hopeful remnant. Therefore 
 the divine sentence takes the form of universal rejection. 
 
SECTION V. 
 
 The Temple Discourse, Chs. vn.-ix. 
 
 VII. 1. The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahveh, 
 saying : 2. Take thy stand in the gate of Yahveh's house and 
 proclaim there this word, and say: Hear ye the word of 
 Yahveh, all Judah, who enter at these gates to fall down 
 before Yahveh. 3. Thus says Yahveh of hosts, the God of 
 Israel : Amend your ways and your works, then will I cause 
 you to dwell in this place. 4. Trust not in deceitful words, 
 when it is said: "The temple of Yahveh, the temple of 
 Yahveh, the temple of Yahveh is this ! " 5. On the contrary, 
 if you are diligent in good ways and works, if you really do 
 right between every one and his neighbour ; 6. and oppress 
 not the stranger, the orphan and the widow, and shed not 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 Ver. 2. The prophet is to take his stand in the gate of the 
 temple, i.e. of the temple forecourt. According to xxxvi. 10 
 (cf. xxvi. 10), one thinks of the " new " gate leading into the 
 inner or upper forecourt. But the words "they who enter by 
 this gate " do not fit this view, for the people could not enter 
 that forecourt. It is better, therefore, to suppose that the pro- 
 phet was to address the crowds on their entrance into the outer 
 court. He did so on the Sabbath, or, still more probably, on a 
 feast, when "the whole of Judah" streamed together there. 
 Ver. 3. Ways and works combined, as in ver. 5, xviii. 11, xxvi. 
 13, xxxiL 19. This place, where they dwell, is Jerusalem- 
 Judah, of course with the temple for a centre. Cf. ver. 7, xiv. 
 13 (15), xxiv. 5 (6), xxxiii. 10. Ver. 4. "The temple of 
 Yahveh," those treacherous voices constantly cry, in order to 
 quiet all inner doubts. TV£>\}, these spaces, 2 Chron. viii. 11. 
 Therefore no evil can befall the place, must be supplied. Ver. 
 5. Cf. v. 28. Ver. 6. The stranger, widow and orphan, are 
 specially protected by the law and recommended to kindly 
 treatment, Ex. xxii. 20 ff., Deut. x. 18 f., xxvii. 19, which 
 
 71 
 
JEREMIAH VII. 7-12. 75 
 
 innocent blood in this place, and walk after no other gods to 
 your hurt ; 7. then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in 
 the land which I gave your fathers, from of old and for ever. 
 8. Behold, you trust in deceitful words which shall not 
 profit. 9. What 1 Do you steal, murder, and commit adultery, 
 and swear falsely, and offer incense to Baal, and walk after 
 foreign gods, whom ye know not — 10, and then come and 
 appear before me in this house, over which my name has 
 been proclaimed, and say : " We are delivered " — that you 
 may commit all those abominations? 11. Has then this 
 house, over which my name was proclaimed, become a robbers' 
 den in your eyes 1 I also, behold I have looked into this, 
 is Yahveh's oracle. 12. For go now to my place, which is at 
 Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell formerly, and see 
 what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people 
 
 commands were often enjoined by the prophets, e.g. Isa. i. 17, 
 23, x. 2 ; Ezek. xxii. 7. On the shedding of innocent blood, 
 cf. Deut. xxvii. 25 and Jer. ii. 34. bit, perhaps in place in the 
 similar passage xxii. 3, seems strange here instead of K?, but is 
 to be explained by the vivacity with which a speaker can 
 interrupt his long sentences. Ver. 9. The infin. absolutes 
 describe with indignation the evil practices which visiting the 
 temple is meant to atone for, ver. 10. The enumeration recalls 
 the Decalogue, although varying with a prophet's freedom from 
 the order there (see Dillmann, Exod. p. 206). In the same 
 way the violations of the first table are put afterwards. On ">Dp, 
 see on i. 16. Ver. 10. by OV SOP, originally not merely " to 
 name after some one," but to proclaim a name over something 
 — a formal proclaiming of the owner, 2 Sam. xii. 28. ubw, we 
 are plucked away, namely, from well-merited judgment, are 
 hidden. Ver. 11&. Thus have I also — behold, I have seen into, 
 namely, into the base abuse with which you have treated my 
 house. God's insight prepares the way for His action, Ex. 
 iii. 7. Ver. 12 is a weighty testimony to the fact, that accord- 
 ing even to the prophet's view the sanctuary at Shiloh was the 
 equal and forerunner of the temple of Jerusalem. The name 
 of the Lord dwells ever but at one place in Israel ; but this 
 place may vary. Deuteronomic regulations like xii. 11, xiv. 
 23, therefore, do not apply exclusively to Jerusalem. There 
 was a central sanctuary previously at Shiloh, where the Mosaic 
 tabernacle was set up, which as matter of course was changed 
 
76 JEREMIAH VII. 13-19. 
 
 Israel. 13. And now because you committed all those works, 
 is Yahveh's oracle, and, although I spoke early and diligently 
 to you, you did not hear, and, although I called to you, you 
 did not answer, — 14. I do to the house, over which my name 
 was proclaimed, in which you put your trust, and to the place 
 which I gave to your fathers, like as I did to Shiloh, 15. and 
 I cast you away from my sight, like as I cast away all your 
 brethren, the whole seed of Ephraim. 
 
 16. But thou, pray not for this people, and lift not up for 
 them supplication and intercession, and urge me not ; for I 
 will not hear thee. 17. Seest thou not what they do in 
 the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem ? 18. The 
 children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the 
 women knead dough to prepare cakes for the queen of heaven, 
 and they pour out libations to foreign gods to provoke me. 
 19. Do they then provoke me, is Yahveh's oracle, not rather 
 
 as time went on into a permanent building. The theocratic 
 centre remained in Shiloh from the days of Joshua to the 
 death of Eli, Josh, xviii. 1, 1 Sam. iv. 3, thus during the whole 
 period of the Judges. After the removal of the ark (1 Sam. iv.) 
 the sanctuary fell into decay, so that it nowhere figures as a 
 rival of the one at Jerusalem, like Bethel and Dan. A literal 
 destruction may have taken place in Samuel's days ; it cannot 
 be proved from Judg. xviii. 30 f. But the obvious proof in the 
 prophet's view of the rejection of Shiloh, which the Lord once 
 acknowledged, is the carrying away of " Israel," whose sacred 
 centre it was, by the Assyrians. Then Shiloh may have been 
 laid waste, so that now it presented a desolate look, although, 
 according to Jer. xli. 5, it still had inhabitants. Ver. 13. God's 
 having spoken unceasingly to Judah increases responsibility, 
 nail D3E>n, as in ver. 25, xxv. 4, xxvi. 5, xxix. 19. Cf. Gesen. 
 § 131. 36 ; Eng. § 128. Ver. 15. Ephraim, name of the northern 
 nation = Israel, ver. 12, as in Hos. iv. 17, Isa. vii. 2, and often. 
 Ver. 18. The queen of heaven (cf. xliv. 17, 19, 25) is probably 
 Atar-Astarte, who is repeatedly mentioned in the inscriptions 
 of Assurbanipal as Atar Samain=Atar of heaven, and indeed 
 as the goddess of a north-Arabian tribe of the Kedarenes 
 (Schrader, ii. 107). The epithet " of heaven " alludes to her 
 astral character. As Baal stood in relation to the sun, Astarte, 
 widely known in Asia, stood in relation to the moon. Special 
 cakes were baked for this goddess (cf. the grape-cakes, Hos. 
 iii. 1, with which there may be some connection), which are 
 
JEREMIAH VII. 20-23. 77 
 
 themselves to the shaming of their countenance? — 20. There- 
 fore thus says the Lord Yahveh: Behold, my anger and my 
 fury shall be poured out against this place, upon the men, and 
 upon the cattle, and upon the trees of the field, and upon 
 the fruits of the ground, and shall bum, and shall not be 
 quenched. 
 
 21. Thus says Yahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: Add 
 your burnt-offerings to the sacrifices and eat up the flesh ! 
 22. For I spake not with your fathers, nor commanded them 
 on the day when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, in 
 relation to burnt-offering and sacrifice. 23. On the contrary, 
 I commanded them this word, saying : Hearken to my voice, 
 
 called D^ia, it is conjectured a foreign word ; cf. Greek, yauuvis, 
 Xufiuvig. According to xliv. 19 (see there), these cakes were 
 symbolic representations of the moon, and so moon-shaped. 
 Her worship belonged chiefly to the women (xliv. 17), this 
 goddess representing the female principle of fertility. Ver. 20. 
 iro, cf. Nah. i. 6. tttpon, see on ver. 3. Ver. 21. 12D, imper. 
 of nSD, or better, f)D* : add your burnt-offerings (which were to 
 be wholly burnt to the Lord) to your sacrifices (most of which 
 was consumed by the offerers) and eat (everything together as) 
 flesh (a depreciatory word, suggesting the profane character of 
 the act). Vv. 22, 23. This passage forms a main argument 
 against the pre- exilian origin of the detailed Pentateuchal law 
 of sacrifice, the so-called Priest-Codex, since Jeremiah knows 
 no Mosaic sacrificial laws (Hitzig, Graf, Kuenen, Wellhausen 
 et al.). But so understood, this sayiDg would seem very strange, 
 even apart from that codex. Jeremiah would also have no 
 knowledge of the " book of the covenant " with its sacrificial 
 precepts (Ex. xx. 24, xxiii. 18, cf. xxxiv. 25), and just as little 
 of the Jehovistic narrative, according to which the Lord 
 summoned His people to a sacrificial feast in the wilderness 
 (Ex. v. 1, 3, 8). Even Deuteronomy, whose Mosaic character 
 he plainly defends, contains regulations in regard to sacrifice, 
 xii. 6, 11, 13, 14, 27. Nay, Jeremiah would contradict him- 
 self; for according to xvii. 26, xxxi. 14, xxxiii. 11, the offering 
 of sacrifice is part of the Church's normal state, and therefore 
 pleasing to God ; and xxxiii. 17-24 (assuming the passage to 
 be genuine) speaks explicitly of an eternal divine covenant 
 with the sacrificial priests, which must reach back to the days 
 of Moses. One might therefore be tempted with the Eabbins 
 in this passage to understand " on the day when I brought 
 
78 
 
 JEEEMIAH VII. 23. 
 
 then will I be your God and you shall be my people ; and 
 you shall walk in all the way which I shall command you, 
 
 thee out of Egypt " specifically of the exodus, excluding the 
 Sinaitic legislation (cf. Ex. vi. 7, xv. 26) ; but this is precluded 
 by the use of this indication of time in Jer. xxxiv. 13 ff. The 
 key then is to be sought not in the indication of time, but in 
 the exact sense of the words. The antithesis in ver. 23 cannot 
 mean that " this word " is the only one that God uttered on 
 Sinai. It is rather a general maxim, expanded by further 
 commands which, according to Deut. v. 30, were given by 
 Moses. But this principle is also the chief condition laid down 
 by God in connection with His covenant with His people 
 (Ex. vi. 7, xv. 26 f., etc.). Thus His chief care was not for the 
 receiving of sacrifices, but for an obedient people. If, then, we 
 take '"iTi by simply as introducing the contents : in respect of, 
 in matters of, we have here the form, frequent in Semitic 
 languages, of the absolute for the relative antithesis. We 
 should say : I have not so much given you commands in 
 respect of sacrifice as rather enjoined you this. In Hos. vi. 6 
 the absolute and relative forms stand beside each other ; in the 
 great saying of the father of prophecy, 1 Sam. xv. 22, only 
 the relative is found. Even there rhetorical exaggeration is 
 not to be spoken of. The Lord denies with good reason 
 that He has commanded sacrifices in the sense which the 
 people thought, independently of deep, internal conditions. 
 The prophet, of course, discloses with solemn boldness (as 
 in ii. 2) God's true word, because His real will. But another 
 formal point gives help. ~m by or nn $>j> is not simply = 
 by, Lat. tie,. Prevailing usage assigns to it a causal sense : 
 Gen. xii. 17, xx. 11, 18, etc., also Jer. xiv. 1, " on occasion of 
 the drought." Also 2 Sam. xviii. 5 (the only passage in which 
 it could be reduced to an indication of contents) implies that 
 Absalom was not merely the object, but the cause of the royal 
 commands. The present passage, therefore, denies that sacrifice 
 was the motive or occasion, and so the substantive content of 
 God's legislation. Bather the message then ran : Hearken to 
 my voice, and walk in all the way that I shall command you. 
 Thus the stress is laid on obedience, and at the same time a 
 one-sided ritual and therefore perverted piety is avoided 
 (cf. Bredenkamp, Gesetz u. Proph. p. 105 ff. ; we do not, how- 
 ever, approve his change of the text). The mutual relation 
 between Yahveh and Israel is described in accordance with 
 Ex. vi. 7 (iv. 16); Lev. xxvi. 12; Deut. xxix. 12; just so 
 Jer. xi. 4, xxiv. 7, xxx. 22, xxxi. 1, 33, xxxii. 38, and often in 
 
JEREMIAH VII. 24-30. 79 
 
 that it may be well with you. 24. But they hearkened not 
 and inclined not their ear, and walked in that which they 
 devised in the obstinacy of their evil heart, and showed their 
 back and not their face. 25. From the day when your 
 fathers went out of the land of Egypt until this day I sent 
 to you all my servants, the prophets ; daily I sent them 
 early; 26. but they hearkened not to me and inclined not 
 their ear, but hardened their neck ; they did worse than their 
 fathers. 27. And though thou shalt say all these words to 
 them, they will not hear thee ; and though thou call to them, 
 they will give thee no answer. 2 8. Thus then say to them : 
 This is the nation that never hearkened to the voice of Yahveh 
 their God, and did not receive correction. Faithfulness is 
 vanished and perished out of their mouth. 
 
 29. Shave off thy head-ornament (0 daughter of Zion), 
 and cast it away, and strike up a lament ; for Yahveh has 
 rejected and driven away the generation of his displeasure. 
 30. For the sons of Judah have done evil in mine eyes, is 
 Yahveh's oracle ; they have set up their abomination in the 
 house, over which my name was proclaimed, to defile it ; 
 
 Ezekiel. Cf. also Deut. v. 30 with ver. 23. 30" \ynb is 
 peculiar to Deuteronomy and Jeremiah, Deut. v. 16, 26, vi. 18, 
 xii. 25, 28, xxii. 7 ; Jer. xlii. 6 ; cf. xxxviii. 20, xl. 9. Ver. 24. 
 niSj;D3, status absol. ; a prepositional qualification follows 
 instead of an adjective. Cf. iii. 17. Properly " they became 
 the back, not the front." Ver. 25a up to nrn might with LXX 
 be joined to the foregoing ; but the change of person is against 
 it. 1 after indication of time, as in viii. 1. DV as elsewhere 
 b!C Dip, day by day. Cf. B"«, man by man, every one. 
 03K>n, see on ver. 13. Ver. 28. Faithfulness, see on v. 1 f. 
 Ver. 29. The fern, form shows (x. 17, xxii. 20) that the virgin 
 of Zion is addressed : Shave off thy crown and cast it away. 
 The two figures (the chief hair, which is shaven off in sorrow, 
 and the crown which is thrown away) play into each other. 
 Cf. Micah i. 16. She is to mourn on the heights, because she- 
 has sinned there, as in iii. 21 ; perhaps even merely because 
 the mourning is heard farther there, cf. ix. 9. Generation of 
 His anger, cf. Isa. x. 6. Ver. 30. Their enormities, i.e. idols and 
 heathen symbols, they have brought even into the temple of 
 the Lord (cf. vii. 11). This was done under Manasseh, 
 
80 JEREMIAH VII. 31-VIII. 1. 
 
 31. and have built the high places of Tophet, that are in the 
 valley of Ben-Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters 
 in the fire, which I commanded them not, nor did it come 
 into my mind. 32. Therefore, behold, days are coming, is 
 Yahveh's oracle, that they shall no longer call it " Tophet " 
 and "Valley of Ben-Hinnom," but "Valley of Slaughter," 
 and they shall bury in Tophet for lack of room. 33. And 
 the corpses of this people shall be food for the birds of 
 heaven and the beasts of the earth, and none shall scare them 
 away. 34. And I banish from the cities of Judah and from 
 the cities of Jerusalem the sound of singing and the sound of 
 gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the 
 bride ; for the land shall become a desolation. VIII. 1. At 
 
 2 Kings xxi. 3-5, 7. Ver. 31. They set up the heights (high 
 sacrificing-places) of Tophet, lying in the vale of the son of 
 Hinnom. This valley, named already in Josh. xv. 8, xviii. 16, 
 after a man or family (2 Kings xxiii. 10, Kethib), not appella- 
 tively " valley of wailing," girdles the city on the south-west 
 and south ; of a charming character in itself, it became after- 
 wards an object of abhorrence through the shameful practices 
 carried on there, and gave its name to hell (yi'ina = Din <j). 
 More exactly, the place where these horrors took place is 
 called nan (from sprt, to spit out : loathing). See Isa. xxx. 33. 
 There the deity (according to xix. 5, Baal ; according to xxxii. 
 35, Moloch, who is a special form of that universal god) was 
 worshipped by sacrifices of children in heathen fashion. This 
 was done first by Ahaz, 2 Kings xvi. 3, then especially by 
 Manasseh, xxi. 6. Josiah, on the other hand, desecrated the 
 place, 2 Kings xxiii. 10, which was perhaps afterwards called 
 Tophet. Ver. 32. In that blood-stained place judgment will 
 come on the inhabitants of Jerusalem (see xix. 7), so that the 
 whole valley will be called Valley of Slaughter, and the dead 
 are buried in impure, hated Tophet, because there is no room 
 elsewhere for the crowd. Ver. 33. Climax : the corpses will 
 lie unburied, a prey to carrion-eaters, from which Orientals 
 shrink with special horror. Cf. Deut. xxviii. 26 ; Jer. viii. 2, 
 xvi. 4, xix. 7, xxxiv. 20. Ver. 34 like xxv. 10 f. 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 Ver. 1. lfcWi, the Vav before the jussive is not to be erased. 
 The motive of the conquerors in this dishonouring of the bones 
 
JEREMIAH VIII. 2-7. 81 
 
 that time, is Yahveh's oracle, they shall drag forth the bones 
 of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the 
 bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the 
 bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, from their graves, 
 2. and shall spread them before the sun and the moon and 
 the whole host of heaven, which they loved, and which they 
 worshipped, and after which they walked, and which they 
 sought, and before which they fell down. They shall not be 
 gathered nor buried ; they shall be for dung on the bare 
 ground. 3. And death shall be more desired than life by the 
 whole remnant, the survivors of this wicked race in all the 
 places (of the survivors), whither I have driven them away, 
 is the oracle of Yahveh of hosts. 
 
 4. And thou shalt say to them : Thus says Yahveh : Do 
 men then fall and not rise again ? Or does one turn away 
 and return not ? 5. Wherefore then is this people, Jeru- 
 salem, estranged with eternal estrangement ? They hold fast 
 to deceit, refuse to return. 6. I listened, then I heard : they 
 speak not that which is right ; there is none who repents of 
 his wickedness, saying : What have I done ? Every one 
 turns away in his pursuit, like a horse rushing into battle. 
 7. Even the stork in the heaven knows its seasons, and 
 turtle-dove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming, 
 
 is probably the love of booty, since they hope to find treasures 
 in the graves of the kings and the wealthy. Cf. also the 
 judgment on the dead, 2 Kings xxiii. 16. On the worship of 
 the stars practised in Jerusalem, cf. xix. 13. Ver. 3. The 
 second DnstMfi is a copyist's error, to be omitted with LXX. 
 Ver. 4. The word-play of the next verse turns on 31B*. He 
 that turns aside from the right direction soon turns back. 
 Ver. 5. They hold fast by deception, useless treachery, by which 
 they deceive not merely God but themselves, as reason ought 
 to teach them. Ver. 6. The listener is God Himself, as in 
 xxiii. 25. p~t6, crooked, insincere things, hiding the true 
 state of matters. J3, from pa, as in Num. xxvii. 7, xxxvi. 5, Isa. 
 xvi. 6, " to say the right." As the horse, when provoked to 
 battle (Job xxxix. 24 f.), rushes on without pause (e|t3B> refers 
 literally to a rushing stream), and refuses to be turned aside, 
 so they pursue their wrong course. Ver. 7. Among the 
 migratory birds to be seen in Palestine stands first the stork, 
 then the turtle-dove, whose return heralds the approach of 
 
82 JEREMIAH VIII. 8, 9. 
 
 but my people know not the ordinance of Yahveh. 8. How 
 can you say : " We are wise, and Yahveh' s law is with, us ? " 
 Verily, behold the lying pen of the scribes labours deceitfully. 
 9. The wise are dishonoured, they are confounded and caught ; 
 behold, they have rejected the word of Yahveh, and what sort 
 
 spring (Cant. ii. 12); also a species of wandering swallow 
 (probably the swift- or wall-swallow) is not wanting: DID 
 (Kethib) or D'D (Keri), Isa. xxxviii. 14 ; finally, TW, the crane, 
 Targ., Saadya, Syr. Ver. 8 turns to the wise pre-eminently in 
 Judah, who boast of possessing the Torah. The latter word 
 does not directly mean the book of the law, but (cf. ii. 8, xviii. 
 18, xxvi. 4 f., and on DK, xxiii. 28) the divine instruction which 
 the wise impart, of course founding on the written law (see on 
 ix. 12). The next sentence robs them of this basis of respect, 
 since they treacherously forged written laws and pretended 
 they were divine. They thus proved themselves mere scribes 
 (□nsD seems here depreciatory), not inspired sages, and not 
 even honest, but " the lying pen of the scribes laboured deceit- 
 fully," — they consciously falsified the doctrine of the law in 
 order to deceive the people. "What the spirit and substance of 
 these false Torahs were, we do not know. Isa. x. 1 would 
 suggest chiefly social regulations ; yet the prophet may also 
 have had rules of worship in view. The Torah is official 
 instruction (proceeding from priest or prophet), bearing on the 
 course of life in the theocracy as well in matters of law as of 
 worship. Cf. Hos. viii. 11 fl'., where Torahs referring to wor- 
 ship are presupposed, and Micah iii. 11, where judicial decisions 
 are in question. But when some writers recently (see even 
 Konig, Offenb. i. p. 164 f.) think they see in this " amalgam of 
 deceit" the ceremonial law, either the Pentateuchal or a 
 similar one, in which, of course, law and prophets would be as 
 glaringly opposed to each other as, according to Volkmar, Paul 
 and the Jewish-Christian apostles were, Eev. xiii., first of all, 
 there is no positive evidence for this view (for we cannot 
 acknowledge vii. 22 as such) ; and, secondly, it is not remem- 
 bered that our Pentateuchal ceremonial law (Priest-Codex) 
 condemns practices like that in vii. 9 ff., or immoral acts like 
 those scourged in vii. 30 f. quite as severely as Jeremiah. 
 Only by means of real falsifying of the letter could the laws 
 respecting sacrifices and first births be abused to condone such 
 conduct ; and this is just what Jeremiah reproaches the scribes 
 with. Ver. 9 speaks of the public unmasking of such forgers. 
 It is possible that the prophet sets before them the rejection of 
 God's word made known by Himself as a proof of their total 
 
JEREMIAH VIII. 10-15. 83 
 
 of wisdom can they have ? 10. Therefore will I give their 
 wives to others, their fields to the conquerors ; for from the 
 least to the greatest they are all thieves, from prophet to 
 priest they are all deceivers. 11. And they patch the rent 
 of the daughter of my people slightly with the words : Peace, 
 Peace! when there is no peace. 12. They are dishonoured, 
 because they committed abomination; nor are they even 
 ashamed, and they have not learnt to feel reproach. Therefore 
 they shall fall among them that fall ; at the time of their 
 visitation they shall stumble, says Yahveh. 
 
 13. I will remove and sweep them away, is Yahveh's 
 oracle, so that there shall be no grapes on the vine and no 
 figs on the fig-tree, and the leaf shall wither ; thus I send to 
 them those who come upon them. 14. "Wherefore do we 
 sit still ? Gather together and let us enter into the fenced 
 cities and perish there ; for Yahveh, our God, wills our 
 destruction ; he has given us poison-water to drink, because 
 we have sinned against Yahveh." 15. One waits for peace, 
 
 incapacity to judge of divine things ; but the reference may be 
 to the discovery of the genuine book of the law under Josiah, 
 by which the law-concocting of that set was dragged to light 
 and its contradiction to God's true word discovered. " Wisdom 
 of what "=what of substance and value could they have when 
 they despise God's word ? Of. ii. 8, " me they knew not." 
 Ver. 10«. Cf. vi. 12. Vv. 10&-12 like vi. 13-15. Ver. 12. IBTI, 
 as from nsi, Ges. § 75. 21c ; Eng. § 74. LXX wrongly omit 
 vv. 10&-12. Elsewhere also Jeremiah- does not avoid repeti- 
 tions. Ver. 13. To *]*Dn, from *po, to sweep away, the inf. abs. 
 of f)DK is added for emphasis. The following words are not, as 
 is usually done, to be interpreted of the sinful unfruitf ulness 
 of Israel, but, after Micah vii. 1, of the desolation which ensues 
 when God held a fruit-gathering in the garden, i.e. carried 
 away the inhabitants. " And I gave them those who come upon 
 them (hostilely)," leads on to what follows. Ver. 14. Why do 
 we still remain in the open country as if there were full 
 security ? We hear those suddenly attacked speaking (cf. iv. 5) : 
 Let us flee to the fenced cities ; not indeed to be safe there, but 
 to perish worthily. nDIJ and UDin, derived by Masoretes 
 from DOT, former Niph. for vmi, Ges. § 67 a. 11 ; Eng. § 66. 
 BW ip, poison-juice, according to Gesenius specifically poppy- 
 juice (so called from the heads), opium, then poison generally ; 
 cf. ix. 14, xxiii. 15, Ver. 15 describes the wretched state in 
 
84: JEREMIAH VIII. 16-22. 
 
 but no good comes ; for a time of improvement, and behold — 
 terror! 16. From Dan one hears the snorting of his steeds, 
 the whole land shakes with the sound of the neighing of his 
 horses, and they come and devour the land and that which 
 is therein, the city and them that dwell therein. 17. For 
 behold, I send among you basilisks, against which there is no 
 enchantment, and they shall bite you, is Yahveh's oracle. 
 
 18. what can comfort me for the sorrow ! My heart is 
 sick within me! 19. Behold, the shriek of the daughter of 
 my people sounds from the land afar off: "Is then Yahveh 
 no longer in Zion, or is not her king in her ? " Wherefore 
 have they angered me with their graven images, with foreign 
 vanities? 20. "The harvest is past, the fruit-gathering is 
 ended, and we are not set free." 21. For the breach of the 
 daughter of my people I am broken down, am sad, horror has 
 seized me. 22. Is there then no balm in Gilead, or is there 
 no physician there ? For wherefore does no healing of the 
 
 which those forsaken and persecuted of God find themselves. 
 nsiD, usually writing, see xiv. 19. Ver. 16. Of. iv. 15. 
 D^Tax, the strong ones; elsewhere poetical phrase for oxen, used 
 in Jeremiah of horses, xlvii. 3, 1. 11. Ver. 17. Irreconcilable 
 enemies (cf. iv. 30), compared to serpents that cannot be 
 charmed, 'oyav, according to Aquila and Vulg., basilisk 
 (=jas), small, span-long, extremely malignant serpent, especially 
 common in Africa. Cf. Eccles. x. 11. Ver. 18. Properly, " my 
 comforting for the sorrow," where could it be found ? Ver. 
 19. As in ver. 14 f. those attacked speak, here those banished 
 speak : Does then the Lord no longer reign on Zion, that we 
 are abandoned ? He is King according to Isa. xxxiii. 22 and 
 here. The divine voice replies: "Why have they provoked 
 me with heathen gods ? See on ii. 5. Ver. 20. The complaint 
 of the captives dwelling afar off continues ; from one month to 
 another they hoped in vain for deliverance. Ver. 21. "ub>, see 
 on iv. 6. Ver. 22. Proverbial saying. Is there then no 
 remedy for such hurts ? 'nx is not the balsam proper, but the 
 resin of the mastic-tree common in Gilead, a country rich in 
 plants and trees. It was a chief export of the country (Gen. 
 xxxvii. 25, xliii. 11 ; Ex. xxvii. 17), and was widely used 
 in healing wounds (xlvi. 11 ; Pliny, Hist. Nat. xxiv. 22). 
 DB> scarcely applies to Gilead, as if famous physicians were 
 found there, but proverbially to the place where the sick man 
 is ; here, the daughter of Zion. raiK is not the dressing, but 
 
JEREMIAH VIII. 23-IX. 5. 85 
 
 daughter of my people arise? 23. that my head were 
 waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears, then would I weep 
 day and night for the slain of my people ! 
 
 IX. 1. that I had a wayfarer's lodging in the wilderness, 
 then would I forsake my people and depart from them ! For 
 they are all adulterers, an assemblage of cheats. 2. And they 
 bend their tongue as their bow with deceit, and they use not 
 their power honourably in the land ; for they proceed from 
 misdeed to misdeed, and they know not me, is Yahveh's 
 oracle. 3. Take ye heed, every one of his neighbour, and 
 trust not in a brother ; for every brother is a thorough 
 supplanter (Jacob), and every friend goes about slandering. 
 4. And every one outwits his neighbour, and the truth they 
 speak not ; they have trained their tongue to utter falsehood, 
 wearied themselves in framing plots. 5. Thy dwelling-place 
 is in the midst of cunning ; through cunning they refuse to 
 
 the sound flesh growing when a wound heals (cf. Isa. lviii. 8, 
 and Delitzsch there). i"6j> denotes this growing up, just so 
 fr;jjn, xxx. 13, xlvi. 11. Ver. 23 concludes mournfully, whereas 
 ix. 1 opens a new line of thought. The Hebrew division of 
 the chapters is therefore correct. 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 Ver. 1. •Wi' 1 *0="£ fn" 1 T>, Ps. lv. 6.— pbo, night-lodging, khan, 
 giving the wanderer in uninhabited districts merely shelter for 
 the night and the barest necessaries for providing a meal. Ver. 
 2. "arm (shortened Hiphil, Ges. § 53. a. 4; Eng. § 52), to tread = 
 stretch their tongue as their bow. "ipE> also is accusative. A 
 second object is possible, since the treading includes also a 
 charging of the bow. rui»s6, according to the rule of justice 
 and faithfulness, see on v. 3, opposite to "ipt!\ "OJ, to become 
 or be powerful ; here the latter, as in xxiii. 10. Ver. 3. Every 
 brother is a true Jacob, properly sets right the heel ; where the 
 sound of the word necessarily recalls the patriarch, who acted 
 craftily to his brother, Gen. xxvii. 36. Cf. Jeremiah's own 
 experience, xii. 6. b'Oi, see on vi. 28. "frn\ poetical for r\T. 
 Ver. 4. bnn, Hiph. of bbn, uncontracted form for ikv. — mj?n, inf. 
 constr., Ges. § 75. a. 17; Eng. § 74.— nt6), here, not = to be 
 weary of a thing, but to weary oneself with it. They regularly 
 study the art of lying, requiring more labour than speaking the 
 truth. Ver. 5. Materially different, but not better, reading in 
 
86 JEREMIAH IX. 6-12. 
 
 know me, is Yahveh's oracle. 6. Therefore thus says Yahveh 
 of hosts : Behold, I will melt and test them ; for how should 
 I do (otherwise) in presence of the daughter of my people ? 
 7. Their tongue is a deadly arrow, they utter falsehood ; with 
 his mouth one speaks peacefully with his neighbour, but in 
 his heart he prepares his guile. 8. Should I not visit them 
 for such things, is Yahveh's oracle, or should not my soul 
 take revenge on a nation like this ? 
 
 9. Upon the mountains I will begin weeping and wailing, 
 and upon the meadows of the pasture a lamentation ; for they 
 are made desolate, so that none passes by, and one hears no 
 more the hum of the flock ; from the birds of the heaven to 
 the cattle they are (all) fled away, departed. 10. And I 
 make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling of jackals ; the cities of 
 Judah I turn into a desert, without inhabitant. 11. Who is 
 the wise man that he may understand this, and who is he to 
 whom Yahveh's mouth speaks that he may declare it : Where- 
 fore is the land utterly ruined, made desolate like the desert, 
 none passing by? 12. The Lord said: Because they have 
 forsaken my law which I set before their eyes, and hearkened 
 
 LXX. Instead of "imc, which is God's address to the prophet, 
 they read 7]h 3*Cf, joined the first saying to what precedes, and 
 took the second like Ps. x. 7. Ver. 6. The melting and testing 
 refers here (rather different in vi. 27) to the painful, purifying 
 judgment ; hence : how could I do (otherwise) in presence of 
 the daughter of my people ? Instead of the latter expressive 
 order, many prefer to insert Din after LXX, as in vii. 12. Ver. 
 7. nrw, slaying, not with Keri to be changed into passive, 
 since the meaning " sharpened '' (Targ.) is unconfirmed. D , E>' 1 , 
 in the dark recess of his heart he lays up his scheme like a 
 trap. Ver. 8 like v. 9, 29. Ver. 9. bv not to be limited to the 
 object of mourning, but primarily local. — 1DV3, the meaning " to 
 be burnt " (from W) is here unsuitable, see on ii. 15. ^3D, see 
 there. Ver. 11 after Hos. xiv. 10. nw applies to what follows. 
 Where there is a wise man, he sees through the following 
 enigma ; where there is a prophet, he gives an answer to the 
 following question. Ver. 12 follows up the question. Then 
 answered Yahveh, giving the authentic explanation of the 
 events. The Torah, which God set before their eyes, and which 
 they forsook, is not a mere oral revelation, but something abid- 
 ing, fixed in writing, although constantly made known to them 
 
JEREMIAH IX. 13-20. 8,7 
 
 not to my voice, and walked not therein, 13. but walked after 
 the obstinacy of their heart, and the Baals which their fathers 
 loved: 14. Therefore thus spake Yahveh of hosts, the God of 
 Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with wormwood and 
 give them poison- water to drink, 15. and scatter them among 
 the heathen nations, whom they and their fathers knew not, 
 and send after them the sword, until I have consumed them. 
 1 6. Thus says Yahveh of hosts : Look around and call the 
 mourning women that they may come, and send for the expert 
 women that they may come ; 1 7. and let them make haste and 
 strike up a wail over us, that our eyes may run down with tears 
 and our eyelashes may trickle with water. 18. For a sound 
 of wailing is heard from Zion : " How are we spoiled, we are 
 cruelly put to shame ; for we were forced to leave the land, 
 for they overthrew our dwellings ! " 19. For hear, ye women, 
 Yahveh's word, and let your ear take in the word of his 
 mouth ; and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her 
 companion a lamentation. 20. For death climbs in at our 
 windows, pushes into our strongholds, to destroy the child 
 
 by oral preaching, like the " gospel " in Christian phraseology. 
 Cf. on viii. 8. Yer. 14. Wormwood, symbolical designation of 
 bitter grief, as in Lam. iii. 15, along with stupefying poison (see 
 on viii. 14), as in Deut. xxix. 17. Yer. 15. The avenging sword 
 pursues the scattered ones into foreign lands (xliv. 27), which 
 does not imply that no remnant remains anywhere. Ver. 16. 
 punn to follow 1K"ip: Look around (cf. ii. 10), where you can find 
 mourning-women, and call them, and send to the skilful (skilful 
 in mourning), that they may come. Alongside the form nVNian, 
 the more common one ruNian is here found. Ver. 17. n^KTi 
 without N,as in Euth i. 14; Ges. § 74. a. 4; Eng. § 73.— TV with 
 accus., Ges. § 138, a. 2; Eng. § 135. Ver. 18. Since, according 
 to the prophet's poetical conception, they are to hear their own 
 funeral-song during life (ver. 17), the standpoint may change, 
 ver. 18: from Zion sounds mourning — we forsook the land. 
 They hear, how after their departure the mourning-women will 
 sing. Ver. 19. Climax: the regular mourning - women not 
 sufficing, all the women of the land are to fit themselves for 
 the task. The suff. masc. D33TX shows the freedom of the 
 language. Ver. 20. The death, which climbs through the 
 windows and penetrates into the highest buildings, suggests the 
 pestilence, the most terrible foe of the besieged (Cheyne), xv. 2, 
 
88 JEREMIAH IX. 21-25. 
 
 from the street, the youths from the highways. 21. [Say: 
 Thus is Yahveh's oracle :] And the corpses of men shall fall 
 as dung on the open field and as sheaves after the reaper, and 
 no gatherer comes. 
 
 22. Thus says Yahveh : Let not the wise man glory in his 
 wisdom, nor the hero glory in his heroism ; let not the rich 
 man glory in his riches! 23. But he that glories, let him 
 glory in this — in wisely knowing me, that I am Yahveh, who 
 exercise love, justice, and righteousness upon earth; for I 
 have pleasure in such things, is Yahveh's oracle. 
 
 24. Behold, days come, is Yahveh's oracle, that I visit all 
 circumcision in uncircumcision : 25. Egypt and Judah, and 
 Edom and the sons of Ammon and Moab, and all with clipped 
 
 which spares not even the children; cf. vi. 11. Ver. 21. "\21 
 'n DKJ m, to be erased, with LXX, since the words, in them- 
 selves unusual, interrupt the connection ; cf. viii. 2. Ver. 22 f. 
 Cf. xvii. 5, 7, and 1 Cor. i. 31 ; 2 Cor. x. 17. Ver. 23. 1DH ncj/, 
 etc., one might be tempted to apply to men : whoever exercises, 
 etc.; but, following Din', it is better applied to the Lord. 
 Whoever has known Him acting in this way will as matter of 
 course act in like manner. Ver. 24 f. The phrase, obscure at 
 first, " all circumcised in foreskin," is explained by the following 
 enumeration, where the prophet plainly adduces circumcised 
 heathen nations, and first the Egyptians, among whom this 
 custom was generally and strictly observed in more ancient 
 times (Ebers, JEgypten u. d. Bb. Mose, p. 278 ff., and Herzog, 
 ii. 344) ; then Judah itself ; next the kindred people of Edom, 
 springing from Abraham and Isaac; therefore originally and 
 certainly circumcised still in Jeremiah's days, whereas in the 
 later post-exilian period circumcision had to be again forced on 
 them by John Hyrcanus (129 B.C.), Joseph. Ant. ix. 1 ; further, 
 the posterity of Lot, Ammon, and Moab, of whom the present 
 passage alone makes mention on this point; finally, many 
 Arabian desert-tribes, descendants of Ishmael, who had the 
 custom in all ages. The latter are called " clipped of the edge," 
 as in xxv. 23, xlix. 32 (cf. 28). The meaning is, that they 
 shaved the chief hair all round, leaving only a tuft in the 
 middle (and similarly the beard). Cf. Herodotus, iii. 8, of the 
 Kedarenes : iTipirpCyaXa xu'povrai wipi^upivvrig rout; xpordpovg. This 
 shaving as a mutilation which seems to have been joined among 
 the Arabs with heathen offerings of hair, was forbidden by law 
 to the Israelites, Lev. xix. 27, xxi. 5. The final sentence runs : 
 
JEREMIAH VII. -IX. 89 
 
 temple, -who dwell in the wilderness. For all the heathen are 
 uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised 
 in heart. 
 
 For all the heathen as such are uncircumcised, impure despite 
 their occasional use of circumcision, and the whole house of 
 Israel is uncircumcised in heart or mind. Hence it has no 
 privilege above them, and the other circumcised nations are 
 not helped by their circumcision. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Chs. vii.-ix. form a larger discourse distinguished for this, 
 that it has the temple not merely for its scene but also for 
 its subject, at least in the first part. Since in xxvi. 4 ff., 9, 
 its chief contents are described as occasioning a judicial pro- 
 secution of the prophet, it seems probable that the present is 
 the same discourse given here at greater length. In this 
 case it was delivered under Jehoiakim (xxvi. 1), at the 
 beginning of his reign. 
 
 Contents, a. God's Displeasure at Jerusalem and His 
 Temple, vii. 3-viii. 3 : a. Unless you amend, this house of 
 God will fare like that at Shiloh (vii. 3-15) ; /3. the Prophet's 
 Intercession avails no farther (vii. 16-20) ; y. considering 
 their open Disobedience, Sacrifice is useless (vii. 21-28); 
 S. their Heathen Abominations demand terrible expiation 
 (vii. 29-viii. 3). b. The Eetribution, viii. 4-23 : a. Only in 
 Apostasy are they constant (viii. 4-6) ; y3. their Wisdom is 
 deceitful (viii. 7-12); 7. the Avenger is near (viii. 13-17); 
 S. the Prophet's Grief (viii. 18-23). c. The Accusation, ch. 
 ix. : a. Accusation of the Nation (ix. 1-8) ; /3. the Prophet's 
 Lament (ix. 9-15); 7. General Lament for the Dead (ix. 
 16-21); Supplement: 8. True and Palse Glory (ix. 22 f.); 
 e. Spurious Circumcision (ix. 24 f.). 
 
 a. VII. 3-VIII. 3. The first part of the discourse delivered 
 at a gate of the temple-court, in the ears of the people crowd- 
 ing there, is a strong protest against overvaluing divine 
 
90 
 
 JEREMIAH VII.-IX. 
 
 worship, like the protest made by Isaiah (i. 10 ff.), but 
 different from Isaiah's discourses, inasmuch as the destruction 
 of God's house, on which superficial minds, encouraged by 
 false prophets, set their trust, is announced as impending. 
 Since the time that Jerusalem had experienced a miraculous 
 deliverance in accordance with Isaiah's words, the notion that 
 God's city was indestructible had become a fixed idea, which 
 Micah indeed combated (iii. 11), but which held its ground 
 despite all warnings, and in Jeremiah's days had become full 
 of peril (just as in the last days of the temple, Joseph. Bell. 
 Jud. vi. 2. 1). Prom the very first Jeremiah lays before the 
 people (vii. 3) the positive condition of tranquil, prosperous 
 dwelling in the land ; it is an ethical condition : a good, God- 
 pleasing walk, which is more precisely defined in ver. 5 f. : 
 impartial dispensing of justice, gentle, loving treatment of the 
 helpless, strangers, orphans, and widows, holding human life 
 sacred, avoiding idolatry. Instead of this they grossly trans- 
 gress God's chief commands, and think to find in the temple 
 indulgence for their sins (ver. 9 f). This is to make God's 
 holy house a den of robbers (cf. Matt. xxi. 13), i.e. an asylum 
 of common criminals, where they can find shelter and 
 encouragement for their ill deeds. But they cannot thus 
 cheat the Lord. He sees through their conduct, and will 
 avenge it by abandoning His house at Jerusalem, as He 
 abandoned the ancient Shiloh, the former scene of His revela- 
 tion, for the sin of the Israelites dwelling and worshipping 
 there. 
 
 So reprobate is the nation that the Lord even forbids the 
 intercession which the prophet, with his priestly heart, felt 
 himself constrained to offer, and often actually offered (xviii. 
 20, xiv. 19-22). Besides, the power of intercession has its 
 limits even in the New Testament Church for the sinner him- 
 self, when that sinner consciously and permanently surrenders 
 himself to sin. The abomination moving the Lord to this 
 severe judgment is idolatry, which is now again showin CT 
 
JEKEMIAII VII.-IX. 91 
 
 itself in Jerusalem after all Josiah's efforts, — a species of 
 popular Astarte- worship, ver. 17 f. 
 
 Again, their sacrificial service, with its many ceremonies, 
 by which they hoped to pacify Yahveh, can as little help 
 them as the holy place, ver. 2 1 ff. Better omit their sacrifices 
 altogether. The question of sacrifice was not before the Lord 
 when He made His covenant with Israel under Moses. He 
 sought an obedient people, keeping His holy will. Cf. Micah 
 vi. 6-8. But whenever He made known His will to them, 
 they did not regard Him, as now also they did not receive the 
 prophet's testimony. 
 
 Accusation and threatening culminate in vii. 29— viii. 3, 
 where the discourse touches on the darkest point in the 
 history of religion at Jerusalem, the fearful crime of children- 
 burning in the valley of Hinnom. It is not said that this 
 horrible heathen spectacle was renewed after Josiah's refor- 
 mation ; and although it is not inconceivable, according to 
 the present passage, that such things again occurred under 
 Jehoiakim, still the place Tophet seems, according to this 
 passage and xix. 12, to have been shunned with horror. In 
 any case, however, the prophet regards that abomination as 
 still unexpiated, and the living generation as sharing its guilt, 
 because it has not really severed itself from the heathenism, 
 which bore fruits in flagrant contradiction to the worship 
 of Yahveh. Eetribution will not fail. As they had slain 
 children there, they will be slain there. Even those already 
 dead will not escape the doom (viii. 1). As they have 
 indulged in idolatrous dalliance with the stars of heaven, 
 their bones will moulder under the open heaven. And the 
 survivors will be so unutterably miserable (viii. 3), that they 
 will envy the dead their fate. 
 
 b. VIII. 4-23. With a new turn of the discourse, the 
 prophet recalls the nation's ruinous perseverance in apostasy 
 from its God. Just as it is unnatural for one who has fallen 
 to the ground not to attempt to rise again, so it is irrational 
 
9'2 JEREMIAH VII. -IX. 
 
 for them to refuse to abandon the deception with which they 
 deceive, not merely God, but also at last themselves (ver. 5). 
 But the knowledge that repentance, fierdvoia, is necessary, is 
 entirely wanting to them • with wild lust they continue their 
 wandering course without break (ver. 6). More irrational than 
 the birds of heaven, which know well God's ordinances 
 (ver. 7), they seem to themselves to be wise and brag of 
 the possession of divine revelation. But God's holy law, 
 from which they ostensibly draw their wisdom, they delibe- 
 rately falsified, rejecting His word, which is the source and 
 fulness of all true wisdom (ver. 8). Thus even the possession 
 of a divine Scripture does not secure against the grossest 
 errors when its expounders and preachers are ruled by thirst 
 for glory and gain instead of by God's Spirit. Thus divine 
 revelation is falsified in the hands of those who boast of 
 knowing it. Instead of being a two-edged sword (Heb. iv. 12), 
 inexorably exposing injuries, God's word then becomes a 
 salve covering up the wound superficially (ver. 11). Then 
 no refutation, no putting to shame by word and deed, any 
 longer avails (ver. 12) — a distinguishing feature of such 
 national leaders. The end can only be the sudden downfall 
 of the nation and its guides. 
 
 Into these messages of peace the voice of the Lord, reaping 
 the harvest of judgment, strikes in with appalling effect 
 (cf. Joel iii. 13). The northern foe, described more at large 
 in the discourses of Josiah's days, again appears as avenger 
 (ver. 14 ff.). When he comes, the inhabitants of the land 
 will feel that God Himself has given them a bitter, deadly 
 drink, and they will despair. The prophet keenly feels the 
 misery of his people beforehand, and gives vent to his sorrow 
 in a sigh, ver. 8, and a wail, vv. 21-23. Meanwhile he lets us 
 hear the bitter undeceiving and deep despondency of the people 
 in banishment, vv. 19, 20, as well as the voice of the Lord, 
 who reminds them that they have forsaken Him, not He them. 
 
 c. Ch. ix. The prophet himself is so disheartened in bis 
 
JEREMIAH VII.-IX. 93 
 
 work, that he would fain, like Elijah, flee to the wilderness 
 and live there in extreme privation rather than among his 
 own people. This wish (ver. la) shows how little he expects 
 personal gain or follows his own inclination, notwithstanding 
 his patience. If he had his own desire, he would be far away ; 
 cf. Ezek. ii. 6. And it is not merely the ruin threatening his 
 people that would drive him away, but the intolerable wicked- 
 ness and untruthfulness of the people among whom he dwells. 
 As to the universality of this reproach, see after v. 1 ff. 
 They are all adulterers in the literal and wider sense (see on 
 v. 7 f.), a company of deceivers, versed only in lying, strong 
 and powerful only in dishonesty (ver. 2). Since they no 
 longer know God (ver. 2), and do not sincerely wish to know 
 Him (ver. 5), their fidelity to men also has ceased ; the 
 tenderest ties of nature do not restrain them from treacherous 
 cruelty (ver. 3). It is a war of all against all, a secret 
 hostility of neighbour to neighbour, such as the prophet 
 experienced in his own family, xii. 6 ; the better words they 
 use to one another, the worse their disposition, cf. ver. 7. 
 The whole picture is a companion-piece to Micah vii. 5 f. 
 
 Since such a state of things calls for judgment, the prophet's 
 language passes from accusing to mourning, ver. 9 ff. He 
 sorrows for the land, which in spirit he sees already desolate, 
 yet not without again giving every one, who cares to understand, 
 a key to so sad a fate : such misfortune is the penalty for 
 their apostasy and obduracy; cf. i. 16. That the land may 
 at once prepare for a mourning, which will come so certainly 
 and quickly, he calls upon it to summon mourning-women on 
 every side to lament the fate of the destroyed city and 
 vanished nation, ver. 16 ff. But he is not content with this, 
 ver. 19 ff. The whole nation is to become a mourner; all 
 women are to assume this character, for they will all have 
 enough to lament, when horrid death penetrates into the 
 ostensibly impregnable city, and reaps its fearful harvest 
 among young and old. 
 
94 JEEEMIAH VII.-IX. 
 
 Finally, iri vv. 22 f. and 24 f. follow two oracles, which 
 were perhaps spoken hy Jeremiah about the same time, but 
 only took their present place later on the dictating of the 
 book. Now they form a not inapt conclusion. Since all 
 human wisdom (cf. viii. 8 f.) and strength (cf. ix. 2), as well 
 as all riches, will prove futile in the time of judgment, let 
 no one seek his glory, greatness, and safety therein, but only 
 in the knowledge of the Lord (cf. the similar antithesis, 
 xvii. 5 ff.), and especially of the God who exercises love and 
 justice. Whoever knows Him will also do what pleases Him, 
 and so deserve His goodwill. Without such a spirit outward 
 circumcision avails nothing, cf. iv. 4. On the contrary, it 
 directly provokes God's judgment, when inner disposition and 
 moral conduct are not in harmony with the symbol. Nor 
 has even Israel the privilege of this outward right exclusively. 
 In order thoroughly to humble Judah, it figures here among 
 a number of nations who also are circumcised and yet un- 
 circumcised. As those heathen, despite their circumcision, are 
 regarded by the Jews as " uncircumcised," i.e. as impure, so 
 Judah by reason of its disposition is uncircumcised before 
 God, and like the heathen will fall a prey to doom. The 
 prophet's inwardness shows itself here also, where he declares 
 obedience to the outward ordinance in itself worthless, just as 
 a Christian preacher would warn any one against deeming 
 himself a Christian because baptized. 
 
SECTION VI. 
 
 Against Idols, Ch. x. 1-16. 
 
 X. 1. Hear ye the word which Yahveh has spoken 
 respecting you, O house of Israel ! 2. Thus says Yahveh : 
 Accustom not yourselves to the way of the heathen, and be 
 not terrified at the signs of heaven, because the heathen are 
 terrified at them. 3. For the rules of the nations — nothing- 
 ness is this ; for it is hewn as a tree from the wood, it is a 
 work of the labourer with the axe. 4. They dress it up with 
 silver and gold, they make it fast with nails and hammers 
 
 Chapter X. 1-16. 
 
 Ver. 1. House of Israel, the northern tribes in a state of exile, 
 as in iii. 11 f., vii. 12, xi. 10. The prophet here addresses them 
 as in iii. 12. Ver. 2. bn Tab here only : to learn something, 
 accustom oneself to. Way of the heathen, their mode of life, 
 here mode of worship, cultus, religion; cf. 6d6g, Acts ix. 2, 
 xix. 9. The signs of heaven as an object of dread are the 
 planetary constellations and other, especially abnormal, pheno- 
 mena in the starry heaven, from which the heathen, especially 
 the Babylonians and Assyrians, derived their oracles. If the 
 verb only notes the unfavourable signs, the explanation is that 
 fear is the chief characteristic of superstition. Ver. 3. nipn, the 
 rules of faith and superstition. Worship of the stars especially 
 was under definite regulation, and based on calculations and 
 laws. ton ban, emptiness, nothingness is this. As the prophet 
 uttered this word, with which he usually designates the idols 
 (see on ii. 5), he involuntarily calls up the chief form of that 
 heathen delusion, the idol itself, to which the suffix in irro 
 refers; the verb as in Deut. xix. 15. On the matter, cf. Isa. 
 xl. 19 ff., xli. 7, xliv. 12 ff. ; "TOD (only again in Isa. xliv. 12 in 
 like connection), a cutting tool, axe. Ver. 4. The substance of 
 these images was usually wood. On this gold and silver 
 plate was nailed for ornament (Isa. xl. 19, xxx. 22). They were 
 then nailed to the ground that they might not shake ; cf. xli. 7. 
 
 95 
 
96 JEREMIAH X. 5-9. 
 
 that it shake not. 5. They are like a scarecrow in a 
 cucumber-garden, and cannot speak; they must even be 
 carried, for they cannot walk. Be not afraid of them, for 
 they do no harm ; nor does it lie in them to do good. 
 6. None is like thee, Yahveh, thou art great, and thy name 
 is great in strength. 7. Who will not fear thee, king of 
 the nations? for to thee it is due; for among all the wise 
 ones of the nations, and among all their rulerships, there is 
 none like thee. 8. And at a stroke they shall become 
 simpletons and fools ; the vanities are chastised, wood is this ! 
 9. Beaten silver is brought from Tarshisb, and gold from 
 Uphaz ; it is a work of the artificer and of the smelter's 
 hands ; violet and red purple is their attire : they are the 
 work of skilled workmen altogether ! 
 
 Ver. 5. nsypn nana, properly, "like a pillar of a cucumber-field " 
 = scarecrow, according to the apocryphal Epist. Jer. (of the 
 Maccabsean age) ver. 70, h <si%\>rt?6.r<>i ntpofiasxanw. Cf. the 
 priapus-pillars, which figured ridiculously as scarecrows (Verg. 
 Georg. iv. 110 f. ; Horat. Sat. i. 8. 1-4). nt^pD in Isa. i. 8 also 
 signifies cucumber - field, elsewhere (Ex. xxv. 18) certainly 
 turners' work, from ncp, to turn. Hence many render " like a 
 turned pillar-shaft," which is less expressive. Kltw, Ges. § 47. 
 a. 4, for 1KB , 3\ On the matter, cf. Isa. xlvi. 7. They can 
 do neither good nor evil, Isa. xli. 23. Qnix, see on i. 16. Ver. 6. 
 pXD here and ver. 7 as in iv. 7, but peculiarly independent. 
 Ver. 7. fW here only : to beseem, to be due. Ver. 8. nnsu = 
 una. "ijn, to become stupid, denom. of Tya, cattle ; cf. Niph. 
 vv. 14, 21, and in the parallel li. 17; here, to stand as fools. 
 Ver. 86 through its enigmatical brevity is very differently 
 interpreted, "idio, best : chastising of the vanities = idols, in 
 the sense of convicting them ; cf. ver. 15, DJYipB. When their 
 worshippers are convicted of folly and stand confounded, this is 
 also a chastising of the idols, which are degraded from their 
 arrogant height to what they really are, mere wood. Therefore: 
 chastising of the idols is or begins : this is wood. Ver. 9. 
 Tarshish = Tartessus, the well-known Phoenician colony in 
 south-west Spain (Isa. xxiii. 1), whence silver was brought. 
 The gold-country mentioned is Uphaz, which only occurs a<*ain 
 in Dan. x. 5. Targ., Syriac, Theodotion put Ophir for this ; & but 
 it is inconceivable that the word arose by error from this well- 
 known name. Assyria and Babylon might have other a ld 
 mines. Still the views respecting the site of this Uphaz remain 
 
JEKEMIAH X. 10-16. 97 
 
 10. But Yahveh is God in truth; he is the living God 
 and everlasting King ; the earth trembles at his wrath, and 
 the nations cannot bear his fury, (11. Thus shall you say 
 to them : The gods, which have not made heaven and earth, 
 shall be swept away from the earth and under the heaven, 
 these!) 12. who has prepared the earth by his strength, 
 established the circle of the world by his wisdom, and stretched 
 out the heavens by his knowledge. 13. At the sound of his 
 call there is a multitude of waters in the heaven, and he 
 makes vapours ascend from the end of the earth, he creates 
 lightnings for the rain, and brings forth wind from his 
 treasuries. 14. Every man is become brutish in understanding, 
 every metal-caster is put to shame by his image, for his casting 
 is deception and there is no spirit therein. 15. These are 
 nothingness, a matter for jests ; in the time of their visitation 
 they perish. 16. Jacob's inheritance is not like them; for 
 
 mere conjectures, riban, violet ; JD21X, red, purple. Ver. 11, 
 with the exception of the last word, is Aramaic. Perhaps a 
 chance gloss, more probably a current sarcasm, which the exiles 
 used to the heathen about them. Certainly neither Assyrians 
 nor Babylonians spoke Aramaic as a national tongue ; but they 
 understood it (cf. 2 Kings xviii. 26) as a widespread language 
 of intercourse. But this verse completely interrupts the con- 
 nection. Perhaps it was a marginal note on ver. 9, which came 
 into the text at the wrong place. Vv. 12-16 almost entirely 
 the same as in li. 15-19. Ver. 13 almost like Ps. cxxxv. 7. 
 At the sound of His call, inn, from jro, sc. i>ip, vocem edere. 
 " Creates lightnings for the rain," these rending the clouds and 
 so causing the rain to pour down. Store-chambers for the 
 wind, as for snow and hail, Job xxxviii. 22. Ver. 14. In 
 presence of such miraculous works of God in nature every 
 man becomes stupid, so that his knowledge vanishes (jo, nega- 
 tive) : his understanding is utterly confounded, these things far 
 transcending his power of thought. The idol-maker is put to 
 shame by his molten image ("]Di as in Isa. xli. 29, xlviii. 5), 
 since in presence of God's wonders it leaves him speechless. 
 Ver. 15. D^njOT, from ifnyn (Gen. xxvii. 12), from j/yn, to mock, 
 mockeries : opus risu dignum. Ver. 16. Not like such (idols) 
 is the portion of Jacob : Yahveh, cf. Ps. xvi. 5. Conversely 
 also Israel is His inheritance, as the second half of the verse 
 says in conclusion, recalling Deut. xxxii. 9. In the LXX 
 certainly the words D3t>> bvnm are wanting, and in li. 19 
 
 G 
 
98 JEREMIAH X. 1-16. 
 
 he is the framer of all, and Israel is the tribe of his possession 
 — Yahveh of hosts is his name. 
 
 btriB", where this second turn of thought drops out : " the Creator 
 of all, He is his inheritance." Many prefer this. But see Keil 
 here, and Nagelsbach, Jeremia and Babylon, p. 93. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of x. 1-16. Against Idols: 1. Their Nothing- 
 ness, w. 1-9. 2. Yahveh's Pre-eminence, vv. 10—16. 
 
 This section stands quite by itself, and cannot be included 
 in any larger group ; whereas x. 1 7-2 5 in form and contents 
 is plainly connected with the preceding oracles belonging to 
 Josiah's and Jehoiakim's days. The style of vv. 1—16, along 
 with Jeremiah's forms and turns of expression, presents many 
 special features, and differs in a marked manner from the 
 other oracles (cf. Nagelsbach, p. 89). Moreover, the matter 
 is peculiar — a warning to Israel not to accommodate itself 
 to heathen gods and ways, but to hold fast to its own 
 glorious, Almighty God. There are very many material and 
 formal resemblances to parts of Isaiah xl.-lxvi., and, like the 
 latter, the present section is addressed to exiles. The plain 
 reference to astrology, as well as the sharp polemic against 
 idol-worship, points to Assyria or Babylon. The prophetic 
 dignity of the oracle is unmistakeable. But whether Jeremiah 
 himself (Ewald, Keil, Neumann et al.) or some one later 
 (Movers, Hitzig, Gesenius, Nagelsbach, Cheyne et al.) 
 addressed this warning to the Church in exile, may be dis- 
 puted. Movers, de Wette (Hitzig) regarded Deutero-Isaiah 
 as the author ; not so Gesenius and Nagelsbach. "We rather 
 believe that this section of Jeremiah stimulated the Deutero- 
 Isaianic polemic against idols, and think it possible that it 
 springs from Jeremiah himself, because from an author of his 
 long and diversified literary activity it is unreasonable to 
 expect the same style and turns of phrase in all his pro- 
 ductions. If written before 588 B.C., as seems probable to 
 
JEREMIAH X. 1-16. 99 
 
 us, the oracle is a kind of admonition to the northern tribes 
 in exile (J. D. Michaelis), whom it was natural for the prophet 
 to address, iii. 12 ff. Observe also that xii. 16 is the 
 antithesis of x. 1. The oracle was inserted in this passage 
 because of the "house of Israel" in ix. 25 and x. 1. In the 
 LXX, vv. 6, 7, 8, 10 are wanting (according to Hitzig, just 
 the genuine passages of Jeremiah !), but not ver. 1 1 (although 
 attacked by most). 
 
 The purpose is to warn the exiled Israelites against adopt- 
 ing heathen superstition and idolatry ; and with this is joined 
 the counsel to hold fast immovably to the most glorious 
 jewel Israel possesses — Yahveh, its God. From astrological 
 auguries, hinted at in ver. 2, the prophet passes quickly to 
 the grossest form of heathen superstition, popular image or 
 idol worship. This cultus vanishes into nothing directly one 
 considers the way in which these idols originate. The 
 prophet therefore lingers with holy irony in order to recount 
 this origin, how first wood is felled, then the material is 
 shaped, then the log is covered with a coat of metal and 
 nailed to the ground, where it stands like a scarecrow, 
 motionless, voiceless, lifeless. How different the God of Israel, 
 full of life and power, called directly the King of the heathen 
 (ver. 7), because dominion over the whole world is due and 
 belongs to him. Heathenism can show no similar god. 
 Neither do the wise men among the heathen (who often have 
 a higher, purer conception of God than the vulgar people) 
 know such an one, nor does one of this character reign among 
 the nations. Ver. 8. The heathen shall all stand convicted 
 of immense folly when the true God passes judgment on 
 those vain forms, which in reality are dead wood. This 
 leads the prophet again to refer to the origin of these gods 
 (ver. 9), and indeed he seems here to take the most precious 
 into view. How can that be God which was introduced as 
 so much merchandise, and was fabricated by the hands of 
 workmen! In contrast with these phantoms (ver. 10 ff.) 
 
100 JEREMIAH X. 1-16. 
 
 stands Yahveh, the God of heaven and earth, whose creative 
 power is pictured as in Amos ix. 5 f., and often in Isa. 
 xl.-lxvi. and in Job. Before this God the no-gods vanish 
 with their worshippers (ver. 14 f.); on the other hand, Israel 
 has the "Pramer of all" (ver. 16) for its abiding portion, as 
 He is its chosen inheritance. The universalism of the con- 
 ception of God and the particularism of God's revelation do 
 not exclude each other. 
 
SECTION VII. 
 
 Submission to God's threatened Punishment, Ch. x. 17-25. 
 
 Ver. 17. Gather up thy bundle from the land, thou who 
 sittest besieged ! 18. For thus saysYahveh: Behold, I this 
 time fling away the inhabitants of the land and cause them to 
 be besieged, that they may be caught. 19. Woe is me for my 
 hurt ; my wound is painful ! But I say : Truly, this is my 
 affliction, so I will bear it. 20. My tent is spoiled, and all 
 my cords are rent. My sons are gone forth from me, and 
 are no more. There is no one to stretch out my tent and 
 unloose my hangings. 21. For the shepherds are brutish, 
 and have not sought Yahveh ; therefore they did not prosper, 
 and their whole flock is scattered. 22. Hark! A sound! 
 Behold, it comes ! and great uproar from the north to make 
 the cities of Judah desolate, the dwelling of jackals. 23. I 
 
 Chapter X. 17-25. 
 
 Ver. 17. The person addressed is not mentioned, but is well 
 known, as in vii. 29, xxii. 20 — the population of Judah and 
 Jerusalem. 'SDK, cf. Ges. § 46. a. 2. nws or nj«3 here only, 
 perhaps not accidentally chiming with Kenaan : pack, stuff. — 
 VO?^, Kethib, to hold fast, ancient construction with a, Ges. 
 § 90. 3a, 116. 1. Ver. 18. )hp, properly, to swing, sling ; the 
 same figure in Isa. xxii. 17 f. — INVD' 1 \5fcb variously explained : 
 that they, namely, the besiegers, may reach them ; the best read- 
 ing WSS'j with LXX, Jerome. Graf beautifully, but importing 
 too much, after Deut. iv. 27, 29 : that they may (seek and) find 
 God. Ver. 19. -QB>, see on iv. 6. rpm, part. Niph. fern, as in 
 xiv. 17, xxx. 2, become sick, and that sensibly, painfully ; cf. rbn, 
 v. 3. ^n, the suff. sing, has blended with the termination, " My 
 suffering " = that coming to me, deserved by me ; cf. ver. 24. 
 Ver. 20. My curtains, see on iv. 20. Ver. 22. njn»B> V, 
 properly, sound of something heard, sc. one hears; cf. iv. 15. 
 The content of this sound is nsa ran. Ver. 23. They know 
 
 101 
 
102 JEREMIAH X. 24, 25. 
 
 know, Yahveh, that not to man belongs his way, not to 
 man who walks to keep his steps straight. 24. Chastise me, 
 Yahveh, but in measure, not in thy wrath, lest thou lessen 
 me too much. 25. Pour out thy fury on the heathen nations, 
 who know thee not, and on the races which call not on thy 
 name ; for they have devoured Jacob, devoured and consumed 
 him, and spoiled his pasture. 
 
 now that it belongs not to man to determine his way, here, his 
 fate, but that he must accept it submissively from God's hand ; 
 not to man who walks, sc. belongs the choice of his way — and 
 to keep his steps straight, i.e. to walk in a level, straight path, 
 to create his success. This is the Lord's matter, who leads men 
 according to higher laws. Ver. 24. Hence the penitent nation, 
 represented by the prophet, submits, and prays only for mode- 
 rate chastisement, cf. Ps. vi. 1 ; lest thou make me small, 
 properly, too little, and so annihilate me as a nation. Ver. 25. 
 Almost = Ps. lxxix. 6 f. In the latter clause, phrases are 
 heaped together to denote the deadly hostility of the heathen. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of x. 17—25. Submission to God's threatened 
 punishment : a. God's Pinal Sentence, ver. 1 7 f. ; h. Penitent 
 Submission, vv. 19-25. 
 
 This oracle shares the situation of chs. vii.-ix. Even still 
 the assault of the enemy is to come (ver. 2 2) ; but in spirit 
 Jeremiah sees the city of Jerusalem already invested, this 
 time to succumb. In x. 17-25 we might see the conclusion 
 of the temple- discourse, which conclusion perhaps originally 
 followed on ix. 21. Yet so close a connection is needless. 
 In any case, the oracle forms a sort of epilogue to that and 
 former threatenings. The tone, however, is more calm and 
 collected. The prophet has learned submission, and expresses 
 it (x. 19) in the name of the future Church, as is done in 
 Micah vii. 9. This submission is first (ver. 23) an acknow- 
 ledgment of God's sovereignty, against whose decisions man 
 must not murmur ; and, again, the recognition in words of 
 
JEEEMIAH X. 17-25. 103 
 
 having incurred God's judgment by personal guilt. But it is 
 not despairing submission. With the open confession of guilt 
 is joined (ver. 24 f.) an appeal to God's mercy, and the remem- 
 brance that He will yet carry out His gracious purposes 
 respecting His people, and punish the injustice of the 
 heathen. 
 
SECTION VIII. 
 
 Opposition to God ; God's Wondrous Dealings, Chs. xl, xii. 
 
 XI. 1. The word, which came to Jeremiah from Yahveli, 
 saying : 2. Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak to 
 the men of Judah and before the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 
 3. And thou shalt say to them : Thus says Yahveh, the God 
 of Israel: Cursed is the man who will not hearken to 
 the words of this covenant, 4. which I commanded your 
 fathers on the day when I brought them out of the land of 
 Egypt, out of the iron furnace, saying : If ye hear my voice 
 and do the same according to all that I command you, then 
 shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5. that I 
 may bring to pass the oath which I sware to your fathers, to 
 give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as is the case 
 this day. And I answered and said : Yea, amen, Lord ! 
 
 Chapter XI. 
 
 Ver. 1. Drrail, LXX simply xal XaXtsug. The plural, how- 
 ever, is to be preferred, for Jeremiah was not the only one who 
 received charge to enforce on the people " this covenant," the 
 law of the Lord. This covenant, embracing a number of sayings, 
 is not limited to what follows IDSO, ver. 4, but includes also 
 threatenings, ver. 8. It is therefore a comprehensive law of 
 the covenant, doubtless the "book of the covenant" men- 
 tioned in 2 Kings xxiii. 2, in which Deuteronomy is in any 
 case included. That such a law can be called simply " cove- 
 nant" is explained by the root-meaning of the word: settle- 
 ment, adjustment, by which certainly, according to usage, a 
 certain mutual relation is established, but in which the deter- 
 mination of the same may proceed from one side. Ver. 3. 
 Insisting on the importance of this covenant according to Deut. 
 xxvii. 26. Ver. 4. Egypt as an iron furnace, as in Deut. iv. 20. 
 On the keeping of the covenant the mutual relation between 
 God and the nation was to depend (cf. Jer. vii. 23). Ver. 5. 
 Then will the promise be fulfilled. D^n, properly, to establish, 
 
 104 
 
JEREMIAH XI. 6-13. 105 
 
 6. Then said Yahveh to me : Proclaim all these words in 
 the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying : 
 Hear ye the words of this covenant and do them. 7. For I 
 bore solemn testimony to your fathers on the day when I 
 brought them up out of the land of Egypt until this day, 
 testifying early and diligently, saying : Hearken ye to my 
 voice ! 8. But they hearkened not, and inclined not their 
 ear, and walked every one in the obstinacy of their evil heart ; 
 then I brought on them all the words of this covenant, which 
 I commanded them to do and they did not. 
 
 9. Then said Yahveh to me : A conspiracy has been found 
 among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 
 10. They have turned back to the transgressions of their 
 fathers of old, who refused to hearken to my words ; they 
 have also run after other gods to serve them ; the house of 
 Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant, 
 which I made with their fathers. 11. Therefore thus says 
 Yahveh : Behold, I bring calamity upon them, from which 
 they will not be able to escape. And they will cry to 
 me, but I will not listen to them. 12. And the cities of 
 Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to 
 the gods to which they used to burn incense, but verily they 
 will not help them in the time of their calamity. 13. For 
 thy gods have become as numerous as thy cities, Judah, and 
 after the number of the streets of Jerusalem ye have set up 
 altars to the infamous god, altars to burn incense to Baal. 
 
 often used of the realizing of a divine engagement, the fulfilling 
 of a promise. The promise here given the Lord swore, i.e. 
 pledged the honour of His holy name to it, cf. Deut. vii. 8, 
 viii. 18. nrn ai*3 is Deuteronomic, according to viii. 18, ii. 30 
 and often, after the manner of to-day = such as the present 
 shows, cf. xlvi. 6, 22 f. J»K, properly = stedfast, firm, valid = 
 so let it be, replies one who takes a curse on himself eventually, 
 Num. v. 22 ; cf. especially Deut. xxvii. 15-26. Ver. 6. top, 
 reading according to LXX ; better, proclaim, as in ii. 2. Ver. 8. 
 Cf. vii. 24, 26. Ver. 9. "iB>p, conspiracy. The divine covenant- 
 law encountered a tenacious resistance which proved that 
 there was a secret alliance against^it. The word is not to be 
 weakened into revolt. Ver. 10. nem applies to the present 
 generation. Ver. 13 like ii. 28, but increased by a clause. 
 
106 JEREMIAH XI. 14-19. 
 
 14. But thou, pray not for this people, and lift not up for 
 them supplication and intercession ; for I will not hear at the 
 time when they call to me because of their calamity. 15. 
 What has my beloved to do with carrying out a wicked scheme 
 in my house ? Will litanies* and holy flesh remove from thee 
 thy misdoing ? Then thou mightest exult ! 16. "A verdant 
 olive tree, beautiful with splendid fruit," Yahveh called thy 
 name. With the noise of great tumult he kindles fire about 
 it, and its branches crack. 17. And Yahveh of hosts, who 
 planted thee, has spoken evil respecting thee because of the 
 wickedness of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 
 which they committed for themselves to grieve me, in burning 
 incense to Baal. 18. And Yahveh made me know it, and I 
 knew it; then he made me see through their deeds. 19. 
 But I was like a tame lamb that is dragged to the slaughter, 
 and knew not that they had devised plots against me : Let us 
 
 Ver. 14 like vii. 16, but also with free variation. Ver. 15. 
 TT applies to the Church, hence the feminine suffix. Cf. Deut. 
 xxxiii. 12, where Benjamin is so called, and Jer. xii. 7. It is 
 not used here ironically, but is uttered with the pain of love, like 
 " Friend " in Matt. xxvi. 50. But, further, the Heb. verse needs 
 emendation mostly in the line of the LXX. nnDTon nnwj>, " her 
 carrying out the scheme," is harsh. nriDTD (Ges. § 80. a. 1 f.) 
 means not the mere intention to bring sacrifice, but by sacrifice 
 to deceive God, as in vii. 10, 11. She wishes to carry out her 
 evil purpose of doing the opposite of God's will by seeming to 
 please the Lord. In any case D^n is to be read instead of 
 C3-iri, and r?£jtt? instead of "a ybvo! ' The Aramaic, old-Semitic 
 ending hi for k (Ges. § 91. 2 : a. 2) is found also Ps. ciii. 3-5, 
 cxvi. 7, 19, and in the north - Palestinian history of Elisha, 
 2 Kings iv. 3, 7. D'onn, LXX ihyai, not vows, but supplications. 
 Win, elsewhere jubilant songs, may also have this sense like 
 nri (mournful or penitent song, xiv. 12). vujP for vu^, like 
 13"iT, ix. 2. 'Onjn, not thy misfortune, but thy misdoing. Then 
 mightest thou exult (after attaining thy end); now thou canst not 
 rejoice, for the Lord cannot be so cheated. Ver. 16. With 
 r6iDn from bon, to roar, cf. ]iDn ; only again in Ezek. i. 24. It 
 alludes to the rushing crowd of foes, ljrn, from Jjjn, to crack, 
 break. Ver. 17 only repeats the chief accusation. Ver. 19. 
 spbx, familiar, tame. Without suspicion he was about to give 
 himself up to certain death, when the Lord warned him. 
 
JEREMIAH XI. 20-XII. 3. 107 
 
 destroy the tree along with its food, and root it out of the 
 land of the living, and its name shall be remembered no more. 
 20. But Yahveh of hosts judges righteously, and tries reins 
 and heart ; I shall behold thy vengeance on them ; for upon 
 thee I have rolled my cause. 21. Therefore Yahveh has thus 
 spoken respecting the men of Anathoth, who seek after thy 
 soul, saying : Thou shalt not prophesy in the name of Yahveh, 
 lest thou die by our hand. 22. Therefore thus says Yahveh 
 of hosts : Behold, I visit it upon them ; the young men shall 
 die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by 
 famine. 2 3. And no remnant shall be left to them ; for I 
 bring calamity upon the men of Anathoth in the year of their 
 visitation. 
 
 XII. 1. Eighteous art thou, Yahveh, if I would dispute 
 with thee. Yet will I speak with thee respecting judicial 
 dealing. Wherefore is the way of the wicked prosperous, 
 (wherefore) are all safe who treacherously betray ? 2. Thou 
 hast planted them, they also strike root ; they grow, they also 
 bear fruit. Thou art near to their mouth, and far from their 
 reins. 3. But thou, Yahveh, knowest me, thou seest through 
 me, and hast proved my heart with thee. Boot them out like 
 sheep for the slaughter, and consecrate them on the day of 
 
 nutib blV, cf. Isa. liii. 7. Jeremiah typified the "Servant of 
 the Lord." 'fi rvnBO is plainly a proverbial phrase. " The tree 
 with its food " = the tree laden with its fruit ; by the latter the 
 prophet's words are meant, which they wished to root out of 
 the world with himself. It is certainly to be granted that the 
 description of fruit by On? cannot be proved in Hebrew ; different 
 in Arabic. Hitzig, Graf, Cheyne therefore read ir6a, in its sap, 
 its fresh force, Deut. xxxiv. 7. Ver. 20. Ti^J, I have disclosed 
 to thee my cause, better from £6a (to roll upon), Ps. xxxvii. 5, 
 xxii. 8. The form v"V passes iuto n"?, Ewald, Gram. § 121a. 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 Ver. 2. -\bn, to advance, grow, run riot. The reins are the 
 seat of the truest, most intimate feelings in distinction from 
 those merely assumed and worn for show. As to himself, the 
 seer is conscious of the opposite of the relation to God here 
 described, ver. 3. Ver. 3. TIK belongs to W, my heart in Thy 
 fellowship, Thy intercourse, how it bears itself therein ; cf. Gen. 
 
108 JEKEMIAH XII. i- 9. 
 
 carnage. 4. How long yet shall the land mourn and the 
 plants of the whole plain wither for the wickedness of its 
 inhabitants, so that beasts and birds are carrird off, while they 
 say: He will not see our end ? — 5. If thou hast run with the 
 footmen and they have wearied thee, how wilt thou then con- 
 tend with horses ? And thou art secure in the land of peace; 
 how then wilt thou do in the overgrowth of Jordan ? 6. For 
 even thy brethren and the house of thy father, even they have 
 proved untrue to thee, even they cry behind thy back as loud 
 as they can ; trust them not, when they speak kindly to thee. 
 7. I have forsaken my house, rejected my inheritance, have 
 surrendered the darling of my soul to the fist of her enemies. 
 8. My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest, 
 has lifted up its roar against me ; therefore I hate it. 9. Is 
 then my inheritance to me a many-coloured bird of prey ? Are 
 birds of prey round about upon it ? Come, assemble every 
 
 v. 24. pna, to cut off, pluck up, root out, so here Hiphil. Ver. 4. 
 Instead of ■omriN, LXX wnrriK, our ways, as simplification to 
 be rejected. The prophet complains of the continuing affliction 
 of the land, having its reason in the fact that the really guilty 
 do not cease. But they reply defiantly: he will not witness 
 our end, which he predicts for us (cf. ver. 3). Ver. 5. Answer 
 of God in proverbial language. Instead of desponding now, he 
 is to prepare himself for worse attacks, mn, to burn, be jealous ; 
 here Aramaic tiphel: to vie, rival, Ges. § 55, a. 5 ; Eng. § 54. 
 Second figure : At present thou dwellest in a peaceful land; but 
 how wilt thou do (thou who art already faint-hearted) when thou 
 hast to dwell in the jungles of Jordan, where lions lurk ? 
 xlix. 19, 1. 44 ; Zech. xi. 3. According to these passages, pxa is 
 the overgrowth, the pride of the Jordan : the luxuriant borders 
 of this river. Ver. 6. *6d as in iv. 5 : Luther well : cry murder 
 upon thee— utter reproachful accusations, of course so that thou 
 hearest not. Ver. 7. " My house " applies to the land, as in Hos. 
 viii. 1 ; this is shown by the parallel " my inheritance " = my 
 people, as in ver. 8 ; this also is called an object of love, cf. 
 xi. 15. Ver. 8. The figure of the hostile lion was suggested by 
 ver. 5, the overgrowth of the Jordan. i>lpa jna, Ges. § 138. la ; 
 Eng. § 135. Ver. 9. In describing such states the prophet is 
 fond of questions of wonder. JJUX, elsewhere in modern Hebrew 
 hyena (so here LXX), unsuitable here ; rather : coloured, 
 mottled, of strange colour. Such a bird is attacked on all 
 sides; so the phcenix, Tacitus, Ann. vi. 28 ; the wren, Suet. Goes. 
 
JEREMIAH XII. 10-16. 109 
 
 wild beast of the field, let it come to devour ! 1 0. Many 
 shepherds have destroyed my vineyard; they have trampled 
 down my possession, have made the field of my delight a 
 barren wilderness. 11. They have turned it into a desert, it 
 mourns for me, being desolate ; the whole land is laid waste 
 because no one takes it to heart. 12. Spoilers have come on 
 all bare heights in the pasture ; for a sword of Yahveh devours 
 from one end of the land to the other end of the land ; there 
 is no peace for all flesh. 1 3. They sow wheat, and they reap 
 thorns; they tire themselves, it brings them no profit; so 
 shall you be put to shame by your harvests because of the 
 burning wrath of Yahveh. 
 
 14. Thus says Yahveh respecting all the wicked neighbours 
 who attack the possession which I gave to my people, the 
 house of Israel, as its portion : Behold, I pluck them up from 
 their soil, and the house of Judah I will pluck up from their 
 midst. 15. But it shall come to pass, after I have plucked 
 them up, I will again have mercy on them, and will cause 
 them to return every one to his possession, and every one to 
 his land. 16. And it shall come to pass, when they have 
 
 81 ; the owl and hawk, Pliny, Hist. Nat.x. 17. The question of 
 wonder is put into God's lips, although it properly springs from 
 the prophet's thoughts. God has decided to abandon His 
 people to robber-powers : lai', as in Isa. lvi. 9. vnn for VTixn, 
 Ges. § 68. 2. a. 2 ; Eng. § 67. Ver. 10. These ravages by strange 
 shepherds ( = princes) seem already to have smitten the land, 
 as took place, according to 2 Kings xxiv. 1 f., under Jehoiakim 
 by flying bands of Chaldseans, Aramaeans, Moabites, and 
 Ammonites. Ver. 11. "by, for me. God, forsaken by the land, 
 and therefore taking revenge, is the object, because the author 
 of the land's mourning. This is completed by the reason : 
 "because no one," etc. Since all remain frivolous and im- 
 penitent under God's judgment, it must become worse and 
 worse. The men are to blame, cf. ver. 4. Ver. 12. Cf. iv. 11. 
 The attacks do not take place without God's consent. It is 
 really His sword that rages. Ver. 13. The tillers of the land 
 experience His displeasure ; their labour is fruitless in con- 
 sequence of failure of crops and war. — 1M1, imperative. So 
 LXX in the whole verse. Ver. 14. Bad neighbours, like the 
 Moabites, Ammonites, etc., see on ver. 10 ; cf. also ix. 25. BTU, 
 see on i. 10. Ver. 16. Converse of x. 2. The heathen will 
 
110 JEEEMIAH XI., XII. 
 
 learned the ways of my people to swear by my name, " As 
 truly as Yahveh lives," as they have taught my people to 
 swear by Baal, they shall be built up in the midst of my 
 people. 17. But if they will not hear, I will pluck up such 
 a people to destroy it utterly, is Yahveh's oracle. 
 
 receive the God of Judah. Swearing by His name is acknow- 
 ledgment of Him, as in iv. 2, etc. Whereas Israel hitherto 
 dwelt in the midst of the nations, the latter then shall be 
 planted in its midst. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents, a. Conspiracy against the Word of the Lord, 
 ch. xi. : a. The Prophet as Herald of God's Law, vv. 1-8 ; 
 yS. the Nation's Eevolt and Eejection, vv. 9-17 ; 7. the Plot 
 against Jeremiah at Anathoth, vv. 18-23. I. God's Wonder- 
 ful Ways, ch. xii. : a. The Prophet's Complaint, vv. 1-6 ; 
 /3. the Answer of an Avenging God, vv. 7-13 ; 7. the Com- 
 forting End, vv. 14-17. 
 
 a. Ch. xi. The prophet appears (vv. 1-8) as witness and 
 announcer of the Divine covenant concluded at Sinai. He 
 received this mission without doubt under Josiah, when " the 
 words of this covenant," i.e. the legal ordinances containing 
 the will of the covenant-God, were newly discovered and were 
 to be made known to the people (2 Kings xxii., xxiii.). The 
 public reading of the book of the law once before the elders, 
 and the adhesion of the people to it (2 Kings xxiii. 1), of 
 course only accomplished this end imperfectly. Josiah tried 
 to secure a more thorough teaching of the nation as Jehosha- 
 phat did, 2 Chron. xvii. 7-9. Jeremiah laboured in the 
 same spirit under God's commission, not the king's, proclaim- 
 ing God's commands, not only in Jerusalem but also in the 
 cities of Judah (xi. 6), and applying them to the hearts of the 
 people in free prophetic discourse. The enforcing of the 
 Sabbath-law (xvii. 19-27) may serve as an example of such 
 preaching. The present discourse, looking back to such a 
 period of labour, is therefore of later origin, perhaps belonging 
 
JEREMIAH XL, XII. Ill 
 
 to Jehoiakim's days. The result of the work was negative, 
 as in the time of their fathers (ver. 9 ff.). The Lord found 
 a conspiracy among His people. At first, indeed, no open 
 opposition was ventured on ; but a secret agreement was come 
 to constantly to resist the divine word, and this was done. 
 Idolatry continued. Thus God withdrew from this people, 
 forbids the prophet to intercede (ver. 14, see on vii. 16), and 
 declares their worship of Yahveh null and void (ver. 1 5, cf. 
 ch. vii.). The nation which, in agreement with its divine 
 destiny, should be a flourishing olive-tree, full of sap and 
 fruit, will fall victim to the fire of doom like a dry log 
 (ver. 16). In ver. 18 ff. there is appended an account of 
 the conduct of the inhabitants of Anathoth, where hostility to 
 the word of the Lord took personal shape in a conspiracy 
 against the life of His messenger. Jeremiah, appearing as the 
 herald of his God in this his native town, like Jesus of 
 Nazareth (Luke iv. 16 ff., 24), met with the most hostile 
 reception. Only the Lord's warning saved him from an attack 
 on his life. Therefore heavy judgment hangs over the people 
 of Anathoth. 
 
 6. Ch. xii. follows up the previous discourse. The opposi- 
 tion, so painfully felt by Jeremiah, moves him to seek an 
 explanation from God of His dark ways. He is distressed for 
 the poor land, which must bear so much calamity on account 
 of the wilful, obdurate enemies of God, who themselves suffer 
 least by it, and seem to be safe from revenge. Jeremiah has 
 here before him a similar riddle as in Job xii. 6, xxi. 7 ff. 
 That God is righteous, he, indeed, assumes as unquestionable, 
 xii. 1. Only he cannot refrain from making known to the 
 Lord his torturing suspicions of His dealings. God's first 
 answer (vv. 5-7) gives him no comfort, but, on the contrary, 
 assures him that the inequity already suffered will increase 
 still more. Until now he has not understood the hostility to 
 God in its full bitterness and hatefulness ; this he will only 
 see by experiencing how his own brethren and kinsmen at 
 
112 JEBEMIAII XL, XII. 
 
 Anathoth will forsake and betray him, nay, incite the mob 
 against him. He must thus prepare for far more hateful 
 resistance and worse attacks, as he is taught by two figurative 
 oracles, ver. 5. 
 
 Nevertheless nothing takes place against God's will and 
 purpose. It is His hand that now presses so heavily on the 
 land and gives it over to judgment. He will also at last 
 gloriously carry out His plan of salvation, vv. 8-17. This 
 section first gives the answer to the prophet's complaint at 
 the beginning of the chapter. It is therefore a complete 
 mistaking of the connection to sever vv. 8-17 from this 
 chapter, or to ascribe it to another author. God the Lord 
 explains (ver. 7) the misfortune of the land by His having 
 dissolved His covenant-relation to the faithless, nay, hostile 
 nation, and delivered it over to the enemy. It is therefore 
 with His permission that it is attacked on every side, traversed 
 by foreign robber-hordes, and plundered by arrogant neigh- 
 bours. This was actually the case, according to 2 Kings 
 xxiv. 1 f., after the first three years of Jehoiakim, and in 
 this time accordingly we must put the discourse. The land 
 now mourns for the Lord (ver. 11); it is the Lord's sword 
 that sweeps away the inhabitants (ver. 12); the Lord's failure 
 to bless makes all the husbandman's toil fruitless. Though 
 no one lays it to heart, the nation already lies under the fiery 
 wrath of God, who will yet complete the judgment (ver. 13). 
 But this less comforting statement is followed by an oracle 
 which brings into view the happy end, and sets in glorious 
 light the rule of grace, vv. 14-17. First of all, the arrogant 
 neighbours — Moab, Ammon, Edom, etc., who wreak their 
 spite on weak, oppressed Judah — will share the same lot of 
 uprooting or banishment as Judah itself, since the Lord will 
 not leave attacks on His possession unpunished (ii. 3) Then 
 the Lord will again have mercy on the Jews and heathen, and 
 bring them back to their own land. Even the heathen will 
 not be delivered over to judgment without mercy ; there is a 
 
JEREMIAH XL, XII. 113 
 
 future for them. But the greatest promise is given in ver. 
 1 6 : the heathen shall learn the true God through Judah, and 
 be then incorporated with God's people. Thus the exile has 
 in God's counsel a salutary, blessed purpose for both Jews and 
 heathen. There the Jews shall not disappear in heathenism, 
 when they adopt foreign idolatry (cf. x. 2), as they often 
 enough did, but heathen nations shall be absorbed in God's 
 people, learning from Judah the name of the true, living God ; 
 for even for them there is no salvation except in this name 
 (ver. 17). This wonderful enlargement of the community of 
 the Jewish Church, in which a community of heathen nations 
 is to obtain a footing and be built up, i.e. continued, goes far 
 beyond the Old Testament limits, and requires of itself a 
 spiritualizing of the idea of the Church. Cf. on the thought, 
 Ezek. xvi. 53-63. 
 
SECTION IX. 
 
 Judgment on the Incorrigible, Ch. xiii. 
 
 XIII. 1. Thus said Yahveh to me : Go and buy thee a girdle 
 of linen and put it on thy loins, and put it not into water. 
 2. Then I bought me a girdle, according to the word of Yahveh, 
 and put it on my loins. 3. And the word of Yahveh came 
 to me the second time, saying : 4. Take thy girdle, which 
 thou hast bought, which is on thy loins, and arise, go to the 
 Euphrates and hide it there in a cleft of the rock. 5. Then 
 I went and hid it in the Euphrates, as Yahveh had bidden me. 
 6. And it came to pass after the' lapse of many days that 
 Yahveh said to me : Arise, go to the Euphrates and fetch 
 thence the girdle which I bade thee hide there. 7. Then I 
 went to the Euphrates and dug and took the girdle from the 
 place where I had hidden it, and, behold, the girdle was spoilt, 
 it was good for nothing more. 8. And the word of Yahveh 
 came to me, saying : 9. Thus says Yahveh : In like manner 
 I will cause the pride of Judah and the pride of Jerusalem, 
 
 Chapter XIII. 
 
 Ver. 1. " Thou shalt not put it into water," to be explained 
 (ver. 11) thus : the girdle is not to be taken off, and so not to be 
 washed. This last clause would not so run, unless the opposite 
 course were to be taken afterwards. Ver. 4. By ms nothing 
 else is to be understood than the Euphrates (so all ancient 
 versions) = ms "inj, xlvi. 2, 6, 10, not a " fresh water " near 
 Jerusalem (Ewald), and just as little Ephrathah= Bethlehem 
 (Bochart, Hitzig, Cheyne), where, apart from the absence of N, 
 there is no sign of water, and the significance of the locality 
 would be quite inexplicable. The epithet "in: can the more 
 easily be dispensed with, as ver. 1 already hinted at water, p*pj 
 or pipp, rent, cleft (xvi. 16). The girdle is to be concealed in 
 the river-bed, so indeed that it may not be carried away ; 
 hence this addition : in a cleft of the rock. It is to be made 
 moist, isrixi (ver. 7) shows that it was weighted with stones 
 
 114 
 
JEREMIAH XIII. 10-16. 115 
 
 the mighty (pride), to be spoilt. 10. This evil nation — who 
 refuse to hear my words, who walk in the stubbornness of 
 their heart and run after other gods to serve them and fall 
 down before them — this shall be like this girdle, which is 
 good for nothing more. 11. For like as the girdle lies on 
 the loins of a man, so I bound closely to me the whole house 
 of Israel and the whole house of Judah, is Yahveh's oracle, 
 that it might be to me a people, and a name, and a praise, and 
 a glory ; but they heard not. 
 
 12. And thou shalt utter this message to them: Thus has 
 Yahveh, the God of Israel, said: Every jar shall he filled with 
 wine. And if they say to thee : Do we not know full well 
 that every jar is filled with wine? 13. thou shalt say to 
 them : Thus says Yahveh : Behold, I will fill all the inhabit- 
 ants of this land, and the kings who sit on David's throne, 
 and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of 
 Jerusalem, with drunkenness. 14. And I dash them one on 
 another, and the fathers along with the sons, is Yahveh's 
 oracle ; I will not spare, nor have pity, nor show mercy, in 
 not destroying them. 
 
 15. Hear ye and attend! Be not haughty, for Yahveh 
 has spoken. 16. Give ye glory to Yahveh, before he makes 
 dim, and before your feet stumble on the mountains of gloom 
 and you wait for light, but he turns it into darkness, he 
 
 and earth. Ver. 12. ?33, skin-bag, then jar for fluids, especially 
 wine, made of clay (ver. 14, D'DSBJl). Ver. 13. The vessels, 
 contemplated in the prophet's oracle, are all the several members 
 of the nation, especially the leaders. That with which they are to 
 be filled is iudicated indefinitely by drunkenness : a stupefying 
 drink rendering them powerless. Ch. xxv. 15 speaks more 
 definitely of the wine of God's wrath. The kings in the plural, 
 because the period of the judgment stretches over a series of 
 reigns. " Those who for David (belonging to him as successors) 
 sit on his throne ; " more simple form, xvii. 25. Ver. 14. 
 Continuation of the figure : I will dash them together like an 
 earthen vessel (Ps. ii. 9). Ver. 16. To give glory to the Lord ; 
 this is to be done, according to the prophet's meaning, not 
 merely by rendering praise, but by every one confessing his 
 wrong and turning from his wandering to God, whose glory 
 was outraged by sin. Cf. Josh. vii. 19; Mai. ii. 2. "]&n\ 
 
116 JEREMIAH XIII. 17-20. 
 
 creates a night of clouds. 17. And if you hearken not to 
 this, my soul shall weep in secret for (your) arrogance, and 
 my eye shall weep abundantly and run down with tears, 
 because the flock of Yahveh is carried away. 18. Say to the 
 king and the queen-mother: Sit down very low, for your 
 splendid crown has fallen from your heads ! 1 9. The cities 
 of the south are closed, no one opens them. Judah is led 
 captive altogether, led captive completely. 20. Lift up thine 
 eyes (0 daughter of Zion) and behold those coming from the 
 north ! "Where is the flock which was given thee, thy 
 
 pointed as Hiphil, Yahveh being the subject. t\W3, blowing, 
 here evening coolness and twilight. The sudden coming of 
 night surprises the wanderer on the mountains, making 
 him stumble. "IIK, rarely femin. as in Job xxxvi. 22. 
 rve';, to be read with Kethib. The 1 falling away, the imperf., 
 of course, is left. Ver. 17. Tin, Ges. § 69. 2. a. 3, with accus. 
 as in ix. 17. Ver. 18. m^, " princess," is the official title of 
 the queen-mother, 1 Kings xv. 13 ; 2 Kings x. 13, who took 
 the highest rank at court after the king (cf. 1 Kings ii. 19), 
 which is all the more comprehensible in view of the usual 
 polygamy of the kings. The princess addressed here is either 
 the mother of Jehoiakim, mentioned 2 Kings xxiii. 36, or more 
 probably the mother of Jehoiachin, mentioned 2 Kings xxiv. 
 8, 12, who shared the lot of her son, cf. Jer. xxii. 26, xxix. 2. 
 The latter view is favoured by the circumstance that Jehoiachin 
 in his three months' reign was only eighteen years old, accord- 
 ing to Chronicles (2 Chron. xxxvi. 9) only eight years, which 
 explains the prominence of the queen-mother. In this case 
 the present discourse was uttered during those three months, 
 and shows how secure court and nation fancied themselves 
 to be. laBM^BPn, Ges. § 142. 36; Eng. § 139. D3WN-ie for 
 's"iD, that which is on your heads = head-ornament (?), LXX, 
 Syr., Vulg. : from your heads, appears better beside 'it ; there- 
 fore is to be read. Ver. 19. The cities of the south, whither 
 one might flee before a foe coming from the north, are already 
 closed, and therefore invested, while the capital is avoided. 
 The way thither is blocked. The perfects, like T\\ ver. 18, 
 are, of course, prophetic. npjfi, the older femin. form, Ges. 
 § 75. a. 1. tibf, adj. = qbf, here: completely, in full tale. 
 Ver. 20. In 2 sing, femin., as in x. 17 ff., the daughter of 
 Zion is again addressed ; hence suff. plur., because the one 
 addressed is a collective. Her flocks are the cities devoted to 
 
JEEEMIAH XIII. 21-27. 117 
 
 splendid flock? 21. What wilt thou say when he sets as 
 head over thee those whom thou hast made thy familiar 
 friends around thee ? Shall not pangs seize thee like a 
 travailing woman ? 22. And if thou shalt say in thy heart: 
 Wherefore has this befallen me ? For the multitude of thy 
 transgression thy train was discovered, thy heels put to shame. 
 23. Could an Ethiopian change his skin, or a panther his 
 spots \ Then shall you also be able to do good who are 
 accustomed to evil. 24. Thus will I scatter them like 
 stubble passing away in the desert- wind. 25. This is thy 
 lot, thy assigned portion from me, is Yahveh's oracle, because 
 thou hast forgotten me and trusted in deceit. 26. Thus 
 have I also lifted up thy train over thy face, that thy shame 
 may be seen. 27. Thy lewdness and thy neighing, thy 
 wanton shamelessness — on the hills in the field I have seen 
 thy abominations. Alas for thee, O Jerusalem ! Thou wilt 
 not be made pure ; how long yet ? 
 
 her or the inhabitants of Judah. Ver. 21. K>R"i? belongs to 
 Sj? IpS. The object consists of those whom Jerusalem, 
 especially the ruling house, had made its familiar friends, 
 which the prophet plainly disapproves. Ver. 22. The raising 
 of the dress, so that the bare feet are seen, is dishonouring 
 treatment of a princess, as which Jerusalem is here addressed, 
 cf. ver. 26. Ver. 23. As little as the dark Cushite can change 
 his skin, i.e.. become white, or the panther lose his spots, are 
 you able to get rid of your evil character, which has become a 
 second nature to you. nvuian, spots, are the panther's mark. 
 According to Ges. Thes. add. p. 87, they are rather stripes, 
 which would point to the tiger. Ver. 25. Thy assigned portion 
 (according to Kimchi, Gram. Bl. 156, D3D is to be read), properly, 
 portion of thy measure. Since ip, measure, is not proved with 
 certainty, others prefer, after Hitzig: portion of thy dress = 
 portion poured into thy dress. Ver. 26 after Nah. iii. 5. 
 Ver. 27. Neighing in the sense of v. 8. As in v. 7, here also 
 religious adultery, the unfaithfulness to Yahveh involved in 
 the hill-worship, and gross sensual uncleanness passed into and 
 sprang from each other. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xiii. Judgment on the Incorrigible. 
 a. Symbolic Description of this Judgment, vv. 1-14: a. the 
 
118 JEREMIAH XIII. 
 
 Spoilt Girdle, vv. 1-11; /3. the Full Jars, vv. 12-14. b. A 
 Last Warning-Cry, vv. 15-27. 
 
 The judgment is first of all pictured and strengthened by 
 a symbolical action. The prophet is directed by God to 
 wear a linen girdle without interruption. It is a symbol 
 of Israel and Judah, which the Lord has made His own 
 people. The linen material, white in colour, points to the 
 priestly purity which the nation is to cultivate (Lev. xvi. 4). 
 The Lord has carefully borne His people and held it in 
 honour without failing, so that the girdle never touched the 
 water, i.e. He never allowed it to mix with the heathen 
 world. But at last the command comes for the prophet to 
 take the girdle to the Euphrates and hide it there in a safe 
 place, where the water may reach it but not carry it away. 
 The idea seems to be, especially after vv. 23, 27, that this 
 command was issued, because the girdle had become in- 
 tolerably dirty and needed thorough cleansing. But this 
 course proved its destruction ; from lying a long time in the 
 damp of the river-bed it was utterly spoilt. The application is 
 self-evident. The girdle carried to the Euphrates is the nation 
 surrendered to the Babylonish captivity because of its im- 
 purity, and there, instead of being reformed, becoming quite 
 useless to the Lord, which, of course, does not preclude the 
 survival of a faithful remnant. The captivity will not prove 
 a purifying bath, but will bring about the destruction of the 
 ancient nation. That this symbolical action was not carried 
 out on account of the length of the journey, is an un- 
 warranted supposition of expositors. Such a journey could 
 not be too circumstantial for a prophet, when the object 
 was to picture before the eyes of the nation in living symbol 
 such a crisis in its history. 
 
 Ver. 12 ff. gives a figurative saying intended to excite 
 attention still further, and fasten it on the fearful judgment. 
 The seemingly trivial saying : " Every jar will be filled with 
 wine," the prophet is to interpret thus : God will fill all the 
 
JEREMIAH XIII. 119 
 
 dwellers in the land with a drink that will make them reel, 
 namely, with the wine of His wrath. More generally the 
 mashal may be thus put : Every vessel will receive the 
 contents for which it is intended. But the dwellers in 
 Jerusalem by their whole nature are destined for nothing 
 else than to become the mark of God's judgment, which will 
 deprive them of their reason and drive them on destruction, 
 which is expressed by the dashing together of earthen 
 vessels (ver. 14). 
 
 Ver. 15 ff. adds to this sign of woe a last warning against 
 hardening. It is the last hour, in which repentance is 
 possible, before the night of judgment begins (ver. 16). If 
 now in their blind security they will not listen, nothing 
 remains for the prophet but to weep alone in stillness for 
 the carrying away of his people, already as good as done 
 (ver. 17). Therefore he once more boldly raises his summons 
 to earnest, humble penitence up to the throne. Like the king 
 at Nineveh (Jonah iii. 6), the king of Judah, along with the 
 queen-mother, is to set the example, descend from the throne 
 and sit on the ground in deepest contrition. The urgency 
 of this entire prophecy is seen in a lurid light if we assume 
 that the present occupants of the throne were the unhappy 
 Jehoiachin and his mother, who in a few weeks were to be 
 at the mercy of the harsh foe, and to wander away to the 
 Euphrates, never to return. Yet every one was wrapped in 
 proud security. Only the prophet, whose warning-cry was 
 without effect, saw the calamity pictured in ver. 19 inevitably 
 bursting in, and had to satisfy himself with again and again 
 impressing on his luckless contemporaries, what was the cause 
 of this shameful humiliation of Jerusalem (ver. 22), namely, 
 its incorrigible wickedness, which had become a second nature 
 with them (ver. 23), and would compel the Lord at last — 
 for how long ? asks the prophet sadly, yet not despairingly 
 — to give them up to the judgment they had long deserved. 
 
SECTION X. 
 
 On Occasion of a Threatening Famine, Chs. xiv., xv. 
 
 XIV. 1. That which came to Jeremiah as Yahveh's word 
 on account of the drought. 2. Judah is withered, and they 
 pine in its gates, howed down to the ground in mourning 
 garb, and the piercing cry of Jerusalem goes up. 3. And 
 the rich amoDg them send the poor for water ; they come to 
 the cisterns, find no water, their vessels return empty ; they 
 are put to reproach and shame, and veil their head. 4. Be- 
 cause of the ground which is disheartened because there is 
 no rain in the land, the ploughmen are put to shame, they 
 
 Chapter XIV. 
 
 Ver. 1. !Tn -ie>n, inversion as in xlvi. 1, xlvii. 1, xlix. 34. 
 •H3T by, not merely "in respect of," but on account of, on 
 occasion of, see on vii. 22. rns?, properly, state of being cut 
 off, specifically want of rain, like rnto, xvii. 8. The rain had 
 failed in the weeks of spring, when it should fall ; hence plural. 
 Thus the state had become quite intolerable. Cf. on this 
 calamity, Joel's oracles, i. 17-20. Ver. 2. Her gates as subject 
 of the mourning = the people gathered there. Ewald : her 
 markets. p?K "HP, properly " are black to the earth," preg- 
 nantly for : to mourn in black garb, bowed down to the earth. 
 nrnv, piercing cry of anguish and affliction ; elsewhere of joy 
 also (Isa. xxiv. 11). Ver. 3. When there is no more water 
 in the city, they send servants to the great reservoirs, e.g. 
 the " fullers' springs," to-day " Job's springs," south of 
 Jerusalem, whence at present water is fetched when the 
 cisterns of the city are dry ; but even thence they return with 
 empty vessels. They are blamed, and cover the head in sign 
 of deep sorrow (2 Sam. xv. 30). Ver. 4. nnn, synon. of 
 Pia, as in viii. 9. Lifeless nature is depicted as full of feeling. 
 TOW, not "therefore" (Hitzig), but "because of." Jeremiah 
 is fond of sentences constructed on a broad scale. D'Has, as in 
 Joel i. 10 f. The LXX have a smoother text, which, however, 
 
 120 
 
JEKEMIAH XIV. 5-9. 121 
 
 veil their head. 5. For even the hind brings forth in the 
 field and forsakes it, because there is no green. 6. And the 
 wild asses stand on the bare heights, they pant for wind like 
 jackals ; their eyes languish, because there is no grass. 7. If 
 our sins witness against us, Yahveh, act for thy name's 
 sake ; for our backslidings are many, we have sinned against 
 thee. 8. Thou hope of Israel, its deliverer in time of afflic- 
 tion, wherefore wilt thou be like a stranger in the land, and 
 like a wanderer who spreads his tent to lodge for a night ? 
 9. Wherefore wilt thou be like a man dumbfounded, like a 
 hero who cannot save ; yet thou art in our midst, Yahveh, 
 and thy name has been proclaimed over us — lay us not 
 
 is scarcely the original one. They omit the end of ver. 3 from 
 1EO on, which words perhaps seem to them too strong, and give 
 ver. 4a, xal rk 'ipya Ttjg yng s^iXmiv, making "iny = product 
 (Josh. v. 11 f.), and perhaps reading : bin noiKn "iujn. Ver. 5. 
 aitjn. The infin. abs. strengthens the emphasis. Even the 
 hind, proverbial among the ancients as specially delicate 
 (Bochart, Hieroz. Lond. 1663, i. p. 893), forsakes her newly- 
 born young to go after food. Ver. 6. The wild asses, 
 tormented by burning thirst, pant for wind to cool themselves 
 like jackals, i.e. opening the mouth wide like the latter in 
 howling. It is unnecessary instead of D^n to read or to under- 
 stand pan (conversely the latter stands for the former, Lam. 
 iv. 3, Kethib) : dragon (Ewald) or crocodile (Hitzig, Graf). 
 The LXX omit the word entirely. Ver. 7. fiW, to act, work, 
 put pregnantly for God's saving intervention, m "O gives a 
 reason for the preceding DK : for in fact we have greatly erred, 
 so that it is intelligible if the Lord refuses to help in con- 
 sequence. Ver. 8. nt3:=bnN ntM, to spread a tent (Gen. xii. 8, 
 xxvi. 25) ; on the other hand, according to Hitzig, Graf=niD 
 (xv. 5), to turn aside from the way = turn in; cf. Num. xx. 17, 
 xxii. 23. Neither in the one nor the other sense is the word 
 found elsewhere so absolutely. Yet the former figure is more 
 expressive. The wanderer pitching his tent outside is more 
 aloof from the inhabitants than one turning into their dwellings ; 
 and perhaps the former custom of lodging for the night may 
 have existed at that time alongside the latter one. Ver. 9. A 
 man dumbfounded, i.e. distracted, made stupid and helpless by 
 calamity, cf. the Arabic dahama, to attack suddenly. The LXX 
 hitvm have in mind the more usual DTO. Thy name was pro- 
 claimed over us, see on vii. 10, and cf. Deut. xxviii. 10. " Make 
 
122 JEREMIAH XIV. 10-16. 
 
 down ! 10. Thus says Yahveh to this people: So have they 
 loved to ramble, they put no check on their feet; thus 
 Yahveh has no pleasure in them; now he will remember 
 their guilt and visit their sins. 11. And Yahveh said to 
 me: Make not intercession for this people for their good. 
 12. If they fast, I will not hearken to their complaint, and 
 if they bring burnt-offerings and meat-offerings, I have no 
 delight in them ; but by the sword and famine and pestilence 
 I will consume them. 13. Then I said: Ah, Lord Yahveh, 
 behold the prophets say to them : " You shall see no sword 
 and have no famine ; for I will give you assured peace in 
 this place." 14. Then said Yahveh to me: The prophets 
 prophesy deceit in my name ; I have not sent them, nor 
 bidden them, nor spoken to them. They prophesy to you 
 false vision and divination, and nothingness and deception 
 from their heart. 15. Therefore thus has Yahveh spoken 
 respecting the prophets, who prophesy in my name, and I 
 sent them not, saying : " Sword and famine shall not be in 
 this land " — by sword and by famine shall the same pro- 
 phets be consumed. 16. And the people, to whom they 
 
 us not lie down," lay us not down like an irksome burden 
 which one is weary of carrying. Ver. 10. p, best referred to 
 what precedes (ver. 8) : So unstable and uncertain have they 
 themselves loved to keep their relation to God ; properly, so 
 they loved to wander, they restrained not their feet. The 
 meaning of this reproach is easily seen after the former state- 
 ments. Cf. especially ii. 25. End of ver. 10 from nnv on, 
 literally = Hos. viii. 13 (cf. ix. 9). Ver. 11. Cf. vii. 16, xi. 14. 
 Ver. 12. Cf. vii. 21 ff., xi. 15. Ver. 13. The false prophets 
 announce the opposite of the evils threatened : peace, security, 
 wellbeing, see vi. 14 and cf. viii. 11. Here " peace of trust- 
 worthiness " = trustworthy peace. Hitzig, Graf arbitrarily 
 read DDS1 Dw after xxxiii. 6. On DlpD, see on vii. 3. Ver. 
 14. DDp, as usual in bad sense : divination by artificial means. 
 rrairvi W>ki is to be read with Keri. " Deception of their own 
 heart " is deception which their own heart has devised 
 (xxiii. 16). Their oracles spring not from divine revelation, 
 but from their own imagination and more or less deliberate 
 fiction, and are therefore deception. Ver. 15. "W2. The 
 prophet's language passes here at once into that of the Lord. 
 Ver. 16. Dj?n, best : the persons. Not the whole nation is 
 
JEREMIAH XIV. 17-22. 123 
 
 prophesy, shall be cast down in the streets of Jerusalem for 
 famine and the sword, and no one shall bury them, they, their 
 wives, and their sons, and their daughters, and I pour out 
 their wickedness upon them. 17. And thou shalt utter this 
 message to them : Mine eyes shall run down with tears night 
 and day, and shall not rest. For the virgin daughter of my 
 people has suffered a heavy wound, a grievous blow ! 18. If 
 I go out into the field, behold, those pierced through with 
 the sword ; and if I enter into the city, behold, pangs of 
 hunger. For both prophet and priest journey to a land 
 which they know not. 
 
 19. Hast thou then wholly rejected Judah, or is thy soul 
 weary of Zion ? Wherefore hast thou smitten us, and there 
 is no healing for us 1 One waits for peace, but no good 
 comes ; for a time of improvement, and behold, terror ! 
 20. We know, Yahveh, our wickedness, the guilt of our 
 fathers, that we have sinned against thee. 21. Yet reject 
 not for thy name's sake, disgrace not the throne of thy glory. 
 Keep in remembrance, break not thy covenant with us. 
 22. Can there be rain -givers among the vanities of the 
 
 meant, see xx. 6. Cf. vii. 33, viii. 2. I will pour out upon 
 them their evil = evil-doing, namely, as punishable, cf. ii. 19, 
 thy wickedness shall correct thee=thy own wicked doing shall 
 become thy punishment. Ver. 17. Cf. ix. 17, xiii. 17. "nt?, 
 see on iv. 6. — 'ey m rfom, geDit. appos., see on vi. 14 ; Ges. 
 § 116. 5 ; Eng. § 114. Ver. 18. DWrin (t£n=r6n), sicknesses, 
 sufferings ; so pains of hunger, such as are suffered in the worst 
 form in a besieged city. iriD, elsewhere to wander as a 
 merchant (LXX incorrectly apply to the past evopsb&nwv). 
 1JJT sbl, variously explained, but always artificially ; with 
 LXX, Graf, we may erase 1, according to xv. 14, xvi. 13, xvii. 
 4, xxii. 28. Ver. 19. Cf. viii. 15. Ver. 20. The guilt is 
 inherited, and also self-incurred, cf. xv. 4 and ii. 5 'ft, vii. 25 ff., 
 xi. 10, xvi. 11 f. Ver. 21. 'a km is object to j>wn bx as to 
 ^33D ba, in the same way "jma to two verbs. The throne of 
 the divine majesty is the temple at Jerusalem, which stands 
 and falls with the city ; the latter, therefore, partakes in the 
 glory and holiness, although far from what it will do one day, 
 iii. 17. Ver. 22. D'tan, see on ii. 5. The heathen ascribe the 
 giving- of rain to their deities, especially the starry ones, to 
 
124 JEREMIAH XV. 1-4 
 
 heathen, or can the heavens give rain-showers ? Art thou 
 not he, Yahveh, our God, so that we wait for thee ; for 
 thou hast done all these things ? 
 
 XV. 1. Then said Yahveh to me : If Moses and Samuel 
 stood before me, I would yet know nothing of this people. 
 Dismiss them from my sight, make them go forth ! 2. And 
 it shall come to pass, if they say to thee : " Whither shall 
 we go forth ? " thou shalt say to them : Thus has Yahveh 
 said : He who is doomed to death, to death ; and he to the 
 sword, to the sword ; and he to famine, to famine ; and he 
 to captivity, to captivity. 3. And I will appoint over you 
 four manner of things, is Yahveh's oracle ; the sword for 
 killing and dogs for mangling, and the birds of heaven and 
 the beasts of the earth for devouring and destroying. 
 4. And I make them a horror to all kingdoms of the earth 
 because of Manasseh, son of Hezekiah king of Judah, be- 
 
 whom own alludes. In contrast with this, the prophet 
 acknowledges one Creator, to whom alone confidence is due, 
 cf. x. 16. 
 
 Chapter XV. 
 
 Ver. 1. Moses and Samuel are here the greatest high-priestly 
 representatives of the nation in prayer, Ex. xxxii. 11 If. 
 (xvii. 11) ; Num. xiv. 13 ff. ; 1 Sam. vii. 9 f., xii. 18 ; Ps. 
 xcix. 6. Properly, " my soul (would not turn) to this people." 
 Ver. 2. They are to go away, every one to the destruction 
 appointed him, which is of four kinds. TWO, here specifically 
 death by pestilence, synonymous with "i:n, pestilence, xiv. 12, 
 where LXX puts tluvaros as often. Such, too, is the meaning 
 of the Greek word in Eev. vi. 8, h 6avdru, and often. Ver. 3. 
 bv IpB, as in xiii. 21, cf. the Hiphil, i. 10. I appoint over them 
 four families, make four species of destructive powers work 
 their will on them. The four destroyers are somewhat 
 differently specified than in ver. 2. There it was chiefly modes 
 of death, here chiefly ill-usage of the corpses. ariD, to mangle, 
 xxii. 19. Ver. 4. njJit (JftT, to tremble), an object of shuddering, 
 cf. xxiv. 9, xxix. 18, xxxiv. 17, 2 Chron. xxix. 8, where Keri 
 everywhere reads the phonetically more pleasing transposition 
 njsit. As to the meaning, cf. Isa. xxviii. 19. Others understand : 
 Object of throwing about, ill-treatment, plaything, a meaning 
 which cannot be proved. Manasseh is mentioned as a chief 
 
JEREMIAH XV. 5-9. 125 
 
 cause of what he did at Jerusalem. 5. For who will have 
 pity on thee, Jerusalem, and who will show sympathy, 
 and who turn aside to ask after thy welfare ? 6. Thou hast 
 rejected me, is Yahveh's oracle, gone away back — so I turn 
 my hand against thee, and will destroy thee ; I am weary of 
 showing pity. 7. Thus then I winnow thee with a fan in the 
 gates of the land ; I bereave, destroy my people ; they turn 
 not back from their ways. 8. Their widows greatly increase to 
 me more than the sand of the sea ; I make the spoiler come 
 upon the mother of the young men at noon, make anguish 
 and terror fall upon them suddenly. 9. She who has borne 
 seven languishes ; her soul is breathed away ; her sun has 
 gone down when it was yet day ; she was undeceived and 
 confounded. And her remnant I will deliver up to the 
 sword before their foes, is Yahveh's oracle. 
 
 sinner. See Introd. p. 15. Ver. 5. No one will spare Jeru- 
 salem, nor even sympathize with her, show sympathy with her 
 misfortune. Ver. 6. Of. vii. 24. Thou wentest away backward, 
 instead of following me in the way in which I would lead thee. 
 Ver. 7. Like tssi in ver. 6, so here the preterites refer in sub- 
 stance to the future in prophetic style. At the gates of the 
 land (not of the earth, cf. Nah. iii. 13), i.e. at its outlets, the 
 Lord winnows, so that they are scattered to all lands. There 
 on the border of the land the decisive battle takes place. Ver. 
 76 is to be understood thus : from their ways to battle and 
 captivity they return not. This is better than the usual view 
 taken of the words as explaining why Yahveh gives up His 
 people, which would make '•a necessary. Ver. 8. In conse- 
 quence of this, numberless widows and bereaved mothers are at 
 home. On the mother of the martial youth, elsewhere well 
 protected, the spoiler comes in open day, with no one to 
 defend her, as one would expect. Those left are only defence- 
 less women. On Tim, war-loving youth, cf. xviii. 21, xlix. 26, 
 li. 3. TJ?, Aramaic for "PX, anguish. Ver. 9 has a general 
 resemblance to 1 Sam. ii. 5 (cf Euth iv. 15). The mother, 
 who was rich in sons and proud of them, has with them lost 
 as it were her life-breath or her sunlight, which has suddenly 
 gone down in open day. She is inwardly undone ; the shame 
 of childlessness has fallen on her unexpectedly. The figurative 
 expressions do not allude to outward death. As the breath 
 stands for vital force, so the sunlight stands for happiness. 
 
126 JEREMIAH XV. 10-13. 
 
 10. Woe is me, my mother, that thou didst bear me, a 
 man of strife and contention for the whole land ! I have 
 not lent, nor do they lend to me ; all curse me. 11. Yahveh 
 said : Verily I strengthen thee for good ; verily I make the 
 enemy come to thee with supplication in the day of calamity 
 and the time of trouble. 12. Does then iron break, northern 
 iron and brass ? [13. Thy wealth and thy treasures I give 
 for a prey, without payment, and because of thy sins in all 
 
 Ver. 10. ^m^, vowel-pointing, Ges. § 44. 2. a. 2 ; cf. Jer. ii. 27. 
 " I have neither lent nor borrowed " does not mean that all 
 intercourse with him is broken off (Hitzig), but that he has not 
 made enemies by worldly trade. Nothing so readily led (even 
 in ancient Israel) to hate and mutual cursing as the relation 
 between creditor and debtor, w'&pn, rare form combined of 
 partic. and finite verb. Perhaps the » should be joined to what 
 precedes : drtea (elsewhere once only Dnks, 2 Sam. xxiii. 6) 
 -Ji^i?. So J. D. Michaelis, Hitzig, Nagelsbach, Graf. Ver. 11. 
 "irnie>, reading and meaning doubtful. The translation follows 
 the Kethib iniiE^ from "ntJ>, to strengthen, which meaning is 
 ascertained from the other dialects ; with this ver. 12 also 
 agrees ; Keri ^rn#, from mE>, Piel, to loose, redeem. Neither 
 fully suits the following 31D7, instead of the more common 
 naioi>, xiv. 11. But still less is the noun-form rnKE> to be 
 used, which is found in Targ., Eashi, Kimchi, Jerome : thy 
 remnant = thy remaining portion of life = mriK. Thus the 
 reading remains doubtful. The foe, who in his time of calamity 
 goes humbly at God's instigation to the prophet whom he hated 
 before, and especially to obtain the prophet's intercession with 
 God, is, of course, not the Chaldtean ; the hostile Judteans are 
 meant. See the fulfilment, xxi. 1 f., xxxvii. 3. Ver. 12 
 capable of various explanations, but best interpreted after 
 ver. 20, cf. i. 18. As little as iron breaks, can a prophet of the 
 true God, whom God miraculously strengthens, fail. Northern 
 iron is mentioned as the most indestructible for natural reasons 
 the Chalybes in Pontus having in antiquity the most famous 
 iron and steel works ; but perhaps also with a glance at the 
 often-mentioned northern nation that is to be the avenger of 
 God and the prophet. Vv. 13, 14. The nation is directly 
 addressed, whereas in ver. 15 the prophet replies to ver. 12. 
 These verses are therefore to be regarded as interpolated, as 
 well as to be partly corrected after xvii. 3, 4. Ewald puts 
 them after ver. 9, contrary to the probable meaning of ver. 12. 
 
JEREMIAH XV. 14-18. 127 
 
 thy borders, 14. and make thee serve * thy foes in a land 
 which thou knowest not. For fire is kindled in my wrath, 
 it will burn against you.] 15. Thou knowest, Yahveh ! 
 Remember me, and pardon me, and avenge me on my perse- 
 cutors ! According to thy long-suffering, carry me not away ; 
 know that I bear shame for thy sake. 16. When I found 
 thy words, I swallowed them, and thy words were a pleasure 
 and inward delight to me, because thy name had been pro- 
 claimed over me, Yahveh, God of hosts. 17. I sat not 
 in the circle of the mirthful, nor amused myself; in presence 
 of thy hand I sat solitary, for thou hadst filled me with 
 indignation. 18. Wherefore has my pain become perpetual, 
 and my wound desperate, (wherefore) will it not heal ? Thou 
 hast become to me like a deceitful brook, waters which endure 
 
 The LXX let the troublesome verses remain, erasing, on the 
 other hand, wrongly xvii. \-A. to avoid repetition. Ver. 13. 
 Without payment, purchase-money (cf. Isa. lv. 1), without God 
 demanding compensation for Himself from the conquerors. 
 The thrice-occurring 3 in different senses beside each other is 
 very harsh. May be emended after xvii. 3 : for all thy sins in 
 all thy borders. Ver. 14. In the same way, 14a must be 
 corrected after xvii. 4 : TTnaym. 14& more closely resembles 
 the leading passage Deut. xxxii. 22 than Jer. xvii. 4. Ver. 
 15. Thou knowest — says the prophet, replying to the question 
 ver. 12 (cf. Ezek. xxxvii. 3). For certainly to all human 
 appearance he collapses. Ver. 16. INYO), generally : when thy 
 words first lay before (me), when something befell me' with- 
 out action of mine. DIP trip, here over the prophet, who was 
 selected to be God's possession and instrument, see on vii. 10. 
 Ver. 17. Cf. xvi. 8, in which chapter the retiredness, which 
 was the necessary consequence of his prophetic mission, 
 is enjoined in rigid terms. He keeps himself solitary and 
 retired in presence of God's hand ; the special reference is to 
 the divine power seizing and possessing the prophet (cf. 1 Kings 
 xviii. 46; 2 Kings iii. 15; Isa. viii. 11 ; Ezek. i. 3, iii. 14, 22, 
 viii. 3, xxxvii. 1, xl. 1) ; its approach must always have affected 
 him sadly, since it always portended grave, painful tidings, as 
 intimated by the clause : for Thou didst fill me with (Thy 
 divine) indignation, cf. vi. 11. Ver. 18. 3T3K=3T3N $>ro, as the 
 following words explain. So wadis were called, which had 
 abundance of water in time of rain, but soon dried up ; cf. Job 
 
128 JEREMIAH XV. 19-21. 
 
 not. 19. Therefore thus said Yahveh : If thou retumest, I 
 will make thee return; thou shalt stand before my face. 
 And if thou bringest forth genuine without base (words), 
 thou shalt be like my mouth. They shall turn to thee, 
 but thou shalt not turn to them. 20. And I make thee 
 an impregnable brasen wall to this people, and they shall 
 fight against thee, but not overpower thee ; for I am with 
 thee, to save thee and to deliver thee, is Yahveh's oracle. 
 21. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, 
 and out of the fist of the violent. 
 
 vi. 15 ff. Ver. 19. God replies : If thou return est, i.e. givest 
 thyself again willingly to my service, I will make tbee return 
 to the high position and office which thou hadst : thou shalt 
 stand before my face ; cf. on xxiii. 18 and 1 Kings xvii. 1. 
 fcOSin, usually rendered : if thou severest noble from mean ; 
 better explained after xvid, xvii. 16, to produce from the 
 mouth ; only what is genuine, divinely cleansed, is to proceed 
 from his mouth (cf. Isa. vi. 5 ff.), if he is again to take his place 
 before God's throne. b?W, separate, apart from (negative 
 JO), what is common, base, what springs from man's impure 
 passion. Then again he shall as a genuine prophet be as God's 
 mouth, what he says shall have divine force, so that his 
 enemies must needs obey him (cf. ver. 11) ; he need not trouble 
 himself about them. Ver. 20. Cf. i. 18 f. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of chs. xiv., xv. The Lord's Message to His Prophet 
 on occasion of a threatening Famine, a. Announcement of 
 the Scourge, and Eejection of the Prophet's Intercession, xiv. 
 1-18: a. Description of the Scourge, vv. 1-6; /3. Eejection 
 of Jeremiah's Intercession, vv. 7-12; 7. the False Prophets, 
 vv. 13-18. b. Yahveh and His Prophet, xiv. 19-xv. 21: 
 a. Eenewed Intercession of Jeremiah, xiv. 19-22; /3. Fresh 
 Eejection, xv. 1-9 ; <y. Jeremiah's Temptation and Testing 
 vv. 10-21. 
 
 The closely connected chs. xiv. and xv. were uttered on 
 occasion of a prolonged drought which threatened a famine. 
 The prophet depicts this affliction in similar terms to Joel 
 
JEREMIAH XIV., XV. 129 
 
 and intercedes for bis people like Amos, vii. 1-6. The 
 multitude gathered in the temple to appease the Lord by- 
 fasting and prayer (Joel i. 13 f., ii. 15 ff.), and false prophets 
 gave them the best assurances, mimicking a Joel (ii. 18 ff.). 
 But, as God's true word informs Jeremiah, the Lord will this 
 time know nothing of their assemblies, not even accepting 
 the urgent, repeated intercession of His prophet. On the 
 contrary, worse than they fear will happen — visitation by the 
 enemy's sword. The prophet, then, breaks down under the 
 burden of this message, worn out with the attacks which his 
 office brings on him, but is afresh strengthened by his God, 
 by whom he thinks himself forsaken, not without passing 
 through severe testing. This discourse must belong to the 
 early period of his work; it is best put under Jehoiakim, in 
 the same period as the temple-discourse, chs. vii— ix. But the 
 exact period of the drought cannot now be fixed. 
 
 a. XIV. 1—18. The longed-for rain, doubtless the "latter 
 rain " in spring, has failed, — a fearful calamity for a land 
 where the fertility of the whole year depends on this rain, and 
 its failure renders a distressing want of water probable for the 
 whole of the hot summer. The prophet sees in spirit the cities 
 lamenting at the gate, even the last reservoirs being empty, 
 the peasants mourning, the beasts of the field pining. He 
 unites himself with his people, and utters for them the prayer, 
 vv. 7—9 : If our sins accuse us, so that Thou canst not save 
 us on this score, then do it, act for Thy name's sake, i.e. not 
 merely that Thy name be not reproached among the heathen, 
 but because Thou wast once pleased by revealing Thy gracious 
 name (Ex. xxxiv. 6) to bind Thyself to us, and thus Thy 
 mercy preserves and glorifies Thy name, Thy revelation among 
 us. Cf. ver. 21 and Ps. xxiii. 3. Or can God, who made 
 known His glorious and saving name to us, so declaring us 
 His possession (cf. ver. 9), only tabernacle among us now and 
 again like a strange guest, make a transient stay in the land, 
 instead of dwelling among us and showing an interest in our 
 
 I 
 
130 JEREMIAH XIV., XV. 
 
 weal and woe, ver. 8 ? Or can He wish to seem powerless 
 to save His people in such straits, ver. 9 ? To this earnest 
 pleading the Lord gives a negative answer. Neither has the 
 nation a right to speak thus, since it itself (ver. 1 0) has dis- 
 solved its union with God, nor will the Lord hear further the 
 prophet's intercession (ver. 11, cf. vii. 6, xi. 14 ff.). All days 
 of humiliation, prayers, and offerings are in vain. Sword and 
 pestilence will be added to the threatened famine (ver. 12). 
 In vv. 13-18 the prophet explains and excuses, as well as 
 he can, the blindness and hardness of the people, declaring 
 that its prophets foster the blindness by their soothing 
 assurances to the effect that (cf. vi. 14, viii. 11) the Lord will 
 give settled peace in this place, by which they mean the 
 temple which is to guard the land (vii. 4). It is clear from 
 vv. 13, 15 that the famine was not yet severe, or such talk 
 would have ceased of itself. But the Lord disclaims these 
 pretended prophets as men who utter, not His word, but their 
 own lying fancies, and pronounces sentence of death on them 
 as on the Church, which loves to listen to their words. The 
 prophet sees nothing but woe, death, and exile in and about 
 Jerusalem, ver. 17 f., and is to declare this to the people 
 at God's bidding. 
 
 b. XIV. 19— XV. 21. But Jeremiah cannot bring himself 
 yet to carry out this harsh command on a community looking 
 for a more favourable answer. Despite the divine rejection 
 and refusal, he gathers himself up in bold faith and loving- 
 confidence for a new and more earnest intercession, vv. 
 19-22 : No doubt our guilt is open. Yet would that God, for 
 His own glory, might remain true to the ancient covenant of 
 grace, and by removing this affliction, i.e. granting the painfully 
 needed rain, show Himself the God of heaven and earth, far 
 superior to all the gods of the heathen ! But nothing will 
 pacify the Lord this time (xv. 1 ff). Even Moses and 
 Samuel, the great masters of prayer, who more than once 
 sprang into the breach for their people, turning God's an^er 
 
JEREMIAH XIV., XT. 131 
 
 away from them, could here accomplish nothing. Thus the 
 prophet is to send away the crowd assembled in the temple — 
 whither ? Answer : To destruction, which is a settled matter, 
 and will come upon them in various forms. Like a fourfold 
 scourge, the seer (ver. 2 f.) is to suspend his message of woe 
 over the condemned in punishment for King Manasseh's sins, 
 which are still unexpiated; see Introd. p. 15. God is weary 
 of having mercy. Indeed, the judgment bursts ruthlessly forth 
 in the gloomy description, vv. 7-9. The heartrending misery 
 awaiting Judah is here sketched in a few strokes. Outside 
 at the gates of the land the Lord has used His winnowing-fan 
 with terrible effect, and nothing is left of Judah's stately 
 army. The poor women are one day surprised by the foe 
 breaking victoriously in, instead of returning sons and 
 husbands. 
 
 XV. 10 ff. The mention of the nameless, unhappy mothers 
 seems to have suggested to the prophet his own mother. 
 Would she had never borne him ! Cf. xx. 14 ff. God's 
 harsh answer has robbed him of his last strength. He is at 
 last weary of being the object of universal ill-will and hate, 
 for no other reason than because he has to convey God's 
 unwelcome message. Here is one of those moments of despond- 
 ency which even an Elijah did not escape, and to which the 
 sensitive Jeremiah, with his tragic destiny, was all the more 
 exposed. The Lord indeed comforts him again by the firm 
 assurance of His help : as little as iron breaks will he fail in 
 his divine mission. But although calm and collected, he is 
 still greatly disturbed in his joyous faith, and cleaves to his 
 God, ver. 15 : "Thou knowest ! (whereas I do not see how I 
 can endure it). . . . Carry me not away, let me not perish in 
 my weakness and unfitness for so dangerous a task. And 
 know, take note, that I bear reproach for Thy sake." This is 
 more fully explained in ver. 16 ff. At first, when, without 
 seeking, God's words came to him, he received them with 
 delight (cf. Ezek. iii. 1). It was a joy and gladness to him 
 
132 JEREMIAH XIV., XV. 
 
 to be permitted to be an instrument of the Lord of hosts. 
 He devoted himself wholly to this office, renouncing cheerful 
 society and merriment, such as youth loves, for the sake of 
 " the hand of God," at whose service he wished to be, and 
 because of the bitter contents of the prophecy which he had 
 received. God's anger with his people filled him completely, 
 and, through his love for the people, was a constant grief to 
 him. He feels himself unable to bear this heavy burden 
 long. At present he is in a state in which he is no longer 
 conscious of the superhuman strength which God had promised 
 him. Thus we understand his despair, ver. 10. God replies 
 to his complaint. The conditional clause, ver. 19, implies 
 that the seer, although but momentarily, has fallen off from 
 his lofty divine position. He himself is guilty of the fickle- 
 ness which he would charge upon God (ver. 18). But on 
 condition of his penitent return, the honour of standing before 
 God's throne and in God's counsel is again accorded to him. 
 If hereafter nothing but truth proceeds from his mouth instead 
 of petty, common talk (i.e. divine words instead of expressions 
 of common human impatience and despair, such as had just 
 been heard), the Lord will acknowledge him as His own 
 mouth, and instead of his having to seek the favour of others, 
 they will seek his (cf. ver. 11). Thus will he be again 
 installed in the impregnable position of authority conferred 
 on him on his first call. "What noble self-criticism, or rather 
 what faithful portraiture of the intercourse between the 
 prophet and his God, is found in this section ! 
 
SECTION XI. 
 
 The Judge and Deliverer, Ch. xvi. 1-xvii. 18. 
 
 XVI. 1. And the word of Yahveh came to me as follows : 
 2. Thou shalt not take thee a wife, that thou mayest have no 
 sons and daughters in this place. 3. For thus says Yahveh 
 respecting the sons and the daughters who are born in this 
 place, and respecting their mothers who bare them, and 
 respecting their fathers who begat them in this land : 4. By 
 cruel kinds of death they shall die, they shall not be lamented 
 and buried, they shall lie for dung on the open field, and 
 shall be consumed by sword and famine, and their corpses 
 shall be food for the birds of heaven and the beasts of the 
 earth. 5. For thus has Yahveh said : Enter not into the 
 house of mourning, and go not to lament and express no 
 sympathy with them ; for I have withdrawn my peace from 
 this people, is Yahveh's oracle, kindness and compassion. 6. 
 And great and small shall die in this land — men shall not 
 bury them, nor lament them, nor wound themselves, nor make 
 
 Chapter XVI. 
 
 Ver. 3. Dipo, see on vii. 3. Ver. 4. D^nn TilOB, painful, 
 unnatural forms of death ; see on the latter word under xiv. 
 18, according to which passage it is not to be limited to pesti- 
 lence ; the former word in the plural = forms of death (or dying 
 struggles), as in Ezek. xxviii. 8, 10. What modes of death are 
 meant, is clear from xv. 2 f. and from the second half of the 
 verse. Through the overpowering numbers of the falling and 
 dying they will remain unwept and unburied. See on vii. 33, 
 and cf. viii. 2, xiv. 16. Ver. 5. nn», only again in Amos vi. 7 
 = a shrill cry of joy; here in accordance with the sequel = a 
 piercing wail, as nn has a similar twofold signification 
 (on xi. 15). Ver. 6. The great and small, as in v. 4 = the 
 respectable and mean. Elsewhere this distinction showed 
 itself in expenditure on burial, but here the burial is wanting 
 
 133 
 
134 JEKEMIAH XVI. 7-13. 
 
 themselves bald for their sakes. 7. Nor will men offer them 
 the bread of mourning to comfort one for the dead, nor give 
 them the cup of comfort to drink because of any one's father 
 or his mother. 8. And thou shalt not enter into the house 
 of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink. 9. For thus 
 says Yahveh of hosts, the God of Israel : Behold, I banish 
 from this place before your eyes and in your days the sound 
 of singing and the sound of joy, and the voice of the bride- 
 groom and the voice of the bride. 
 
 10. And it shall come to pass: when thou niakest all 
 these words known to this people, and they say to thee: 
 Wherefore has Yahveh spoken all this great evil respecting 
 us, and what is our guilt and what our sin, which we have 
 sinned against Yahveh our God? 11. then thou shalt say 
 to them : Because your fathers forsook me, is Yahveh's oracle, 
 and ran after other gods, and served them, and fell down before 
 them, but forsook me and kept not my law. 12. And you 
 have done still worse than your fathers, and behold, you 
 follow every one the stubbornness of his evil heart in not 
 
 in every case. Yti, to cut, Hithpoel, to make incisions on 
 oneself. To publish their grief, they were wont to wound 
 themselves with knives (cf. xli. 5, xlvii. 5), and to shave off 
 the principal hair entirely (xlvii. 5 ; Isa. xxii. 12 ; Amos 
 viii. 12 ; Ezek. vii. 18). Both indeed were forbidden by the 
 Mosaic law as a mutilating of the body (Lev. xix. 28, xxi. 5 ; 
 Deut. xiv. 1), but both customs seem often to have become 
 popular, and especially in Jeremiah's days, through heathen 
 neighbours. Ver. 7. Difi, to break, usually bread (Isa. lviii. 7), 
 hence Dn? is here omitted, unless the latter is to be read 
 instead of Dr6. The last word applies here not to the dead, 
 but to the surviving kinsmen. After the burial was over, and 
 therewith the time of deepest sorrow and strictest fasting 
 (2 Sam. xii. 21), they were offered bread and wine as refresh- 
 ment (Prov. xxxi. 6). This was the idea of the mourning- 
 feasts, on which this passage casts important light. l»mb, to 
 comfort him, namely, the mourner. Ver. 8. DniK, see on i. 16. 
 Ver. 9 like vii. 34. Ver. 10. Cf. v. 19, ix. 11 f., xiii. 22. Ver. 
 12. Walking after the perverseness of their evil heart, as in 
 iii. 17. Ver. 13. Cf. vii. 15, Titani, from biD, Ges. § 72. a. 6. 
 Win, nomen unitatis, exercise of grace (|n), single display of 
 kindness. Ver. 14 f. like xxiii. 7 f., but not on this account to 
 
JEKEMIAH XVI. 14-18. 135 
 
 hearkening to me. 13. And so I will cast you out of this 
 land to the laud which you have not known, you and your 
 fathers ; there you shall serve foreign gods day and night, 
 because I will show you no favour. 14. Therefore, behold, 
 days come, is Yahveh's oracle, that one shall no longer say : 
 " As truly as Yahveh lives, who brought the children of Israel 
 up from the land of Egypt," 15. but "As truly as Yahveh 
 lives, who brought the children of Israel up from the land of the 
 north and from all the lands whither he drove them," — and 
 I will make them return to their own soil, which I gave their 
 fathers. 16. Behold, I send for many fishers, is Yahveh's 
 oracle, and they shall fish them ; and afterwards I send for 
 many hunters, and they shall hunt them away from every 
 mountain and from every height, and out of the rock-clefts. 
 
 17. For mine eyes are on all your ways, they are not hidden 
 from my sight, and their guilt is not concealed from mine eyes. 
 
 18. And I will first repay their guilt and their sin double, 
 because they have polluted my land with the carcases of their 
 monsters, and filled my inheritance with their abominations. 
 
 be attacked ; rather required by ver. 18. \s? indeed is not 
 " nevertheless," but " therefore." But the following promise, 
 in fact, makes the heaviness of the judgment felt : As mighty 
 a divine act will be necessary to redemption as once in Egypt, 
 nay, one still mightier. To the oath m.T Ti is added the 
 greatest proof of His power and grace. Ver. 16. These figures 
 allude not to the gathering of the scattered, but to the catching 
 of the people of the land by the enemy. Since fishers and 
 hunters differ in time and place, the former denote the catching 
 wholesale, as in the capture of the country and especially 
 of cities, the latter to the catching of individuals, who have 
 fled to the hills and hidden in clefts. if[, Kethib (Ezek. 
 xlvii. 10), not to be changed into i^[, Keri ; both forms, like iV\ 
 and ri, to fish, are equally right. On this fishing of men, 
 cf. Amos iv. 2. P^pi, cf. xiii. 4 ; on the matter, Josh. x. 16 ff. ; 
 Judg. vi. 2 ; 1 Sam. xiii. 6 ; Ezek. xxxiii. 27. Ver. 18. And 
 first I recompense, i.e. before the glorious redemption comes, 
 promised in ver. 14 f. It is misleading to seek an antithesis 
 between rocan and rot2>». The judgment of double measure 
 may suggest the double figure, ver. 16 ; cf. also Isa. xl. 2 and 
 Jer. xvii. 18. Corpses of their abominations = idols. The 
 genitive is one of apposition. The idols are dead corpora, 
 
136 JEREMIAH XVI. 19-XVII. 2. 
 
 19. Yahveh, my defence and my bulwark and my refuge 
 in the day of trouble, to thee shall nations come from the 
 ends of the earth, and shall say : Our fathers inherited mere 
 deception, empty things, by which no one profits. 20. Should 
 a man make gods to himself, which yet are no gods ? 21. 
 Therefore, behold, I will this time make them feel, will make 
 them feel my hand and my power, and they shall know that 
 my name is Yahveh. 
 
 XVII. 1. The sin of Judah is recorded with an iron style, 
 with a diamond pencil, engraved on the table of their heart 
 and on the horns of your altars; 2. as their children 
 remember their altars and their Astarte-pillars by the green 
 
 and in addition utterly unclean, and thus in so far carcases. 
 Ver. 19. They inherited it, received it as a possession (other- 
 wise Israel, x. 16). Heathenism is something hereditary, which 
 mitigates responsibility for its errors, iun, see on ii. 5. 
 
 Chapter XVII. 
 
 Ver. 1 f. The style of vv. 1-4 is especially harsh, perhaps 
 through the corruption of the text; consequently the meaning also 
 is somewhat obscure, psv, nail, here pencil. Cf. Pliny, Hist. 
 Nat. xxxvii. 15 : "Diamond-chips are sought after by engravers 
 and put in iron, as they easily cut the hardest material." Cf. 
 on the figure, Job xix. 24. The sin committed by Judah (cf. 
 xv. 4) is engraved indelibly on the table of their heart, i.e. 
 burnt on their conscience, so that it must constantly remind 
 them of their guilt. " And on the horns of your altars." Since 
 Josiah had broken down these altars, we must suppose that the 
 prophet is addressing the previous generation, which practised 
 idolatry there. The horns of the altars, on which the blood 
 was smeared, are permanent witnesses to God of what they had 
 done. Their posterity also (ver. 2) will remember those altars 
 and the idols there, when they pass by a budding tree or a lofty 
 hill (see on ii. 20). See the different attempts at interpreta- 
 tion in expositors. That of Nagelsbach is attractive. He 
 understands by Dn s J3 the children of the present day, who talk 
 together in those places with horror of the Moloch-sacrifices, 
 and so bear witness to the sin. But it is not probable that 
 children would figure as witnesses in this way. 13D with dagesh 
 lene, see Ges. § 28. 1. Yll bv, " by the green tree," is either to 
 be taken in the local sense or states the occasion of the remem- 
 brance: on occasion of. D'nB'K, statues of Ashera or Astarte. 
 
JEREMIAH XVII. 3-8. 137 
 
 tree, on the high hills. 3. I give tip my mountain in the 
 field, thy wealth, all thy treasures for a prey, thy heights 
 because of the sin in all thy borders. 4. And thou shalt 
 remove thy hand * from thy inheritance, which I gave thee, 
 and I make thee serve thy foes in the land ■which thou 
 knowest not ; for you have kindled a fire in my wrath, which 
 burns for ever. 
 
 5. Thus says Yahveh : Cursed is the man who trusts in 
 man and makes flesh his arm, whilst his heart departs from 
 Yahveh. 6. And he shall be like a juniper-plant in the 
 wilderness, and see no good come and dwell in parched desert- 
 tracts, in a salt land, which is not settled. 7. Blessed is the 
 man who trusts in Yahveh, and whose trust Yahveh is. 8. 
 He shall be like a tree planted by the water, and it stretches 
 out its roots by the river, and is not afraid when heat comes, 
 
 Yer. 3. " My mountain in the field," first obj.-accus. to " I will 
 give up/' is certainly harsh, on which account Ewald reads 
 '2 "nnn and joins the two words to the previous verse, where, how- 
 ever, they would form an awkward addition, and would not run 
 smoothly. According to our text, God's sanctuary comes first 
 as the most precious possession, and is called mountain in the 
 field — mountain visible and prominent far and wide ; cf. 
 xxi. 13. Yer. 3 f. appear here in their place and in more 
 correct form than in xv. 13 f. Ver. 4. "pi, and indeed through 
 thyself, by thy own fault, or " along with thee," would be too 
 harsh. Instead of this, J. D. Michaelis correctly reads, and 
 Graf, Nagelsbach, Cheyne after him, yv, after Dent. xv. 2 f. 
 An allusion to the law of remitting debts, connected with the 
 Sabbath-year, is all the more probable, as the desolating of the 
 land is regarded as a kind of Sabbath rest for it, cf. 2 Chron. 
 xxxvi. 21. Yer. 6. ijnj/ is not to be interpreted differently 
 from "Wiy, xlviii. 6. The local reference and the contrast with 
 ver. 8 favours the old translation, which understood by it a tree 
 or plant. LXX, uypio/ivpizri ; Jerome myrice, tamarisk ; Celsius, 
 after the Arabic arar, juniper-plant. Moderns, on the other 
 hand, prefer the simple meaning of "iJTW, bare, naked; cf. Ps. 
 cii. 17. Perhaps the Masoretes so took the present passage, 
 but wrongly. Salt-land = entirely barren. Cf. Yerg. Georg. 
 ii. 238, salsa tellus. Which is not settled, but Hebrew intransi- 
 tively as often of countries and cities : they settle, dwell not. 
 Ver. 8. Cf. Ps. i. 3. Kethib tn», to be preferred, synonymous 
 with JKT (so also LXX, Syr., Vulg.). On the other hand, Keri 
 
138 JEREMIAH XVII. 0-12. 
 
 and its leaves are green ; even in the year of drought it shall 
 not be anxious, nor cease to bear fruit. 9. The heart is full 
 of guile and is corrupt ; who can fathom it ? 10. I, Yahveh, 
 search the heart, try the reins, and will give every one 
 according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. 
 11. A partridge which cherishes what it has not laid is he 
 who gathers ricbes, but not lawfully ; he will leave it in the 
 half of his days, and at bis end he will become a fool. 
 
 1 2. Thou Throne of glory, lifted up from the beginning, 
 
 my, similarly to ver. 6. Ver. 9. 3pJ>, properly, lumpy, uneven, 
 is here the opposite of moral straightness, rectitude (cf. Hab. 
 ii. 4), therefore: crafty," insincere, cunning. K>UX, wretched, 
 very sick, corrupt, of course in an ethical sense also : it labours 
 under a morbid love of dissimulation and unnatural self-decep- 
 tion ; only the Lord sees through it, ver. 10. Luther classically, 
 but not following the words " froward and cowardly," indicating 
 less the inner character than the resulting moods. On tTOK, cf. 
 xv. 18, where it is explained : nain ruND, which applies ethically' 
 to the present passage. LXX read Pby, deep, instead of DpV 
 and C3J5, which is to be rejected. Ver. 10. In nni>l the copula 
 is not to be erased. The infin. stands with i>, instead of finite 
 verb, I am about to recompense ; cf. Ges. § 132. a. 1; Eng. § 129. 
 Cf. Jer. xix. 12. Ver. 11. sop, partridge, from calling. "in, 
 only again Isa. xxxiv. 15, and indeed after this passage to be 
 distinguished from brooding as the subsequent keeping together 
 of the chickens, as also in Aramaic the word is used of collect- 
 ing eggs or chickens. That the partridge, still common in 
 Palestine, hatches eggs of other birds, like the hen, or gathers 
 their young about it, is certainly not known either from antiquity 
 or by modern observation. Some writers (see Winer, Real- 
 worterbiwh, Eebhuhn) affirm it, but perhaps on the authority 
 of this passage. A popular notion of this kind must have 
 existed. The figure is striking ; the construction is the usual 
 one in such an oracle. Cf. Prov. xi. 22, etc. ; Ges. § 155. 4&; 
 Eng. § 152.— Take TJi as subj. to U3TD\ Ver. 12 f. Solemn, 
 lyrical invocation (observe the assonances, ver. 12) in four 
 pairs of words, which precede the name Yahveh invoked. 
 Grammatically the old translation : " A throne of glory, a place 
 from of old is our sanctuary," is justifiable, but the construc- 
 tion given is better. The prophet addresses himself in the 
 name of believers to the face of God visible on Zion. " Throne 
 of glory " applies, according to xiv. 21, to God's seat there (cf. 
 iii. 17) ; Zion was a lofty height of divine revelation from the 
 
JEEEMIAH XVII. 13-18. 139 
 
 Place of our sanctuary, 13. Hope of Israel, Yahveh— all who 
 forsake thee shall come to shame. They that depart from 
 thee are written on the earth ; for they have forsaken the 
 fountain of living waters, Yahveh ! 14. Heal me, Yahveh, 
 and I shall be healed ; save me, and I shall be saved, for 
 thou art my song. 15. Behold, they say to me: Where is 
 Yahveh's word ? Let it come ! 16. But I have not shunned 
 being a shepherd after thee, and have not longed for the 
 woful day ; thou knowest ; what proceeded from my lips 
 was before thy face. 17. Be not a discouragement to me, 
 thou art my shelter in the day of calamity. 18. Let my 
 persecutors come to shame, and let me not be put to confusion; 
 let them despair, and let me not despair. Bring upon them 
 the day of calamity, and strike them into ruin with double 
 shattering. 
 
 beginning. Dints, indeed, is often used of the heavenly height, 
 where God's throne is (xxv. 30) ; but the following " place of 
 our sanctuary " proves that the reference is to the earthly 
 height, where God has long taken up His abode (cf. xxxi. 12). 
 Ver. 13. 'niD', Kethib, to hold fast, from subst. TiD» or "no\ (cf. 
 ''ye, xviii. 19). On the other hand, Keri TiDi, from partic. "no. 
 The language here passes into God's words. They are written 
 on the earth, in the dust ; their existence soon utterly vanishes. 
 Cf. with the confirmatory clause, ii. 13. Ver. 16. ps with 
 ;p can only be understood of wilfully ceasing to follow God, 
 not of pressing into office (Umbreit, Eagelsbach : shepherd in 
 the literal sense, to be taken as Jeremiah's former calling). 
 Therefore: I have not wrenched myself from the shepherd 
 (shepherd's office) in following thee, I have followed thee 
 willingly and faithfully in my capacity as shepherd ; therefore 
 forsake me not, ver. 17 f., as would be the case if the prophecies 
 were not fulfilled. His heart did not long for the day of evil, 
 which he announced, but he spoke of it under a higher impulse. 
 " Thou knowest," etc. God knows how his whole soul turned 
 from the constant preaching of misfortune ; he has only too 
 often and earnestly given expression to his grief on this subject 
 before his God ! Cf. xv. 10 ff, 19. Ver. 17. nfln, Ges. § 75. 
 a. 17 ; Eng. § 74. nnn», outward or moral destruction ; cf. the 
 verb, i. 17. God Himself would be so, if He neglected to help 
 in regard to the fulfilment or otherwise. Ver. 18. N'on for 
 son, Ges. § 72. a. 7 ; Eng. § 71. 
 
140 JEREMIAH XVI. 1-XVIt 18. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of xvi. 1-xvii. 18. The Judge and Deliverer, a. 
 Fallen a prey to Judgment! xvi. 1-xvii. 4: a. the Divine Ban 
 on Judah, xvi. 1-13 ; 13. Judgment and Eedemption, xvi. 14- 
 xvii. 4. b. Infallible Confidence, xvii. 5-18: a. False and 
 Genuine Confidence, xvii. 5-1 1 ; /3. the Prophet's Confidence, 
 xvii. 12-18. 
 
 This discourse presents essentially the same position of 
 things as the previous one ; it may even be regarded as a 
 continuation and close of the revelations received in the time 
 of drought, ch. xiv. 15. The prophet's anxiety at the scoffing 
 of the foes, who demand the fulfilment of his threatenings 
 (xvii. 15), shows that no more serious invasion on the part of 
 the Chaldamns has yet fallen on the land. "We have thus 
 still to do, as in chs. xiv., xv., with the calmer years of 
 Jehoiakim. 
 
 a. XVI. 1-XVII. 4. There lies on the land, as xvi. 1 ff. 
 explain, a ban, making fellowship between God and His people 
 impossible. For this reason the prophet also as God's organ 
 and representative is to hold himself aloof from the people. 
 First of all, the founding of a household in this land is 
 forbidden him (ver. 2), that wife and children may not involve 
 him in its fate (cf. 1 Cor. vii. 26). In a similar way Hosea 
 (i. 1 ff., iii. 1 ff.), Isaiah (viii. 18), Ezekiel (xxiv. 15 ff.) had 
 to set forth symbolically the relation of the God whom they 
 represented to Israel by their married and household life. 
 But not merely by celibacy, so unusual among the Jewish 
 people, is Jeremiah to testify to the nation that God has 
 broken with it and is not disposed to build Himself a house 
 in its midst ; he has also to give up all social intercourse with 
 his contemporaries, and according to ver. 5 ff. to neglect the 
 most ordinary offices of love as well as the expression of 
 sympathy in cases of bereavement, that every one may know 
 that God has removed His peace from the land, i.e. renounced 
 
JEREMIAH XVI. 1-XVII. 18. 141 
 
 all friendship and fellowship with it. This " peace of God," 
 as the next clause shows, includes in particular His favour or 
 friendship and mercy. The neglecting of mourning for the 
 dead on Jeremiah's part is, further, a sign of its coming uni- 
 versal cessation through the wholesale dying of the inhabitants ; 
 just so, Jeremiah's avoidance of all pleasant society (ver. 8) is 
 a sign of the approaching end of all joy and festivity (ver. 9). 
 By these regulations the seclusion of the prophet, referred to 
 in xv. 17, which was a necessary consequence of his grave 
 mission, is intensified and made a divine command. To the 
 question as to the reason of this sign of divine displeasure 
 the man of God would not fail to give an answer. We know 
 it already from i. 16, v. 19, ix. 11 f., and many passages. 
 But here, xvi. 11, 12, the relation of the present generation 
 to the guilt of their fathers is stated with special clearness : 
 they must suffer for the guilt of their fathers because they 
 have done still worse than the latter. The punishment con- 
 sists in exile to a distant land, where they will have oppor- 
 tunity enough to indulge their leaning to the worship of 
 strange gods, since God will care no more about them. But the 
 worse the coming affliction, the more wondrous will be the 
 deliverance, a redeeming act of God, rivalling, nay surpassing, 
 the redemption from Egypt by Moses, ver. 14 f. First of all, 
 however, a terrible catastrophe, plainly ending in exile, must 
 befall the land, a repeated, complete judgment for all the 
 abominations with which it is defiled (vv. 16—18). In 
 presence of the foolish and shameful rejection suffered by 
 God at His people's hands, the prophet is constrained (ver. 19) 
 to praise his God, this proved Deliverer, to whom even the 
 heathen will bring their homage, as foretold by Isaiah, Micah, 
 and other prophets, and as already revealed to Jeremiah 
 (iii. 17). They will submit to the "King of the nations" 
 (x. 7), breaking away from their hereditary gods, so that 
 the exchange described in ii. 1 1 as unheard of will then take 
 place in a good sense, forming a splendid contrast to the black 
 
142 JEREMIAH XVI. 1-XVII. 18. 
 
 ingratitude and apostasy of Judah and Israel. Turning his 
 gaze to Judah, to which ver. 21 refers, the prophet continues 
 in his own words, ver. 20. Now in distinction from former 
 mild visitations they will feel the full power of God's judicial 
 hand, learning who He is, " that my name is Yahveh." This 
 name involves not only the divine nature, but also the holy, 
 almighty power which is its outcome. Or should a genera- 
 tion in its superficial repentance appeal to the fact, that crass 
 idolatry and the bloody horrors of heathenism were abolished 
 in the land ? Ch. xvii. 1—4 gives the answer to this. On 
 the contrary, the guilt of the land is imprinted ineffaceably on 
 the conscience of the nation, and innocent blood is smeared 
 on the horns of the altars. That guilt is unexpiated, as the 
 present generation well remembers, so that it is without excuse. 
 Thus will the Lord in wrath give up the land and surrender 
 the inhabitants to exile. 
 
 b. XVII. 5-18. There follow (xvii. 5 ff.) in calmer, more 
 didactic form, prophetic sayings respecting carnal trust in men 
 and saving trust in God. Their occasion and practical appli- 
 cation may be variously conceived. Perhaps the king's con- 
 fidence in foreign, Egyptian help may have occasioned them. 
 But elsewhere also (cf. ix. 22 ff.) the prophet loves the thought 
 that God alone is to be trusted, and that His menaces of 
 judgment must be submitted to, since He has to do with 
 people of defiant spirit, and boasting of their power in out- 
 ward security. The man who makes flesh his arm, i.e. expects 
 effectual help from a creature of earth, is like a withered 
 plant in a cheerless desert, condemned to remain without hope 
 of better days or refreshing springs (ver. 5 f.). On the other 
 hand, he who trusts in the Lord is compared to a tree planted 
 on unfailing water-brooks, which even in time of drought has 
 no reason to fear the want of living sap and fertilizing power. 
 No doubt the human heart in its impurity and complete 
 corruption is blind to this truth (ver. 9) ; but it will not be 
 able to escape testing by the all-judging God (ver. 10). In 
 
JEREMIAH XVI. 1-XVII. 18. 143 
 
 particular, whoever puts his trust in wealth dishonestly 
 acquired will find himself basely forsaken of this mammon 
 (ver. 11), a truth which it is not superfluous to enforce at any 
 time, but which was uttered, according to xxii. 13-17, in refer- 
 ence to the evil example set by King Jehoiakim in this respect. 
 XVII. 12-18 is an application of the doctrine laid 
 down to the prophet and his opponents. The latter are, 
 outwardly regarded, the rich and powerful, who lack no 
 earthly means for carrying through their cause ; Jeremiah has 
 nothing but his God, in whom he has to trust without sensible 
 evidence. And yet he does not waver for a moment between 
 God and the world, but in earnest prayer (cf. xvi. 19) in the 
 name of the believing Church, acknowledges this glorious God, 
 who dwells from of old in Zion, and has ever shown Himself 
 mighty and gracious in Israel, whereas all who fell away from 
 Him were covered with shame (ver. 12 f.). In his personal 
 suffering he turns full of confidence to this God, who can and 
 will save him (ver. 14). He is attacked by the revilings of 
 those who, relying on the treacherous appearance of security, 
 give the lie to the prophet's announcements of woe (ver. 15, 
 cf. Isa. v. 19 ; Ezek. xii. 22). But he is conscious of having 
 exclusively followed his God in his work, of having faithfully 
 discharged the office of shepherd entrusted to him, and of not 
 having longed for the time of judgment in the spirit of the 
 false piety that yields to pessimistic complaints. God has heard 
 his words, by which, on the contrary, he sought once and again 
 to stay the doom and appease the Lord's wrath (ver. 16). 
 May God, his Lord, then, not abandon him and give him over 
 to the mockery of his foes, but declare for him and against 
 them (ver. 17). The imprecation in ver. 18 is explained, 
 like that of many psalms, from the longing, warranted in 
 Old Testament days, for the revelation of God's judicial truth 
 and retributive justice, while showing at the same time how 
 great the interval between Jeremiah and the perfect Sufferer 
 whose sufferings resembled his own in many features. 
 
SECTION XII. 
 
 Hold the Sabbath in Honour, Ch. xvii. 19-27. 
 
 XVII. 19. Thus said Yahveh to me: Go and take thy 
 stand in the gate of (thy) countrymen, by which the kings 
 of Judah come in and by which they go out, and in all 
 the gates of Jerusalem, 20. and thou shalt say to them: 
 Hear ye Yahveh's word, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah 
 and all ye inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter in by these 
 gates! 21. Thus says Yahveh: Take heed to your souls 
 and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, bringing it in 
 by the gates of Jerusalem. 22. And bring no burden from 
 
 Chapter XVII. 19-27. 
 
 Ver. 19. A "gate of the countrymen" is found nowhere 
 else. Of the various conjectures on the point the most probable 
 one is, that the royal gate mentioned in the first place is the 
 Benjamin-gate (so also Ewald, who alludes to xxxviii. 7, accord- 
 ing to which the kings there held judgment), which was the 
 chief means of communication northwards. This we corrobo- 
 rate thus : The designation QV ">:2 or Djjn "aa (Keri) is strange, 
 quite unsuitable here in the sense of xxvi. 23, but perhaps 
 originating in the latter passage. "We must take the phrase 
 after the analogy of xxxvii. 13, or directly read : ^tpy ya (so 
 LXX). The specific countrymen of the prophet are the 
 Benjaminites (see on vi. 1), who are also specially referred to in 
 ver. 26. Cf. xxxvii. 13, where Jeremiah will betake himself to 
 his DJ7, his countrymen and kinsmen, by the Benjamin-gate. 
 The kings mentioned in the plural, as they are addressed in 
 ver. 20 and xix. 3 (cf. xxv. 18). The plural, therefore, refers 
 not to rulers in succession, but to the members of the royal 
 house who exercised judicial power (xxi. 11 f.), and thus shared 
 in the government. Ver. 21. 3 "iotW, to take care, in reference 
 to something, that it take no harm (not : in your souls) ; cf. 
 Mai. ii. 15 f., similarly with b, Deut. iv. 15 f., and see on Jer. 
 xxvi. 19. Ver. 22. Cf. Ex. xx. 10 f. ; Deut. v. 12 ff. Ver. 23. 
 
 144 
 
JEEEMIAH XVII. 23-27. 145 
 
 your houses on the Sabbath-day, arid do no kind of work and 
 hallow the Sabbath-day, as I commanded your fathers; 23. 
 but they hearkened not, and inclined not their ear, and 
 stiffened their neck, in not hearing and receiving correction. 
 24. And it shall come to pass, if you really hearken to me, 
 is Yahveh's oracle, to bring no burden into the gates of this 
 city on the Sabbath-day, and to hallow the Sabbath-day, 
 doing no work therein, 25. then kings shall enter by the 
 gates of this city with princes, sitting on David's throne, 
 riding on chariots and horses, they and their princes, the men 
 of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem ; and this city 
 shall remain for ever. 26. And they shall come from the 
 cities of Judah and from the places surrounding Jerusalem, 
 and from the land of Benjamin, and from the lowland, and 
 from the mountain-land, and from the south, bringing burnt- 
 offerings and sacrifices, and meat-offerings and incense, and 
 shall bring thank-offerings into the house of Yahveh. 27. 
 And if you hearken not to me, to hallow the Sabbath-day, 
 and to bear no burden and to come in with it by the gates of 
 Jerusalem on the Sabbath-day, I kindle a fire in your gates, 
 and it shall consume the palaces of Jerusalem, and shall not 
 be quenched. 
 
 JJD1B', wrongly written for JJiDB', Keri ; see on ii. 25. Cf. vii. 26, 
 28. Ver. 25. D , "itW is a subordinate addition to wzb® ; 'hence 
 caty points backs to the latter. Graf, Nagelsbach (Cheyne) 
 needlessly erase nnea Cf. xxii. 4 (xiii. 13). Ver. 26. The 
 different parts of the land of Judah, of which here only the 
 desert is not mentioned, as in xxxii. 44, xxxiii. 13, see Josh. 
 xv. 20 ff. The kinds of offering are specialized like the parts 
 of the land. Here also, as in vii. 21 £, the whole offering comes 
 first ; along with this rut, sacrifice, sacrificial feast, and nrijD, 
 unbloody gift, the latter joined with incense, Lev. ii. 1. " And 
 shall bring thank - offerings." The nTin is not expressly co- 
 ordinated with the preceding sacrifices ; but whereas the latter 
 intimate the diverse materials and ritual, this addition states 
 the chief design of the offerings brought from all parts of the 
 land. They are especially thank-offerings, intended to express 
 thankful praise to God for benefits received. The thank-offer- 
 ing is the principal class of the shelamim, Lev. vii. 11. Cf. 
 Herzog, xi. p. 49, and Dillmann on Lev. vii. 16. Ver. 211 after 
 Amos ii. 5 (i. 14). 
 
 K 
 
146 jeremiah xvii. 19-27. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xvii. 19-27. Enforcement of the Sabbath 
 law, with corresponding promises and threats. 
 
 Independent as to form and contents, this section is uncon- 
 nected with what precedes and follows. It gives a proof how 
 Jeremiah, in the time of Josiah, after the discovery of the 
 book of the law, pressed home " the words of this covenant " 
 (xi. 1 ff.) to the hearts of the Judteans. The exhortation 
 given is to earnest observance of the Sabbath law, which 
 belonged to the chief laws of the Sinaitic covenant, but was 
 slighted even by the fathers to their hurt, and at present was 
 so disregarded that Jeremiah (like Nehemiah afterwards, Neh. 
 xiii. 15 ff.) had to dissuade the people in the city gates from 
 coming with burdens into the city to market, an incident 
 reminding us of Christ's purifying of the temple. This 
 passage shows how the prophet, with all the inwardness and 
 spirituality of his conception of God's kingdom, yet regarded 
 the chief outward commands given by God in the old covenant 
 as inalienable, and desired them to be strictly carried out for 
 the people's good. He stands altogether on the ground of the 
 Mosaic law, especially the Deuteronomic, of which the ap- 
 pended promises and threats remind us (cf. Dent, xxvii.-xxx. 
 with Jer. xvii. 25-27); save that the promise is here freely 
 shaped by the prophet. Its form is determined by the stand- 
 ing-place of Jeremiah at the chief gate of the city, by which 
 the princes as well as the populace go in and out. If the 
 Sabbath is kept, the stately processions of kin" and nobles 
 shall publish the prosperity and power of the country, while 
 the crowds approaching on all sides with rich gifts for the 
 temple will evidence the divine blessings abundantly poured 
 on the land. In the opposite case the palaces of Jerusalem 
 will become a prey to the flames. The fact that the prophet, 
 who elsewhere as a rule represents the judgment as a doom 
 scarcely to be avoided, here makes the fate of his people 
 
JEREMIAH XVII. 19-27. 147 
 
 depend on their attitude to this command, is to be understood 
 from xi. 1 ff. This question forms a part of his proclamation 
 of the ancient covenant-law ; but the Sabbath-law was then, 
 as still later in exilian days (cf. Isa. lvi. 2, lviii. 13), a touch- 
 stone of the people's obedience, of its entire religious attitude 
 to God. That later, when its outward, punctilious observance 
 had become a customary thing, while yet the nation did not 
 submit to the inward chastening of God's Spirit, it could 
 not secure the safety and welfare of the nation, is easily 
 understood. 
 
SECTION XIII 
 
 The Doctrine of the Potter and the Clay, Ch. xviii. 
 
 XVIII. 1. The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahveh 
 as follows : 2. Arise and go down to the house of the potter, 
 and I will there cause thee to hear my words. 3. Then I went 
 down to the house of the potter, and behold, he was working 
 at the potter's wheels. 4. And the vessel which he made 
 was spoilt (as clay in the potter's hand is wont) ; so he again 
 made another vessel of it, as it seemed good in the potter's 
 eyes to do. 5. Then came the word of Yahveh to me as 
 follows : 6. Have I not power to do to you like this potter, 
 
 Chapter XVIII. 
 
 Ver. 2. Go down, the potter's workshops lying low in one of 
 the valleys round the city, where clay was found, perhaps 
 towards the valley of Hinnom, where to-day clay is still found ; 
 see on xix. 1. ni2E> seldom for DE> ; Ges. § 90. 2b; Eng. § 88. Ver. 
 3. D'oasn, the two wheels, of which the under one is turned (in 
 Palestine to-day with the foot, in ancient Egypt with the left 
 hand), and thus sets in motion the upper one, which is joined 
 with it by a piece of wood, and on which the lump of clay is 
 laid. The right hand rounds off the outer face of the vessel, 
 while the left, inserted in the mass, gradually enlarges the 
 hollow. See Thomson, Zand and Book, p. 520. Ver. 4. T\nz>y\, 
 the form, intimates that it occurred not once only, but from 
 time to time. The reasons of this mishap, which may be observed 
 to-day as the prophet describes it, may be various. Perhaps 
 the potter took too little clay for the form intended ; or there 
 may have been a grain of sand in the finger of the left hand, 
 which in the turning made a furrow in the vessel's face ; or a 
 part of the clay in the washing and kneading was not brought 
 to the right consistency ; too hard or too soft places preclude 
 uniformity of shape. Alongside l»m is another, less suitable 
 reading, nana. According to Hitzig, the whole clause noro 
 wn Ta was taken from ver. 6 ; Ewald omits at least "vara. 
 Ver. 6. The figure of the potter and vessel is similarly applied 
 
 148 
 
JEREMIAH XVIII. 7-14. 149 
 
 house of Israel? is Yahveh's oracle. Behold, like the olay 
 in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of 
 Israel ! 7. As soon as I speak respecting a nation and a 
 kingdom to pluck up and to pull down and to destroy, 8. and 
 the same nation turns from its wickedness, respecting which 
 I spoke, then I repent of the evil which I thought to do to it. 
 9. As soon as I speak respecting a nation and a kingdom to 
 build and to plant, 10. and it does what is evil in my eyes 
 in not hearkening to my voice, then I repent of the good 
 which I spoke to benefit it with. 
 
 11. And now say to the men of Judah and to the in- 
 habitants of Jerusalem as follows : Thus said Yahveh : Behold 
 I frame evil against you and devise a plan against you. Turn 
 now every one from his evil ways and be diligent in good 
 ways and works. 12. But they say: It is no use, for we 
 will follow our own thoughts, and we will carry out every one 
 the perverseness of his evil heart. 13. Therefore thus has 
 Yahveh said : Ask now among the heathen : Who has heard 
 such things ? the virgin of Israel has committed horrible 
 things. 14. Does the snow of Lebanon disappoint on the 
 rock of the fields ? Or are foreign waters — cool, gushing — 
 
 to God and men elsewhere, although without the special refer- 
 ence of Jeremiah's parable in ver. 4: Job x. 9, xxxiii. 6 (cf. 
 Gen. ii. 7) ; Isa. xxix. 1 6, xlv. 9, Ixiv. 7 ; Wisd. xv. 7 ; Ecclus. 
 xxxvi. 13 (see xxxiii. 12 f.) ; Eom. ix. 21. Ver. 7. JU"i, properly, 
 a moment — the one time and in another moment (ver. 9), and 
 so synonymous with DJJS. " To pluck up," etc., see on i. 10. 
 Ver. 11. "iXV, with distinct reference to the fashioner above: I 
 form, project. 3BTI, in malam partem, as in ver. 18 and xi. 19. 
 The admonition, as in vii. 3, 5. Ver. 12. But they say, in 
 tense like Ezek. xxxiii. 17, 20. Their language runs as in 
 ii. 25. "To walk after the perverseness of his heart," as in 
 iii. 17. Ver. 13. Cf. ii. 10. rVTW=rnrw, v. 30. On r6im, 
 see under xiv. 17. Ver. 14. The snow of Lebanon disappoints 
 not, foreign waters flow ever cool, and fresh, and abundant ; but 
 my people has forgotten me. Phenomena of nature, which are 
 stable and trustworthy, are contrasted with the fickleness of 
 the nation. In the first clause the snow itself may be meant, 
 which does not go away from the lofty rock (cf. on HB>, xvii. 3), 
 so that the latter would be the peak of Lebanon. But we 
 prefer the reference to the water streaming from the rock of the 
 
150 JEREMIAH XVIII. 15-18. 
 
 dried up ? 15. For my people has forgotten me, they hum 
 incense to vanity ; they have made them fall in their ways, 
 eternal paths, to walk in steep places, in ways unmade; 16. to 
 lay waste their land for eternal hissing ; whoever passes by 
 will he astounded and shake (his) head. 17. Like an east 
 wind I will scatter them before the foe, I will look upon 
 them with the back and not the face in the day of their 
 destruction. 
 
 18. Then they said: Come, let us devise schemes against 
 
 field, so that such rocks are meant as are found near Banias 
 and elsewhere at the foot of Lebanon. The Lebanon snow dis- 
 appoints not, vanishes not from such a rock, i.e. feeds without 
 ceasing the water flowing therefrom. mr, artificially inter- 
 preted (by Ewald, Graf, Cheyne) : rushing waters ; better, 
 splendid, proud, to be read CiTT (so perhaps LXX). But 
 alongside the Lebanon snow we expect in the parallel clause a 
 geographical qualification. They are foreign waters, such as 
 the neighbourhood of Lebanon and Syria has; on the other 
 hand, Canaan has them in far less abundance and freshness 
 (2 Kings v. 12). Jeremiah lays special stress on this feature 
 in connection with ver. 13. Whereas the waters of foreigners 
 are faithful, God's own people is to be compared to their own 
 failing wadis. Ver. 15. The subject to D^EW is to be supplied 
 from nib6, after 2 Chron. xxviii. 23. bnv or $"DB>, Kethib ; Keri 
 yzw, nearer to the Arabic. In contrast to the eternal paths, 
 i.e. the ways prepared by God from the beginning of history, 
 acceptable to Him and salutary for His people, stand the nUYW, 
 steeps, i.e. toilsome, perilous footpaths, a way not thrown up, 
 no accustomed high-road. Ver. 16. ntpK> when said of a country, 
 rigid desert, desolation ; yet the context plainly suggests the 
 meaning horror (stiffness with fear); cf. xxix. 18, and often. 
 npne> (Kethib with l), elsewhere in Jeremiah npne', hissing, not 
 so much in malicious sport as in terror at the judgment smiting 
 the place. TD, Hiphil, to shake, like jnn, Job xvi. 4, a sign 
 of surprise or disapproval ; on the other hand, 1«, xvi. 5, of 
 sympathy. Ver. 17. The east wind, often mentioned as speci- 
 ally fierce, Ps. xlviii. 7 ; Job xxvii. 21 ; Isa. xxvii. 8 ; Ezek. 
 xxvii. 26 ; cf. " desert wind," Jer. xiii. 24. As they turned the 
 back to the Lord instead of the face (ii. 27), so the Lord will 
 do to them at the time when they need Him and wish to see 
 His gracious countenance. Ver. 18. Cf. xi. 19. The priest 
 communicates the Torah to the people, theocratic instruction 
 
JEREMIAH XVIII. 19-23. 151 
 
 Jeremiah ; instruction shall not fail the priest, nor counsel 
 the wise man, nor the word the prophet. Come, let us 
 smite him with the tongue, and pay no regard to any of his 
 words. 19. Do thou, Yahveh, have regard to me, and 
 hearken to the voice of my adversaries. 20. Is then evil 
 recompensed for good ? For they have dug a pit for my 
 soul. Eemember how I stood before thy face, to speak 
 good respecting them, in order to turn away thy indignation 
 from them. 21. For this reason give up their sons to famine 
 and cast them into the arms of the sword ; and let their wives 
 be bereaved of their children and be made widows ; and let 
 their men be carried off by death, their youths slain by the 
 sword in battle. 22. Let a cry be heard from their houses, 
 when thou suddenly bringest troops upon them ; because they 
 have dug a pit to take me, and have hidden snares for my 
 feet. 23. But thou, Yahveh, knowest all their purpose 
 against me for (my) death ; cover not up tbeir guilt, and blot 
 not out their sin before thy face ; but let them be made to 
 fall before thee, in the time of thy wrath deal with them. 
 
 on the ground of the written and also traditional law (see on 
 ii. 8) ; the wise man, here perhaps the counsellor of the rulers 
 and people, counsel ; the prophet, God's word. " Smiting with 
 the tongue " refers not merely to refuting and shaming, but to 
 deadly accusation and slander. Cf. ver. 23 and ix. 2, 7, xi. 18 ff. 
 Ver. 20. Cf. Ps. lvii. 6 ; there nrw, as in ver. 22, Kethib ; on the 
 other hand, here Kethib and Keri with 1, as in Jer. ii. 6. The 
 prophet here uses the language of the Psalms ; Ps. xxxv. 1-12 
 especially is to be compared, which Hitzig certainly regards 
 as Jeremiah's. Ver. 21. "iM, Hiph, to pour out, cast down ; a 
 standing phrase with Tin T bv, Ps. Ixiii. 10, Ezek. xxxv. 5, to 
 deliver any one into the hands of the sword. Ver. 23. Let 
 them be overthrown (made to fall by judgment, as in vi. 15, 
 viii. 12, xx. 11) before Thy face, according to what precedes : 
 " cover not up their sins " = let them be already judged by Thy 
 decree, until Thou execute it in the day of Thy wrath. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xviii. a. The Doctrine of the Potter and 
 the Clay, vv. 1-12. b. The Unteachable, vv. 13-23 : a. their 
 
152 JEREMIAH XVIII. 
 
 Unfaithfulness to God, vv. 13-17 ; # their Schemes against 
 the Prophet, vv. 18-23. 
 
 This discourse, symbolic or parabolic in form, and consist- 
 ing mostly of a dialogue between God and the prophet, 
 belongs perhaps to the same time as the discourse in ch. 
 xix. 20, which uses a similar parabolic action; and, since the 
 latter, xix. 2 ff. in a similar way, in part literally, likewise 
 refers to the valley of Hinnom, like the temple-discourse, ch. 
 vii., we do best to put the group, ch. xviii.-xx., in the time of 
 Jehoiakim. 
 
 a. Vv. 1-12 sets forth God's sovereign freedom, especially 
 in regard to His spoken words, whether promises or threats. 
 God is not bound to His utterance when the people to whom 
 it applies change either in a good or bad sense. Nor in this 
 sovereignty is He either capricious or arbitrary, but on the 
 contrary acts justly, because according to a high, unchange- 
 able law, as Ezek. xviii. 21-29, xxxiii. 10-20 especially 
 explains. The fact that God makes the execution of His 
 decree depend on men's conduct, explains why certain pre- 
 dictions are not fulfilled (cf. Jonah), while it encourages to 
 turn from evil ways, since the threatening may turn to pro- 
 mise, and warns against false security in regard to God's 
 gracious promises. This great truth is pictorially exhibited 
 to the prophet in the work of the potter, of course with the 
 object that he should narrate what he says to the hearers, 
 using a parable for this purpose. At the impulse of God's 
 Spirit the seer goes to a potter's workshop. There the word, 
 of the Lord comes to him : The Lord has the nations in His 
 power, especially the house of Israel, as the potter the plastic 
 clay still under his hand, to which he can not only with the 
 greatest ease give what shape he pleases, but which he can 
 remould at his pleasure if it prove unsuitable for his purpose. 
 Important here is the emphasis laid on man's freedom. For 
 how can the " spoiling " under the hands of the Divine 
 Fashioner be explained except from man's freedom ? The 
 
JEREMIAH XVIII. 153 
 
 application given in ver. 11 is merely the one required at the 
 moment; it does not exhaust the parable, as ver. 9 f. shows. 
 Plainly the purpose is to cure Israel of the notion that, build- 
 ing on the divine promises, it might boast of its character 
 indelebilis. But the practical fruit, which ought primarily to 
 grow out of this discourse, — repentance in order to avert the 
 threatened judgment, which is no inevitable fate, — remains 
 absent, ver. 12. This admonition also founders on stiff- 
 necked resistance. 
 
 b. XVIII. 13-23. As in ii. 10 ff., the injustice of Israel 
 towards its God is described as altogether unnatural, the like 
 of which is not found among the heathen, ver. 13 f. And 
 what have they gained by this unexampled unfaithfulness ? 
 Nothing but the destruction of the land ; so foolish was it to 
 make an enemy of the Almighty ! By such overpowering 
 discourses the prophet's enemies find themselves compelled 
 to contrive new plots against his life, like those previously 
 devised (xi. 18 ff.), but frustrated by God's providence. They 
 attempt this wicked course of shutting the mouth of a speaker 
 filled with God's Spirit, relying on the certain continuance of 
 the theocracy and its organs, ver. 18. As they had priests, 
 sages, prophets, they were assured of the divine guidance, and 
 need not trouble themselves about this disturber of the peace, 
 and might remove him out of the way without fear. Against 
 these deadly foes Jeremiah invokes the protection of his God 
 (ver. 19), representing to the supreme Judge the shameful 
 injustice which made such evil requital for his intercession for 
 them as for the whole land (ver. 20). The retribution impre- 
 cated upon them on this account (vv. 21-23) is just, although 
 what was said on xvii. 18 applies here in higher degree. 
 Such imprecations, which would withdraw even God's grace 
 entirely from God's enemy, have their justifiable place in the 
 Church, not of the new, but of the old covenant, where this 
 grace, God's love of enemies, had not been long revealed in 
 its full measure. 
 
SECTION XIV. 
 
 Breaking of the Bottle, and its Consequences, 
 Chs. xix., xx. 
 
 XIX. 1. Thus said Yahveh : Go and buy thee a bottle of 
 the potter, and (take with thee) of the elders of the people 
 and of the elders of the priests, 2. and go forth to the valley 
 of Ben Hinnom, which is before the entrance of the Potsherd- 
 gate, and proclaim there the words which I shall tell thee. 
 3. And thou shalt say : Hear ye Yahveh's word, ye kings of 
 Judah and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem ! Thus says Yahveh 
 of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I bring evil on this 
 
 Chapter XIX 
 
 Ver. 1 f. pips, bottle with long, narrow neck ; a duplicative 
 form, imitating the gurgling sound of liquid poured from such 
 a vessel ; cf. the word-play in ver. 7, in consequence of which 
 Ewald prefers watering-can. B'ln 1VT 1 (=*1XV, xviii. 2), earthen- 
 ware-maker. The flask is therefore of earth. From enn, made 
 of earth, potsherd (Lev. vi. 21 and often), comes also the form 
 niDin, ver. 2 (Keri with , ), " gate of potsherds," so called from 
 the many potsherds thrown down before it ; according to others, 
 " potter's gate." Potters' works seem also to have been found 
 in this quarter, so that the prophet could buy his bottle in 
 passing. The " potsherd-gate," not mentioned elsewhere, seems 
 to be identical with Nehemiah's " dung-gate " (Xeh. ii. 13, 
 iii. 13 £, xii. 31), through which one went from the city south- 
 wards. In any case it led to the valley of Hinnom. — Instead 
 of 'JptDl we expect 'o ~]b nnp^l (cf. xxxv. 3, xxxviii. 10), and 
 take with thee of the elders. LXX, ags/j, but scarcely after 
 Hebrew text. Bather, rwpl already involved the idea of taking 
 with one. Elders of the people = respectable heads of the same, 
 as representing the nation, to be witnesses of the symbolical 
 act intended to be done in the valley of Hinnom, and of the 
 words to be uttered there. Elders from the priesthood, cf. 
 2 Kings xix. 2. On Hinnom, see under vii. 31. Ver. 3. Kin«s, 
 
 164 
 
JEREMIAH XIX. 4-9. 155 
 
 place, with which the ears of all who hear it shall tingle ; 
 4. because they have forsaken me and disfigured this place, 
 and hurnt incense there to other gods whom they knew not, 
 they and their fathers and the kings of Judah, and filled this 
 place with the blood of the innocent, 5. and have built the 
 high places of Baal, to burn their sons in the fire as burnt- 
 offerings to Baal, which I commanded them not, nor spake of 
 to them, nor did it come into my mind. 6. Therefore, behold, 
 days come, is Yahveh's oracle, that this place shall no more 
 be called Tophet and valley of Ben Hinnom, but valley of 
 slaughter. 7. And I will empty out the purpose of Judah 
 and Jerusalem in this place, and cause them to perish by the 
 sword before their foes, and by the hand of them that seek 
 after their life, and will give their corpses to be food to the 
 birds of heaven and the beasts of the earth, 8. and I make 
 this city a desert and a hissing ; every one that passes by it 
 shall be astounded, and hiss for all its calamities. 9. And I 
 make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their 
 
 see on xvii. 19. dlpD, see on vii. 3. The word doubtless seems 
 to refer specifically to the valley of Hinnom ; but its pollution 
 
 also extended to the whole land, and therefore brought mis- 
 fortune on the whole land, n^sn for n^yn, Ges. § 67. 5, to 
 buzz, jingle, of the ears ; to ring (1 Sam. iii. 11 ; 2 Kings xxi. 12). 
 Ver. 4. 130, Piel, not to know, to mistake ; here, to make out- 
 landish, to distort, desecrate, cf. xvi. 18. n»n in the present 
 context cannot, after the analogy of xvi. 13, be subject to Dli>T, 
 but belongs to the previous assertions of the polluting of the 
 land and idolatry. Different in LXX, who join " and the kings 
 of Judah" to what follows. The latter reading, erasing the 
 copula before 1t«b»l, is the more acceptable, but not certainly the 
 original one. The blood of the innocent shed points specifically 
 to the children sacrificed in the valley of Hinnom, Ps. cvi. 38. 
 See on ver. 5 and on the threat of ver. 6 under vii. 31 f. 
 Ver. 7. And I empty out the purpose of Judah, i.e. make their 
 skill of no avail. The metaphor of emptying plays on the papa, 
 which Jeremiah holds in his hand; probably he also poured 
 out the bottle at these words. Jeremiah is fond not only of 
 material, but also of linguistic symbols, see on i. 11. After that 
 Mood-bath the corpses will remain unburied, see on vii. 33. 
 Ver. 8. See on xviii. 16. Ver. 9. The famine will become so 
 intense during the siege that they will eat their own children, 
 
156 JEREMIAH XIX. 10-15. 
 
 daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his 
 comrade in the siege and distress with which their enemies 
 and they that seek after their life shall distress them. 
 
 10. And thou shalt shatter the bottle before the eyes of the 
 men who go with thee, 11. and say to them: Thus says 
 Yahveh of hosts: Thus will I shatter this people and this 
 city, as one shatters a potter's vessel, which cannot be mended 
 again, and men shall bury in Tophet for want of room to 
 bury. 12. Thus will I do to this place, is Yahveh's oracle, 
 and to its inhabitants, and will make this city like Tophet 
 (spitting). 13. And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses 
 of the kings of Judah shall be made like the place of Tophet, 
 which are defiled, namely, all the houses on whose roofs they 
 have offered incense to the heavenly host and poured out 
 libations to foreign gods. 
 
 14. Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, where Yahveh had 
 sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court of the house of 
 Yahveh, and said to all the people : 15. Thus has Yahveh of 
 hosts, the God of Israel, said : Behold, I bring on this city 
 
 literally after Deut. xxviii. 53, cf. Lev. xxvi. 29. The same 
 occurred in the siege of Samaria by the Syrians, 2 Kings vi. 
 28 f. The same actually took place soon in the Babylonian 
 investment of Jerusalem, Lam. ii. 20, iv. 10. Ezekiel has the 
 same threat, v. 10. See a case in the Boman siege, Joseph. 
 Bell. Jud. v. 3. 4. Ver. 10 gives the chief symbolical act. "iniK, 
 see on i. 16. Ver. 11. As one breaks, Ges. § 137. 3 ; Eng. § 134. 
 natnb, with n instead of n, as in iii. 22. On the figure, cf. Bs. 
 ii. 9. LXX omit the last clause : and men shall bury. ... It 
 is found in nearly the same terms in vii. 32, in better order. 
 But this does not prove that it is out of place here. The 
 section vii. 31 ff. recurs here substantially, but mixed with the 
 references to Jeremiah's symbolical action, and therefore some- 
 what disarranged. Ver. 12. Dlpo, synonymous with "Vyn. nrfo, 
 to be construed as in xvii. 10, and I purpose to make the whole 
 city like the place Tophet, which has been shunned and 
 abhorred since Josiah's clays as impure ("spitting"). Ver. 13. 
 This is said specifically of the houses. D'XDan we refer as 
 apposition to ... TQ : which are impure, i.e. already stained 
 and defiled in God's sight by that forbidden worship. Cf. on 
 vii. 18, viii. 2 ; Zeph. i. 5 ; 2 Kings xxiii. 12. Incense was 
 offered on the roofs to the stars. Ver. 15. In '•30 the K is 
 
JEREMIAH XX. 1-4. 157 
 
 and all its cities all the evil which I have spoken respecting 
 it. For they have stiffened their neck in not hearkening to 
 my voice. 
 
 XX. 1. Then Pashhur, the son of Immer the priest, who 
 was chief overseer in the house of Yahveh, heard Jeremiah 
 prophesying these words. 2. Then Pashhur struck the pro- 
 phet Jeremiah and put him in the stocks, which were in the 
 upper Benjamin-gate, which was in the house of Yahveh. 
 3. And it came to pass the next morning that Pashhur 
 brought Jeremiah out of the stocks ; then said Jeremiah to 
 him : Yahveh does not call thee Pashhur, but " Terror 
 around." 4. For thus said Yahveh : Behold, I make thee a 
 terror to thyself and to all thy friends, and they shall fall by 
 the sword of their enemies, while thine eyes look on. And I 
 
 omitted, as often before N (xxxix. 16) and elsewhere (2 Kings 
 xxi. 29). 
 
 Chapter XX. 
 
 Ver. 1. Pashhur, not to be confounded with the son of Mal- 
 chiah of the same name, xxi. 1, xxxviii. 1 ; in the latter passage 
 again a father of Gedaliah is named, whom Hitzig by mere 
 conjecture indentifies with Pashhur. The family of Immer was 
 the sixteenth priestly family or class (1 Chron. xxiv. 14) ; after 
 the exile it returned in great numbers. TJ3, apposition to 
 Tpa, overseer en chef. Afterwards the office was filled by the 
 priest Zephaniah (xxix. 25), who is mentioned directly after 
 the high priest (lii. 24 ; 2 Kings xxv. 18), a testimony to the 
 importance of this dignity. K23, participle. Ver. 2. Struck 
 him and put him = caused him to be struck. . . . rDBnD, 
 properly, twisting, is the block or stocks in which the prisoners 
 were confined in stooping posture, with limbs crossed ; cf. on 
 xxix. 26. Such an instrument stood in the prison in the upper 
 Benjamin-gate, which was in the house of Yahveh, i.e. in the 
 outer wall of the temple-court on the north. It is called upper 
 in distinction from the corresponding city-gate (see on xvii. 19). 
 It seems from its name to belong to the outer court, and is 
 therefore not identical with the " upper " northern gate of the 
 temple, Ezek. ix. 2. Ver. 3. "Terror around" he is called 
 (cf. vi. 25, xx. 10), because this is his lot ; as ver. 4 explains, 
 he is girt round by terrors, and is himself a terror to his neigh- 
 bours. The name Pashhur is not clear etymologically, and is 
 not explained. Ver. 4. He will be a horror to himself and all 
 
158 JEREMIAH XX. 5-9. 
 
 give up all Judah into the hand of the King of Babylon, and 
 he shall lead them captive to Babylon, and smite them with 
 the sword. 5. And I give up all the store of this city, and 
 all its gain, and all its precious things, and I give up all the 
 treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of its enemies, 
 and they shall plunder them, and take them and bring them 
 to Babylon. 6. But thou, Pashhur, and all the dwellers in 
 thy house, you shall go away into captivity ; and thou shalt 
 come to Babylon and die there, and be buried there, thou and 
 all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied treacherously. 
 
 7. Thou hast persuaded me, Yahveh, and I let myself be 
 persuaded ; thou didst put force on me and didst prevail ; I 
 am become a mockery all the day; they all laugh at me. 
 8. For as often as I speak, I perforce cry out ; Outrage and 
 violence ! I perforce call out ; for the word of Yahveh has 
 become a reproach to me and reviling all the day. 9. And if 
 I say : I will not remember him and speak no more in his 
 name, it is in my heart like burning fire, enclosed in my 
 bones, and I am weary of holding out and am unable (to do 
 
 his friends who agree with him, and whose leader he is (ver. 6). 
 He will be terrified at himself, and others at him, when they see 
 how he fares ; and again he will see with horror his friends 
 perish. Ver. 6. All thy friends, of course all those who escape 
 the sword (ver. 4). The reference is to the adherents who 
 listened to his ostensibly prophetic words; cf. xiv. 16. Ver. 7. 
 nna, to address flatteringly, allure, speak persuasively, hence 
 seduce, mislead, often to something bad, here to something 
 dangerous. On the other hand, prn, to be firm, press strongly on 
 some one, Ex. xii. 33, with ^3? — " The whole day"= always, rfo 
 its (the nation's) entirety = every one. Jj6 with b, Ps. ii. 4. 
 Ver. 8. 1W DDn, vi. 7; Amos iii. 10; Ezek. xlv. 9. The constant 
 association favours "lb 1 }, not ifch, which would assign the two 
 words to the two verbs ; cf. Hab. i. 2. The outcry (pyt) therefore 
 stands absolutely as an utterance of deep indignation and anguish, 
 and is further explained by the exclamation: Outrage and 
 violence ! The word of God becomes a reproach, cf. vi. 10. 
 Ver. 9. TnDXl, hypothetically. The suffix in Wiars, like that in 
 IDS?, applies to God. The subject of rvrn is God's word. This was 
 shut up and suppressed like burning fire, and burnt therefore 
 the more terribly in his bones ; his bones, i.e. the hard, jointed 
 framework, giving firmness to the whole body, was unable to 
 
JEREMIAH XX. 10-13. 159 
 
 so). 10. I have heard whispering of many — Terror all 
 round ! — " Denounce, and we will denounce him ! " All men, 
 who were friendly to me, watch for my tripping : Perhaps he 
 may be enticed, then we will overpower him and take our 
 revenge on him. 11. But Yahveh is with me like a mighty 
 hero ; therefore shall my persecutors stumble and not prevail 
 over me ; they shall be greatly shamed ; for they act not 
 skilfully, to (their) eternal disgrace, which shall not be 
 forgotten. 12. And thou Yahveh of hosts, who triest the 
 righteous, who seest the reins and heart, let me see thy 
 revenge on them; for upon thee I have rolled my cause. 
 1 3. Sing ye to Yahveh ! Praise Yahveh ! For he has 
 delivered the soul of the poor man from the hand of the evil- 
 doers ! 
 
 resist the fire burning in his soul, and was gradually consumed 
 by it. The change of gender in 1VJ? Estrange, although CX 
 occurs also as masculine (xlviii. 45) ; but the subject of DTi may 
 be emphasized in it. ^3, Ges. § 21. a. 2. Ver. 10. 'a joins on 
 to the preceding thought (ver. 8), that he has nothing to expect 
 from his preaching but hostility. Jeremiah here alludes to 
 Ps. xxxi. 13. mi, sneaking, evil talk, here slanderous talk, 
 which is also a hostile attack, 'd "ilJD, outcry ! That which 
 will befall his enemies is meanwhile his own lot (ver. 3). 
 What they whisper to one another is mutual encouragement to 
 malicious denunciation of the prophet. Tin, to indicate, cf. 
 Prov. xxix. 24 ; Eccles. x. 20. With the construction, cf. Obad. 
 1, naipll loip. 'b> ^:k, all persons with whom I stand on friendly 
 footing, xxxviii. 22 ; Obad. 7. — J?^, here not side (ifa', rib), but 
 falling (l6x, to lean, limp) : they watch for a lapsus, false step, 
 especially a compromising word ; perhaps in confidential talk he 
 may be drawn to something of the kind ; then they will effect 
 his destruction, and so take revenge for the severe rebukes they 
 have received from him. Ver. 11. Yahveh is with me (Tiltf, see 
 on i. 16), according to His promise, i. 8, 19, xv. 20. piy, 
 properly = violently, therefore terribly for his enemies. The 
 disgrace will finally, according to end of ver. 11, be on their 
 side and perpetual. Ver. 12. Almost like xi. 20. See there 
 on VrvH. Since the Lord tries and judges impartially, he will 
 see the Lord's revenge on them ; on the other hand, he will not 
 himself take revenge as they do (ver. 10). Ver. 13. ]V3K, pro- 
 perly, needy, poor, then passes into the meaning weak, defence- 
 
160 JEREMIAH XX. 14-18. 
 
 14. Cursed be the day on which I was born! Let the 
 day when my mother bare me remain unblessed ! 15. Cursed 
 be the man who brought glad news to my father, saying : A 
 son, a boy is born to thee, that he might greatly delight him ! 
 16. Let the same man be like the cities which Yahveh 
 irrevocably overturned ! And let him hear shouting in the 
 morning, and tumult of war at noon ! 1 7. Because he killed 
 me not forthwith in the womb, so that my mother should 
 become my grave, and her womb remain big for ever! 18. 
 Wherefore came I forth from the womb to behold toil and 
 trouble, so that my days have vanished in dishonour ? 
 
 less, helpless, often joined with yy, as in Ps. xl. 18. Ver. 14 f. 
 is strongly akin to Job iii. 3 ff., which lyrical outburst, however, 
 is more intensely poetical and cannot be a copy of Jeremiah ; 
 the converse relation is much more conceivable. Jeremiah here 
 further explains the complaint of xv. 10 in the form of an 
 imprecation of his birthday. Ver. 15. This curse, which, if it 
 were taken in earnest, would be unreasonable and unjust, is 
 merely intended to express the great sorrow of his life. The 
 Eabbins say, the man was Pashhur. Ver. 16. See Gen. xix. 25. 
 Ver. 17- TJiat he killed me not, refers to that man ; BIT1Q, perhaps 
 retained from Job iii. 11, where it suits better. It is not : 
 directly after leaving the womb, but : directly in the womb ; 
 properly, of course = from there or out of there. He had better 
 have stayed therein, and so found his grave in his mother 
 Ver. 18. Cf. Job iii. 10. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of chs. xix., xx. a. The Bottle shattered in the 
 Valley of Hinnom, xix. 1-13. b. The next Scenes, xix. 14- 
 xx. 18: a. Jeremiah's Discourse in the Temple-court, xix. 
 14 f. ; ft. Ill-treatment of the Prophet, xx. If.; y. Pashhur's 
 Eebuke, vv. 3-6 ; 8. the Prophet's Complaint and Comfort, 
 vv. 7-13; e. renewed Complaint, vv. 14-18. 
 
 a. XIX. 1-13. The symbolic action here enjoined upon 
 the prophet is again very simple and expressive. He is to 
 take an earthen bottle with long neck, such as a potter makes 
 in thousands, and break it before the representatives of the 
 people, whom he is to take with him as witnesses, in the 
 
JEKEMIAH XIX., XX. 161 
 
 valley of Hinnom near the place Tophet (ver. 10), perhaps after 
 first pouring out the contents, and at the same time saying 
 (ver. 7), " As easily as one dashes to pieces such vessels, will 
 the Lord shatter nation and city as a punishment for the 
 enormities committed there," after "pouring out" their 
 counsel, i.e. making it fall fruitless to the earth. This punish- 
 ment takes place through enemies, who terribly oppress the 
 city (ver. 9), conquer it, and make it like Tophet, which all 
 men shun ; every place will be filled with corpses lying 
 about unburied. 
 
 This discourse is plainly an expansion of vii. 31-33, 
 certainly distinguished in a marked way from that portion of 
 the temple-discourse by the place where the speaker stands, 
 the symbolic action he performs, and also by certain special 
 expositions, e.g. vv. 9, 13. We shall accordingly not err if 
 we put this discourse, which is specially devoted to the vale 
 of Hinnom and the trangressions of the people there, some- 
 where about the same time as the temple-discourse, but not 
 much later, and therefore also under Jehoiakim. 
 
 b. XIX. 1 4— XX. 18. It is not said that the prophet performed 
 the above action ; but this is understood. On this act followed 
 a discourse in the temple-court, where Jeremiah usually spoke 
 to the people. This discourse, the matter of which is given 
 (xix. 15) in brief epitome only, was without doubt sub- 
 stantially a repetition of the one delivered in the valley of 
 Hinnom. But on this occasion the patience of the heads of 
 the people gave way. The chief official of the temple, 
 Pashhur, interfered in virtue of his office (cf. xxix. 2 5 f.), and 
 put the prophet in close custody for the night, perhaps 
 twenty-four hours, after having him beaten with a scourge or 
 rod. It is significant that this Pashhur was no ordinary 
 ' official or priest, but, according to ver. 6, a considerable 
 prophet of the class of optimists described in vii. 4, 11, 
 xiv. 13, who rocked the conscience of the nation to sleep. 
 These false prophets thus had their representatives and 
 
 L 
 
162 JEREMIAH XIX., XX. 
 
 champions in the highest priesthood. Such an one gladly 
 seized the opportunity of putting down by violence an un- 
 welcome opponent, who was secretly an object of fear. He 
 receives in return a threat similar to the one which Amos 
 uttered to Amaziah (Amos vii. 17), and Isaiah to Shebnah 
 (Isa. xxii. 15 ff.). At the same time, the threat against 
 Jerusalem is repeated with intense and terrible plainness, 
 while Pashhur, his house and dependants, are placed in the 
 first rank under that threat. He will be a " terror around," 
 i.e. followed and overtaken by fearful perils. After seeing 
 the sword rage against his friends, he will go into captivity 
 at Babylon. This fate probably fell upon him soon after- 
 wards ; he seems to have gone into exile with Jehoiakim. 
 For in xxix. 25 another fills his office, and the fulfilment of a 
 prophecy of so specific a nature is ensured by its preservation. 
 In this chapter a Babylonian captivity is first spoken of with 
 marked emphasis, certainly after unmistakeable allusions to 
 that country as the scene of exile (cf. e.g. xiii. 1 ff.). 
 
 Whereas the account, xx. 1—6, where Jeremiah is spoken 
 of in the third person with the epithet " the prophet," as in 
 later parts of the book, was perhaps not dictated by the 
 prophet himself ; on the other hand, the bold lyrical epilogue 
 comes directly from his lips. In this twofold complaint the 
 prophet's spirit is seen to be deeply depressed. For the first 
 time, perhaps, he had been subjected to actual ill-treatment ; 
 this could not happen to a gentle, sensitive nature without 
 leaving a grievous wound ; more painfully than ever he felt 
 again (cf. xv. 10 ff.) the doom, which made him so bitterly 
 hated by his people. Ewald transposes vv. 14-18 and 7-13, 
 a course which has much in the contents to recommend it. 
 But another question is, whether we have the right to simplify 
 in this way. Vv. 14-18 may rather be meant to give a 
 second proof of the inward weakness which about that time 
 troubled the prophet in anxious moments ; yet this outbreak 
 of great despondency would not actually follow directly on 
 
JEKEMIAH XIX., XX. 163 
 
 the triumphant ver. 13. Too much must not be inferred 
 from the fact, that the complaints given here (differently in 
 xii. 5, xv. 10 ff.) are not expressly rebuked by God. God 
 could not regard them differently here from what He does 
 there, nor yet the prophet on calm reflection and repeated 
 illumination, as vv. 11—13 shows, where in the style of the 
 psalmists he passes from complaint to confident petition, and 
 from this to joyous praise for assured answers, xx. 7 has a 
 significant bearing on Jeremiah's entrance upon the prophetic 
 office. God persuaded him in love, as a wooer his bride ; not 
 without joyous, loving response to the Lord did he enter into 
 this special relation to Him (cf. xv. 1 6). But along with this 
 alluring, to which he gladly surrendered himself, he felt a 
 divine power taking possession of him, without his being able 
 to resist it. Ver. 9 is instructive as to his present attitude 
 to God's word. He cannot suppress it without torturing 
 pain, and so is compelled by an inner power to utter the 
 message he has received. Cf. Amos iii. 8 ; also 1 Cor. ix. 16. 
 
SECTION XV. 
 
 Eespecting the Kings, Ch. xxi. 1-xxiii. 8. 
 
 XXI. 1. The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahveh, 
 when king Zedekiah sent Pashhur, son of Malchiah, and 
 Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah, the priest to him, to say: 2. 
 Inquire now of Yahveh for us. For Nebuchadnezzar, king 
 of Babylon, makes war against us : perhaps Yahveh will deal 
 with us according to all his wonders, and he will march 
 away from us. 3. Then Jeremiah said to them : Thus shall 
 
 Chapter XXL 
 
 Ver. 1. The messengers are men of rank, as in Isa. xxxvii. 2, 
 Jer. xxxvii. 3; they belong to the "elders of the priesthood" 
 (xix. 1), i.e. the leaders of the priesthood. Pashhur (appears 
 also in xxxviii. 1, while he is to be distinguished from 
 the one named in xx. 1) is indeed not expressly described 
 as a priest, but Malchiah, like Maaseiah and Immer, 
 xx. 1, belongs to the priestly class, 1 Chron. ix. 12, xxiv. 4. 
 Zephaniah (also xxix. 25, xxxvii. 3, lii. 24) at this time took 
 the next place to the high priest, and is perhaps for this reason 
 called "the priest" in a special sense. Ver. 2. Inquire now 
 for our good. "01JQ involves also intercession for the nation, 
 cf. xxxvii. 3. The form Nebuchadrezzar, supplied by the 
 Hebrew text here and in ver. 7, xxii. 5, etc. (so Ezekiel through- 
 out, whilst in Jeremiah the other also is found, see on xxvii. 1 ; 
 in Daniel likewise both), corresponds better to the Assyrio- 
 Babylonian form of the name than the Jewish - Aramsean 
 Nebuchadnezzar ; the former is found in the inscriptions : Nabu- 
 kudurriusur = Nebo (divine name), guard (imper. of nasar, to 
 guard) the crown (kudur), Schrader, ii. p. 47. The LXX have 
 nearly always omitted the name in this book. Drfo (cf. xxxiv. 
 1, 7), wages war against. The siege proper had not yet begun 
 (ver. 4) ; conflicts outside the city were still impending. This 
 deputation belongs to an earlier time than the one related in 
 xxxvii. 3 ff. (cf. ver. 5 there). — unite, see on i. 16. Perhaps 
 Yahveh will deal with us after the manner of all His wonderful 
 acts (especially the deliverance of Jerusalem under Hezekiah) 
 
 164 
 
JEREMIAH XXI. 4-9. 165 
 
 you say to Zedekiah : 4. Thus says Yahveh, the God of 
 Israel: Behold, I make the weapons of war, which are in 
 your hands, with which you make war against the king of 
 Babylon and the Chaldseans, who afflict you, return from the 
 field before the walls, and I collect them within this city ; 
 5. and I will make war with you with outstretched hand 
 and with strong arm, and in wrath, and in fury, and iu great 
 rage ; 6. and I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both 
 men and cattle ; they shall die by a great pestilence. 7. And 
 afterwards, is Yahveh's oracle, I will give Zedekiah, king of 
 Judah, and his servants and the people, (and) those who are 
 left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword and from 
 the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, 
 and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of 
 those who seek after their life ; and he will smite them with 
 the edge of the sword, without sympathy for them, and with- 
 out sparing and compassion. 
 
 8. And thou shalt say to this people : Thus says Yahveh : 
 Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of 
 death : 9. he that remains in this city shall die by the 
 sword, and famine, and pestilence ; and he that goes forth and 
 falls away to the Chaldseans, who besiege you, shall live and 
 
 so that he (Nebuch.) may withdraw from us. Ver. 4. pnp 
 belongs to 3DD, although somewhat distant from it ; Jeremiah 
 is fond of involved sentences, pro may certainly signify, out- 
 side ; but here }0 along with 3DD denotes the direction whence, 
 as in ix. 20. Thus the weapons, which they are still thinking 
 of using outside, will by divine direction return thence and be 
 collected within the city. Ver. 5. With outstretched hand and 
 strong arm ; usually the predicates are put in the reverse order, 
 Deut. iv. 34, v. 15, xxvi. 8; still God's "outstretched hand" 
 occurs elsewhere, Isa. v. 25, ix. 11, 16, 20, x. 4; cf. 1 Chroii. 
 xxi. 16. Ver. 7. The copula in CiNE'jn nxi should be erased, 
 with LXX. ain "ai), Gen. xxxiv. 26 ; in Jeremiah here only. 
 Of course it is not meant that Nebuchadnezzar will put all to 
 the sword ; Zedekiah himself will go into captivity, xxxiv. 2 ff., 
 and his people with him, according to many passages. Ver. 8. 
 *:sb ]n:, to give the choice, as in the solemn Deut. xi. 26. Ver. 9. 
 ha i>B3, like bs, xxxvii. 13 f., xxxviii. 19, xxxix. 9, lii. 15, " to fall 
 away to," says more than " to fall to " (Graf), yet has not the 
 
166 JEREMIAH XXI. 10-XXII. 1. 
 
 have his soul for a prey. 10. For I have set my face on 
 this city for evil and not for good, is Yahveh's oracle ; into 
 the hand of the king of Babylon it shall be given, and he shall 
 burn it with fire. 
 
 11. And to the house of the king of Judah (the message 
 is) : Hear Yahveh's word, 12. house of David ! Thus said 
 Yahveh : Execute justice every morning, and rescue him that 
 is plundered from the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury 
 go forth like fire and burn inextinguishably because of the 
 wickedness of your deeds! 13. Behold, I will (come) to 
 thee, thou who sittest in the valley, thou rock of the plain, is 
 Yahveh's oracle, you who say : Who should descend on us, 
 and who come into our dwellings? 14. And I will visit 
 you according to the fruit of your works, is Yahveh's oracle, 
 and will kindle a fire in her wood, that it may consume all 
 her surroundings. 
 
 XXII. 1. Thus said Yahveh: Go down to the house of 
 
 usual ethical sense of our " falling away." Ver. 10. Cf. xxiv. 6, 
 xliv. 11. Ver. 11. " Concerning the house of the king," sc. thou 
 shalt say (ver. 8, loxn), or the word of the Lord runs. The 
 house of the king, exercising judicial power, cf. xvii. 19, xxvi. 10. 
 Ver. 12. House of David, apostrophe belonging to iyDE> ; the 
 verse-division is therefore incorrect. Not only the king himself, 
 but the other princes of the royal house had a leading share in 
 the dispensing of justice, which was in a bad state. "\p2b, as in 
 Amos iv. 4, for npa$> npnb- — bto, to flay, hence to plunder, oppress 
 generally, 'ui IB, literally, as in iv. 4, where the more suitable 
 reading is DS^Pjjd, like Keri here. Ver. 13. Thou who sittest 
 (or dwellest) in the valley, rock of the plain, peculiar poetical 
 designation of Jerusalem, which is encircled by high hills (cf. 
 Isa. xxii. 1), while at the same time towering as a rock above 
 a flat surface. It is doubly concealed by these two peculiarities. 
 It does not lie on the high-road, but has to be reached by toil- 
 some hill-paths ("who will descend from these heights upon 
 us ? " nir for nw), which often happened to it ; on the other 
 hand, it stands on a strong, towering rock, commanding the 
 immediate neighbourhood (cf. xvii. 3). 
 
 Chapter XXII. 
 
 Ver. 1. Go down to the king's house ; the seer was apparently 
 in the temple, to which one goes up from the palace, xxvi. 10. 
 
JEREMIAH XXII. 2-0. 167 
 
 the king of Judah, and speak there this message, 2. and say : 
 Hear Yahveh's word, king of Judah, thou who sittest on 
 David's throne, thou and thy servants and thy people, who 
 enter by these doors ! 3. Thus has Yahveh said : Exercise 
 justice and righteousness, and rescue him that is plundered 
 from the hand of the oppressor ; and harass not, ill-use not 
 the stranger, orphan and widow, and shed not innocent 
 blood in this place. 4. For if you really act according to 
 this message, kings shall enter by the doors of this house, 
 sitting on David's throne, riding on chariots and horses, he 
 himself and his servants and his people. 5. And if you 
 hearken not to these words, I have sworn by myself, is 
 Yahveh's oracle, that this house shall be made a desolation. 
 6. For thus says Yahveh respecting the house of the king of 
 Judah : Thou art Gilead to me, the summit of Lebanon — 
 verily I make thee a desert, cities not inhabited. 7. And I 
 consecrate destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons, 
 and they will fell thy choice cedars and cast them into the 
 fire. 8. And many nations shall pass by this city, and say 
 one to another : "Wherefore has Yahveh done thus to this 
 great city ? 9. And it shall be said : Because they forsook 
 the covenant of Yahveh their God, and prostrated themselves 
 before other gods and worshipped them. 
 
 The latter probably stood on the southern spur of the temple- 
 hill in the " city of David." Ver. 2. "|Oin, here as in ver. 4, 
 not the whole people of Judah, which would no doubt come to 
 the palace to seek justice, but the king's retinue, along with 
 the D'Hnp standing near the ruler's person. Ver. 3. Cf. vii. 6, 
 xxi. 12. plt2>p, exactor, oppressor, as in xxi. 12, ptfj?. Ver. 4, 
 like the promise, xvii. 25. Ver. 5. This house, of course the 
 palace as the king's house ; to this the address ver. 6 f. applies. 
 Ver. 6. By Gilead here is meant the wooded mountain-land of 
 this name alongside cedared Lebanon. The king's house is 
 compared to these wooded mountains, because its cedar-pillars, 
 " select " stems (cf. ver. 7), remind of these mountains. Cf. 
 David's palace, 2 Sam. vii. 2, 7 ; Solomon's Lebanon forest-house, 
 1 Kings vii. 2-5, and Jer. xxii. 14, 23. The opposite simile of 
 waste cities was specially suggested on the east of the Jordan, 
 where already many such ruins were to be found. rOB'ii, 
 Kethib preferable, as in ii. 15. Ver. 7. wp, to consecrate, 
 equip, see on vi. 4. Ver. 8 f. Cf. Deut. xxix. 23 f. ; 1 Kings 
 
168 JEREMIAH XXII. 10-14. 
 
 10. Weep not for one dead, and lament him not; weep 
 rather for him who goes away ; for he will not return any 
 more, nor see the land of his birth. 11. For thus said 
 Yahveh in regard to Shallum, son of Josiah, king of Judah, 
 who came to the throne in the place of his father Josiah, who 
 went forth from this place : He will return thither no more. 
 12. For in the place whither they led him captive, there he 
 shall die and see this land no more. 
 
 13. "Woe to him who builds his house by unjust means 
 and his chambers dishonestly, who labours through his neigh- 
 bour without recompense, and gives him not his wages ; 
 14. who says: "I will build me a roomy house and airy 
 
 ix. 8 f. Ver. 10 f. More lamentable than the lot of one dead, 
 where the prophet alludes to Josiah, who had just fallen and 
 was still bitterly mourned, is that of the living king, captive 
 and exile for ever. The latter is called Shallum, (ver. 11), 
 and without doubt is identical with Jehoahaz, son of Josiah. 
 See his fate, 2 Kings xxiii. 30 ff. ; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 1 ff. 
 Shallum seems to have been his name before he came to 
 the throne, 1 Chron. iii. 15. Others think Jeremiah so named 
 him after that regicide, 2 Kings xv. 10, 13, because of his 
 brief reign ; which is quite improbable, considering the 
 sympathy which the prophet shows for this unfortunate prince, 
 despite 2 Kings xxiii. 32. Ver. 13. The second clause says in 
 what the illegality and injustice of Jehoiakim consisted: he 
 did not pay his labourers. It is evident from 2 Kings xxiii. 35 
 that he was in straitened circumstances financially ; all the 
 more baneful was his mania for building. The chambers or 
 upper rooms are specially mentioned here and ver. 14, because 
 the greatest extravagance was lavished on these commodious 
 and favourite rooms. " One who works through his neigh- 
 bour " = who gets work done by him. Ver. 14. rnp, properly 
 extension, a house of large dimensions, rrn, to be airy, wide, 
 part. Pual, airy, roomy. Examples of the expenditure : 1 large 
 windows, 2 cedar-lining, 3 red painting, jnp, as in iv. 30, 
 properly, to cut wide open. The windows are in a sense the 
 eyes of the building, ''i'bn, neither to be taken as an adjective 
 nor probably as a dual or plural form. According to J. D. 
 Michaelis and most moderns, we should read jiSD vo&n. jbd 
 (infill, abs.), properly, not " to line " (nay), but to cover, used of 
 covering boards with cedar-rafters. 1W (here pausal form), 
 deep red, red ochre. This painting seems to have been a new 
 
JEREMIAH XXII. 15-19. 169 
 
 chambers," and cuts wide his windows, lined with cedar and 
 painted with vermilion ! — 1 5. Wouldst thou be a king by- 
 vying in cedar ? Did not thy father then eat and drink and 
 practise justice and righteousness ? Then it was well with him. 
 
 16. He settled the cause of the wretched and poor one; then 
 it was well. Is not this to know me ? is Yahveh's oracle. 
 
 17. For thine eyes and thy heart are only on thy gain, and 
 on the blood of the innocent one to shed it, and on burdening 
 and oppressing to accomplish it. 18. Therefore thus has 
 Yahveh said in regard to Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of 
 Judah : They shall not mourn for him : Alas, my brother, 
 and alas, sister ! Alas, commander, and alas, his majesty ! 
 19. With the burial of an ass he shall be buried, dragged 
 along, and cast out far from the gates of Jerusalem. 
 
 fashion, perhaps from Egypt, a country which the king 
 favoured. Yer. 15. Wilt thou he king, if thou viest in cedar 
 (buildings) ? Thinkest thou that the essence of kingship con- 
 sists in this ? rnnriD, see on xii. 5 ; Ges. § 55. a. 5 ; Eng. 
 § 54. Thy father did not embark on such unnecessary under- 
 takings, a burden to the country, but enjoyed calmly and 
 contentedly what God gave him, and dispensed justice ; and 
 it went well with him. LXX read tnto or nxnso instead of 
 riK3. The latter occurs in Cod. Vat., the former in Cod. Alex, 
 and Arabic. Yying with Ahaz would not be intelligible ; 
 therefore Ahab was then thought of ; he would be more in place, 
 but would scarcely be mentioned without further reference. 
 Masoretic text is preferable. Ver. 16. Does not the true 
 knowledge of God for a ruler consist in this ? Cf. ix. 23 ; 
 Hos. vi. 6. Ver. 17. Love of gain is the principal root of the 
 king's evil deeds (cf. vi. 13). To serve his avarice he shed 
 innocent blood, as Ahab once did. nvn», oppression, from pn, 
 thus for nsnp. Ver. 18. "Alas, brother! Alas, sister!" gives 
 the literal form of the usual lament for the dead ; " Alas, com- 
 mander ! Alas, his majesty ! " is the usual lament for a prince. 
 Great value was attached to marks of respect after death. The 
 beloved Josiah was lamented in a quite extraordinary way, 
 2 Chron. xxxv. 24 f. mriN 'in does not suit the present case 
 (hence omitted by LXX !), but perhaps added for the sake of 
 the parallel. Ver. 19. As a dead ass is buried without 
 honour, so will his corpse fare ; nay, it will not even be buried, 
 but dragged along (ariD, xv. 3) and thrown away ! So xxxvi. 
 30 foretells no honourable burial for him. In 2 Kings xxiv. 6, 
 
170 JEEEMIAH XXII. 20-24. 
 
 20. Mount up on Lebanon (0 daughter of Zion) and cry, 
 and let thy voice sound in Bashan ! And cry from Abarim ; 
 for all thy lovers have perished. 21. I spoke to thee, when 
 thou wast yet secure ; thou saidst : I will not hear ; this is 
 thy way from thy youth, that thou didst not hearken to my 
 voice. 22. The wind shall feed all thy shepherds, and thy 
 favourites go into captivity; thou shalt be a reproach and 
 shame because of all thy evil-doing. 23. Thou that art 
 enthroned on Lebanon, and hast made thy nest in the cedars, 
 how wilt thou groan when pangs come on thee, writhing as 
 on a travailing woman ! 
 
 24. As truly as I live, is Yahveh's oracle : Though Coniah, 
 son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were a signet ring on my 
 
 indeed, nothing is said of unnatural death or disgraceful burial ; 
 but the phrase used there is also applied to Ahab (1 Kings 
 xxii. 40) ; the two statements therefore are not mutually 
 exclusive. The Chronicles speaks more in detail, 2 Chron. 
 xxxvi. 6. Accordingly Jehoiakim fell into the hands of 
 Nebuchadnezzar. This may have occurred on a visit of homage 
 to his camp ; he was there received unfavourably, and sentenced 
 to removal to Babylon, but may meanwhile have perished 
 miserably. Ver. 20. The unnamed one addressed as in vii. 29, 
 x. 17, is the Church at Jerusalem, or the nation of Judah. 
 VJW, Ges. § 10. a. 2. Lebanon, the hills of Bashan and Abarim 
 (to which the lofty Nebo belongs, Deut. xxxii. 49), are named 
 as heights commanding a wide view of the country and 
 neighbouring territories. There the nation is to mourn the fall 
 of its lovers, i.e. its neighbours in alliance against Babylon. 
 The strong carrying power of Semitic voices must here be 
 remembered (1 Sam. xxvi. 13). Ver. 21. jvbtf, security, care- 
 less rest ; the plural applies to calm times and safe circum- 
 stances. From thy youth, i.e. from the earliest days of thy 
 national existence. Ver. 22. Ironically : All thy shepherds 
 (princes and leaders of the nation) the wind will lead to 
 pasture, i.e. remove (cf. iv. 11 f.), suggesting that they love 
 windy things as food. Ver. 23. TDK'' 1 and Ti3:pD, see on x. 17. 
 She dwells on Lebanon, ensconced in cedar, because dwelling 
 in cedar palaces, as in ver. 6. pp, Piel, to nest ; Pual, to be 
 nested. Tura (ending, see on ii. 20), by transposition from 
 v.rasj. Pangs of a travailing woman, as in vi. 24, xiii. 21. 
 The pains and pangs of a siege are meant. Ver. 24. Coniah or 
 Jeconiah (so xxiv. 1 ; 1 Chron. iii. 16 f.) was perhaps Jehoia- 
 
JKEEMIAII XXII. 25-30. 171 
 
 right hand, I would yet pluck thee thence. 25. And I 
 deliver thee into the hand of those who seek after thy life, 
 and into the hand of those at 'whom thou art terrified, and into 
 the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, kirjg of Babylon, and into the 
 hand of the Chaldaeans. 26. And I fling thee, and thy 
 mother who bare thee, to the strange land, where thou wast 
 not born, and there you shall die. 27. And they shall not 
 return to the land whither they long to return. 28. Is then 
 this man Coniah a despicable, broken vessel, or a vessel in 
 which one has no pleasure ? Wherefore were they flung 
 away, he and his seed, and cast to a land which they know 
 not? 29. land, land, land, hear Yahveh's word. 30. Thus 
 says Yahveh : Write ye down this man childless, a man 
 who prospers not in his life ; for no one of his seed shall 
 prosper, sitting on David's throne and ruling any longer in 
 Judah. 
 
 chin's name before he came to the throne (cf. on ver. 11). 
 The signet-ring on the right hand is the ornament which one 
 does not put off and holds in honour, cf. Hag. ii. 23. pro, 
 to tear off; see on the form, Ges. § 58. 4 ; Eng. § 57. Ver. 
 25 ff. See the fulfilment in 2 Kings xxiv. 12, 15, xxv. 27-30 ; 
 Jer. xxiv. 1, xxix. 2, lii. 31 ff. Cf. also the prophecy contem- 
 porary with the present one, xiii. 18 ff. "nr, verbal adjective, 
 as in xxxix. 17. Ver. 26. mnx 1"Mn, the single use of the 
 article is strange. Ver. 27. t^B3 K5M, Piel, properly, to raise the 
 desire after, i.e. to long for something, as in xliv. 14. Ver. 28. 
 A despised earthen vessel, i.e. one deemed useless, is thrown 
 away, as this ruler was cast away, cf. xix. 11. Ver. 30. Write 
 him down, i.e. in the register of citizens (Isa. iv. 3), childless. 
 In ver. 28, indeed, " his seed " also was named (which LXX 
 omit to avoid the contradiction) ; but our verse does not say 
 that he is to be absolutely childless, but only that he is to be 
 legally counted so, no son or descendant succeeding to him. 
 Instead of r6v t6 we should say : None of his posterity will 
 have the good fortune to sit on David's throne and rule over 
 Judah. It is doubtful whether Jehoiachin, who, according to 
 2 Kings xxiv. 8, was only eighteen years old (according to 
 2 Chron. xxxvi. 9, only eight), had children during his reign. 
 Ver. 28 does not require this, since his posterity may be spoken 
 of proleptically. Wives of the king are mentioned, 2 Kings 
 xxiv. 15. 
 
172 JEREMIAH XXIII. 1-6. 
 
 XXIII. 1. Woe to shepherds who destroy and scatter the 
 sheep of my pasture, is Yahveh's oracle. 2. Therefore thus 
 has Yahveh, the God of Israel, spoken respecting the shepherds 
 who feed my people: You have scattered my sheep and 
 driven them away, and not sought after them ; so do I seek 
 in you after the wickedness of your doings, is Yahveh's oracle. 
 
 3. And I will gather the remnant of my sheep from all the 
 lands whither I have scattered them, and bring them again 
 into their pasture, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 
 
 4. And I set up shepherds over them, which feed them ; and 
 they shall no longer be afraid, nor hopeless, nor missing, is 
 Yahveh's oracle. 5. Behold, days come, is Yahveh's oracle, 
 that I cause a righteous sprout to arise to David, and he shall 
 reign as king, and deal wisely and practise justice and right- 
 eousness in the land. 6. In his days Judah shall enjoy 
 
 Chapter XXIII. 
 
 Ver. 1. Shepherds = rulers, as in xxii. 22. The reference is 
 not merely to kings proper, so that the plural would only apply 
 to a succession of rulers, but here as in iii. 15, xxii. 22, above 
 all, to contemporary rulers and leaders, who are addressed as 
 kings in xvii. 20 also ; see on xvii. 20, xxi. 12. The flock of my 
 pasture = the flock feeding on my land, which, of course, implies 
 that the flock itself is the Lord's property, cf. xiii. 17. The 
 LXX have n(j.r,g auruv less suitably, and then omit 'n DXJ. Ver. 
 3. Here the scattering, ascribed to the shepherds in ver. 2, 
 appears as God's act. God has scattered it, because under the 
 guidance of its rulers it has proved unfaithful to Him. nail rns, 
 see on iii. 16. Ver. 4. LXX omit npa* s6i ; Ewald would rather 
 read Vina* 1 ; both without reason in the context, since the word 
 
 it : ■ ' ' 
 
 well suits a herd in the sense " to miss " (cf. 1 Sam. xxv. 7), 
 and after the climax inn 11 another climax is natural. Ver. 5 f. 
 rax used in Isa. iv. 2 already of the divine salvation of the 
 days of consummation, but there not yet in a definite personal 
 form as here and similar designations, Isa. xi. 1. Afterwards 
 (Zech. iii. 8, vi. 12) this npv became a prophetic proper name 
 of the Messiah. p^V is the cardinal virtue of a ruler (Ps. 
 lxxii. 1 ff.), which will be seen perfectly in the future Messiah, 
 according to Zech. ix. 9 and other prophetic passages. It is 
 exercised in religious attention to justice and righteousness in 
 the land, the protection of the friendless and helpless especially 
 being thought of ; cf. Jer. xxi. 12, xxii. 3. Ver. 6. lNip' 1 , the 
 
JEREMIAH XXIII. 7, 8. 173 
 
 deliverance, and Israel dwell securely. And this (is) his name 
 with which he shall be called : " Yahveh our righteousness." 
 7. For this reason days shall come, is Yahveh's oracle, that 
 one shall no longer say, " As truly as Yahveh lives, who 
 brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt," 
 but: 8. As truly as Yahveh lives, who brought up and led 
 the seed of the house of Israel from the land of the north, 
 and from all the lands whither I drove them, and they shall 
 dwell on their own soil. 
 
 rare contraction of the suffix (as in Hos. viii. 3) has produced 
 the parallel reading IN") ip*, which, however, would make the 
 clause defective. The erroneous rendering of the LXX also 
 confirms the correctness of the current reading, and the changes 
 of the text by Ewald and Cheyne are arbitrary. The only 
 question is, to whom the suffix applies, whether to Israel or 
 the Messiah. Ewald, Graf, Nagelsbach prefer the former, 
 appealing to xxxiii. 16. But if Jerusalem (not Israel) there 
 bears this auspicious name, this by no means decides the 
 present passage, considering Jeremiah's fondness for giving 
 new turns to words already in use. Here the whole context 
 favours the reference to the Messiah, of whom ver. 5 speaks 
 with such emphasis, and who still rules in ver. 6 : in His days 
 the state of salvation begins ; His name, then, is also to be 
 referred to Him. The name Immanuel, Isa. vii. 4, proves 
 undeniably that an individual, specifically the Messiah, may 
 bear a name expressive of God's relation to the whole Church. 
 Yahveh our righteousness. These two words are not in apposi- 
 tion to each other, as the ancient interpretation supposed, as if 
 thereby the Messiah were described as Yahveh Himself, who is 
 our righteousness ; but after the analogy of Immanuel the 
 name expresses the relation of God to the Church having its 
 ground and security in the Messiah. P~j~i, properly, right 
 attitude, right character (cf. Kautzsch, Derivate des Stammes 
 p1)S), then justification, must not be simply reduced to safety, 
 welfare, etc., giving up the ethical character lying in the nature 
 of the word and specifically secured in the present context by 
 pns, ver. 5, as well as by the exposition in xxxi. 31-34 ; cf. also 
 Ezek. xxxvi. 25 ff. The word piv embraces two things, right 
 attitude and the right condition following from it ; here, inner 
 justification by the Lord and the divine evidence of righteousness 
 outwardly, consisting in open benefits and blessings. Ver. 7 f- 
 Almost literally like xvi. 14 f. On the form ruas, see on i. 13. 
 The LXX wrongly put these two verses at the end of the chapter. 
 
174: jeremiah xxi. 1-xxiii. 8. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of xxi. 1-xxiii. 8: The King - Oracles. This 
 section contains a series of oracles occupied with the kings of 
 Judah and arranged in accordance with this common matter, 
 not in chronological sequence. The series is opened by a. 
 an oracle delivered to King Zedekiah on the outbreak of the 
 Babylonian war: a. Consultation of the prophet and his 
 answer (xxi. 1-7), followed by /3. his Counsel to the people 
 (vv. 8-10). I. On the other hand, the independent monition 
 to the royal house springs from an earlier time, perhaps that of 
 Jehoiakim, xxi. 11-14. c. Ch. xxii. contains a chain of king- 
 oracles reaching probably to Zedekiah (xxiii. 1-8), of which 
 the first (xxii. 1-19) may belong to a discourse delivered 
 under Jehoiakim : a. general Introduction (vv. 1—9) ; /3. 
 message respecting Shallum-Jehoahaz (vv. 10—12) ; 7. respect- 
 ing Jehoiakim, vv. 1 3—1 9 ; S. the oracle respecting Jehoiachin, 
 vv. 20—30, comes somewhat farther down. d. Encouraging 
 contrast to the many preceding Bad Shepherds : the good 
 government of the future Shepherd of David's house, xxiii. 1—8. 
 Since a connection exists between the name of King Zedekiah 
 and the name Messiah, xxiii. 6, we may conjecture that this 
 last oracle was spoken under that king. It is not probable 
 that Zedekiah chose his name in accordance with Jeremiah's 
 prophecy (cf. 2 Kings xxi v. 17). The repetition xxxiii. 14 ff. 
 shows that xxiii. 1 ff. was spoken some time before the tenth 
 year of Zedekiah. 
 
 a. XXI. 1-10. When, after Zedekiah's revolt against 
 Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings xxi v. 20), the latter ruler in the 
 ninth year of the Judsean king advanced in strength against 
 Jerusalem (2 Kings xxv. 1), Zedekiah sent a deputation, con- 
 sisting of leaders of the priesthood, to Jeremiah to request an 
 oracle from the prophet, and intimating the king's hope that 
 God, the Lord, who had so wondrously succoured his city of 
 old, would not leave him without help. In a position of 
 
JEREMIAH XXI. 1-XXIII. 8. 175 
 
 similar danger in outward respects, Hezekiah had sent a 
 deputation to the prophet Isaiah (2 Kings xix. 2 ff. ; Isa. 
 xxxvii. 2 ff.), and then received a comforting assurance which 
 turned out wonderfully true. But how different the divine 
 answer this time, ver. 3 ff. See the reason of this different 
 course on God's part, Jer. xxxvii. 1 f . ; 2 Kings xxiv. 1 9 f. 
 The Lord announces utter failure in the impending conflicts 
 in the open field: the Lord Himself will drive the martial 
 forces of the Judseans into the city ; He will prove that it is 
 He who refuses victory to their weapons by allying Himself 
 with the foe outside, and sending pestilence on the besieged 
 city (ver. 6). Observe the terrible declaration of war on 
 God's part, ver. 5. Instead of saving His people, the Lord 
 will be their angriest foe. Finally, after long suffering (as 
 the result showed, two years in length, 2 Kings xxv. 1, 2), 
 He will give up those who have escaped the sword, famine, 
 and plague altogether into the hands of the hostile monarch, 
 who will show them no mercy. 
 
 How earnest the prophet was in his insistence that the 
 defence will utterly fail, is shown by the urgent, nay, solemn 
 counsel, which, following up his answer, he gives to the people, 
 perhaps in the hearing of the king's deputies, ver. 8 f. Only 
 he that forsakes the city and gives himself up to the foe will 
 at least bear off his life as a prey. The prophet gave similar 
 counsel to King Zedekiah himself, xxxviii. 1 7 f., and often to 
 the people during the long investment, xxxviii. 2 f. ; a not 
 inconsiderable portion of them followed the counsel (xxxviii. 
 19, xxxix. 9, lii. 15). This discouraging counsel naturally 
 enraged the defenders (xxxviii. 4). But the prophet showed 
 that he was not lacking in personal courage and sacrifice by 
 staying himself in the city, of whose destruction he was assured 
 by God's word. 
 
 b. XXI. 11-14. This oracle is only found here because in 
 this section of the book messages to and respecting the kings 
 are collected. The message cannot be joined to the preceding 
 
176 JEREMIAH XXI. 1-XXIII. 8. 
 
 discourse. In that case, the advice to anticipate the judgment 
 by conscientiously dispensing justice would come too late. 
 Moreover, the confidence with which Jerusalem was filled 
 (ver. 13) would ill accord with ver. 1 f. The present message 
 from God rather belongs to the time of Jehoiakim. It is a 
 further proof how deeply God's sacred majesty, which earthly 
 judges are to regard themselves as representing, is outraged 
 when those judges neglect their duties, and the administration 
 of civil law is corrupted. Because the defenceless are deprived 
 of their rights in Jerusalem, the Lord will destroy the city, 
 which boasts of its doubly secure position, and does not dream 
 of such an avenger of outraged innocence. 
 
 c. Ch. xxii. gives a further series of similar oracles respecting 
 Shallum ( = Jehoahaz), Jehoiakim, Coniah (= Jehoiachin). 
 xxii. 1-1 9 forms a single connected discourse, delivered under 
 Jehoiakim in the court of the royal palace. The introductory 
 exhortation (vv. 2-9) to impartial, kindly justice is akin in 
 matter to the one in xxi. 12 f. Yet the added threat (vv. 5—9) 
 is here preceded by a special promise (ver. 4), which recalls 
 xvii. 25, and proves that there was still time to secure peace 
 and prosperity for the land by governing according to God's 
 will. Also, the following oracle respecting Shallum (ver. 1 f.) 
 belongs to the earliest period of Jehoiakim's reign, when the 
 hope might still exist, that that ruler, whom the nation after 
 Josiah's death raised to the throne without question as the 
 favourite, although the youngest son, would return from his 
 Egyptian captivity. This hope was destined, according to 
 the prophet's express statement, not to be fulfilled. 
 
 In xxii. 13 f£, Jehoiakim, the king ruling at present, is 
 depicted, without his name being mentioned, as forgetting in his 
 passion for extravagant buildings the burden thereby laid on 
 the people. Since the nation was already weighted with heavy 
 taxation to discharge the tribute to Egypt (2 Kings xxiii. 35), 
 the expenditure in which the king indulged at the expense of 
 his subjects was the less excusable. The enforced service 
 
JEREMIAH XXI. 1-XXIII. 8. 177 
 
 laid on them without payment is described as a wrong 
 practised on a neighbour, like robbery or fraud. Instead of 
 seeking renown in cedar structures, Jehoiakim should take 
 example by his father (ver. 15 f.), who without extravagant 
 plans and ostentatious luxury enjoyed the prosperity granted 
 to him, busied himself in rightly dispensing justice to the 
 good of the land, and thus evinced his true knowledge of God. 
 Because Jehoiakim, on the contrary, thinks only of his own 
 gain, not shrinking from the most unjust means for his 
 enrichment, he will die unlamented far from the royal city, 
 and will not even obtain an honourable burial. Although the 
 historical books say nothing on the question, the fulfilment of 
 this prophecy, which is twice recorded in this book (see also 
 xxxvi. 30), is ensured by the honour thus done it. 
 
 Vv. 2 0—3 0. The oracle respecting Coniah - Jehoiachin is 
 introduced by an apostrophe to the chief city, enthroned with 
 her cedar palaces on a proud hill, which has thrown every 
 warning to the wind, and will now learn that all her princes 
 will go into captivity, as well as all her allies in whom she 
 has trusted. After this introit (vv. 20—23) the present king 
 is named, and his sentence of condemnation at the same time 
 pronounced. Along with his mother, the young prince will 
 fall into Nebuchadnezzar's hands and go into exile, never 
 to return. Vv. 28 — 30 were not necessarily first uttered 
 after the removal of this king (Nagelsbach) ; Jeremiah, pro- 
 phetically realizing the king's sad fate, puts the question of 
 pained surprise in ver. 28, and receives from God a confirma- 
 tory answer, which is introduced by a solemn appeal to the 
 land to lay God's word to heart. The answer is to the effect 
 that this king, along with his posterity, is excluded from 
 David's throne for ever. 
 
 d. XXIII. 1-8. This chain of condemnatory oracles on the 
 kings is followed by the announcement of the God-chosen 
 good shepherd, which serves as a cheering contrast. First, it 
 is declared that the Lord Himself will make good what the 
 
 M 
 
178 JEREMIAH XXI. 1- XXIII. 8. 
 
 bad shepherds had failed in. He will gather again His poor 
 people from the dispersion, to which they had been driven, 
 and place them under the rule of good shepherds, who will 
 really care for their welfare (ver. 3 f.). But the promise then 
 advances (ver. 5) in a new opening to a personal distinction. 
 The Lord will raise up a righteous offshoot of David's house 
 (i.e. call him into life and to power), who will fully correspond 
 to the divine demands on " Yahveh'3 Anointed," under whose 
 sceptre therefore Israel and Judah (the entire kingdom) have 
 nothing to expect but safety and blessing from above. What 
 is the relation of this unique Davidite to the plurality of good 
 shepherds, ver. 4 and iii. 15? He is not their ancestor, 
 although in xxxiii. 17, 22 the permanence of the Davidic 
 rule is put in this way, that David's posterity shall be count- 
 less, and one of them shall always possess the throne. 
 Bather the plurality names, first in a more general way, 
 the good race in opposition to the previous bad one ; but, 
 according to xxii. 22, xvii. 20, xxi. 12, we may principally 
 understand a plurality of princes reigning contemporaneously, 
 who, of course, are subject to the king proper. In this utter- 
 ance respecting the shoot to spring up again to David, 
 Jeremiah unmistakeably resumes the Messianic oracles of an 
 Isaiah, Micah, and other prophets. But he adds to the 
 Messianic hope a richer, deeper meaning by the name 
 attributed to the Messiah, ver. 6 ; by a different right from 
 that by which the present king is called Zedekiah will he be 
 called Yahveh-Zidkenu : Yahveh our righteousness ! This name, 
 which in xxxiii. 16 is borne by the Church of the last days, 
 is in a sense Jeremiah's watchword for the blessed future, a 
 combination of previous promises on the subject. The saying 
 is brief and terse, but like the Hebrew zedek very compre- 
 hensive. Yahveh Himself is called our righteousness = the 
 Church's justification inwardly and outwardly. In the first 
 respect the word embraces both the New -Testament pro- 
 nouncing just (cf. 1. 20, xxxi, 34; Dan. ix. 24; Ezek. 
 
JEREMIAH XXI. 1-XXIII. 8. 179 
 
 xxxvi. 25) and sanctification (Jer. xxxi. 33 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 27); 
 in the latter respect it contains also the fruit of the restoring 
 of a right relation to God : the divine evidence of the nation's 
 righteousness outwardly by signal benefits and blessings, 
 bringing it honourable recognition at the hands of the heathen. 
 In the first respect the affirmation "Yahveh our righteous- 
 ness " contains the great truth, that the well-being of the 
 Church lies not in any outward institute or law or custom, 
 nor yet is the fruit of any outward action, but is simply a 
 work of divine grace. In the latter respect, the saying declares 
 that only as God's people has Israel a right to take a place of 
 honour among and above the nations ; whereas apart from its 
 God it remains without right and privilege (xii. 7 ff.). When, 
 then, in the present passage the Messianic King bears this 
 name, it is intimated that none but He brings about this perfect 
 relation between God and the Church ; when, on the other hand, 
 the future Jerusalem wears the name, xxxiii. 16, it is implied 
 that none but it will be this saved Church. Thus this pro- 
 phecy, containing the germ of the N. T. gospel, teaches that 
 in the future Israel a state of perfect righteousness will be 
 witnessed, Yahveh Himself establishing the character in the 
 Church which He approves, and the Church enjoying in conse- 
 quence salvation from God and recognition from the world ; 
 and this state will be brought about by the incomparably wise 
 and righteous king of David's house, of whom the prophets 
 have long spoken. See on xxiii. 5 f., Orelli, Old Testament 
 Prophecy, p. 333. 
 
SECTION XVI. 
 
 Prophets and Prophecies, Ch. xxiii. 9-40. 
 
 XXIII. 9. To the prophets. My heart is broken within 
 me, all my bones shake. I am like a drunken man, and like 
 a man whom wine has overcome, because of Yahveh and 
 because of his holy words. 10. Por the land is full of 
 adulterers. For because of the curse the land languishes, the 
 pastures of the graziDg land are dried up, because their course 
 is wicked and their great strength not right. 11. Por 
 prophets like priests are transgressors ; even in my house I 
 found their wickedness, is Yahveh's oracle. 12. On this 
 account their way shall become to them like slippery tracts 
 in darkness ; they shall be driven along and fall therein, 
 
 Chapter XXIII. 9-40. 
 
 Ver. 9. D'xas?, not to be joined with ace. to following words, 
 which, while grammatically possible (xxxi. 20), would give the 
 awkward sense of hearty sympathy with those prophets. It indi- 
 cates the address as in xxi. 11, xlvi. 2, xlviii. 1, xlix. 1, 7, 23, 28. 
 Cf. this b with verb, Obad. 1 ; Ezek. xxviii. 2. After the king- 
 oracles comes a discourse differently addressed. " In reference 
 to " is too weak : this i> is rather for than of. Brokenness of 
 heart = utter spiritlessness, dejection (on the other hand, in Ps. 
 li. 17, bruising of penitence) ; in the same way slackness, shak- 
 ing of the bones which otherwise give the body its form = entire 
 loss of self-possession. "DJJ often used of an overflowing river, 
 metaphorically Ps. exxiv. 4, here of wine overcoming a man, over- 
 powering his reason. Ver. 10. Adulterers, see on v. 7 ; here as 
 in ver. 14 and xxix. 23 meant literally ; but the phrase describes 
 not merely this one vice, but the whole spirit and conduct, nxno 
 as in viii. 6 (differently xxii. 17), running, hunting. p~vb, see 
 on viii. 6 ; cf. ix. 2. Ver. 11. iBJlt, strongest antithesis to holi- 
 ness. Ver. 116 must apply to special indecorum in the temple. 
 Cheyne suggests idols or the worship of symbolic animal 
 figures mentioned in Ezek. viii. 10 f. Ver. 12. lnT, according 
 
 180 
 
JEREMIAH XXIII. 13-18. 181 
 
 because I bring ruin upon them in the year of their visi- 
 tation, is Yahveh's oracle. 13. Also in the prophets of 
 Samaria I have seen provoking things : they prophesied by 
 Baal, and led my people Israel astray. 14. But in the 
 prophets of Jerusalem I saw horrible things: continual 
 adultery and walking in falsehood, and they still strengthened 
 the hands of evil-doers, so that they turned not again every 
 one from his wickedness. They have altogether become to 
 me like Sodom, and their inhabitants like Gomorrah. 15. On 
 this account Yahveh of hosts has spoken thus against the 
 prophets : Behold, I give them wormwood for food, and give 
 them poison-water to drink ; for pollution has gone forth from 
 the prophets of Jerusalem into all the land. 16. Thus said 
 Yahveh of hosts: Hearken not to the discourses of the 
 prophets, who prophesy to you ; they make you foolish ; they 
 utter the vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of 
 Yahveh, 1 7. who say continually to my despisers : " Yahveh 
 has said : You shall have peace ; " and when one walks only in 
 the stubbornness of his heart they say : " No evil shall come 
 upon you." 18. For who stands in the counsel of Yahveh? 
 Let him see and hear his word. Who has given heed to my 
 
 to Masoretes, instead of >rrv, thus from nm, to push, overturn, 
 so that one falls (Ps. cxviii. 13) ; Mphal best as reflexive, rn 
 refers to r6sN. Ver. 13. fiiffln, insipidity, is the name given here 
 to the senseless, silly worship of strange, empty gods. Ver. 14. 
 EM applies not to the prophets, but as the parallel clause (her, 
 i.e. Jerusalem's inhabitants) shows, to the whole people. God 
 puts them on a footing with the most debased heathen. Ver. 
 15. See on viii. 14, ix. 14. Ver. 16. Cf. xiv. 14. The Hiphil 
 of bn, to make vain (comp. the Xal, ii. 5), to fill with empty 
 fancies. Ver. 17. Cf. vi. 14, viii. 11. The Masoretic text is 
 not to be changed into the tame reading 'n iai ^wn, with LXX, 
 Syr., by which the thought, so important in the context, that 
 this preaching of peace professes to be Yahveh's word, would be 
 lost. Ver. 18. Similar line of thought as in ix. 11. One who 
 stands in Yahveh's counsel must behold and hear His word, i.e. 
 carefully receive it : and he who has perceived it must declare 
 it to the nation. JJDW, to be read after ver. 22 (cf. ix. 11) ; 
 for on the Masoretic reading the apodosis would be wanting, 
 with yoB'Jl the latter would be tautological with the protasis. 
 The sense of the words is : These prophets declare not the true 
 
182 JEREMIAH XXIII. 19-27. 
 
 word ? Let him hear it : 19. Behold, the whirlwind of Yahveh, 
 burning wrath goes forth, a whirling tempest, it whirls round 
 the head of the wicked. 20. Yahveh's wrath will not turn 
 again until it accomplishes and until it brings to pass the 
 purposes of his heart, — at the end of the days you shall well 
 understand this. 21. I have not sent the prophets who run ; 
 I have not spoken to them who prophesy. 22. And if they 
 had stood in my counsel, they would have made my people 
 hear my words, and brought them back from their evil way, 
 and from the wickedness of their deeds. 
 
 23. Am I then a God nigh at hand only, is Yahveh's 
 oracle, and not a God afar off? 24. Or can a man hide 
 himself in secret, that I shall not see him? is Yahveh's 
 oracle. 25. I have heard what the prophets say, who 
 prophesy falsely in my name, saying : " I have dreamed, I 
 have dreamed." 26. How long yet? Have the prophets 
 who prophesy falsely, and are prophets of the deceit of their 
 own heart, this in mind, — 27. do they purpose to make my 
 people forget my name for their dreams, which they tell 
 
 (following in ver. 19 f.) word of the Lord, and are therefore not 
 His trusty prophets. These " stand in the counsel " of God ; cf. 
 xv. 19 and Isa. vi. It is not — sit in the counsel ; 10V suggests 
 a ministering attitude (cf. 1 Kings xvii. 1), as "I1D3 does inti 1 - 
 macy : both together excellently characterize the genuine 
 prophet's relation to God. 'Hal unnecessarily changed by 
 the Keri into 1131. Ver. 19 is closely connected, giving the 
 matter of God's true word, which stands in terrible contrast to 
 that preaching of peace, non, explanatory apposition. Cf. on 
 ver. 19 f., xxx. 23 f. Ver. 20. u:iann strengthened by nn 
 The "end of the days" (not merely "time following") is the 
 conclusion of the whole dispensation known to the prophet 
 (Orelli, 0. T. Prophecy, p. 33). Not only the judgment, but the 
 salvation belongs to this period (Knobel). Whether the present 
 hearers will witness the end is a secondary matter ; the be- 
 ginning of the end is near enough. The man who is not 
 enlightened by God's word only comes to understand God's 
 ways when everything has become evident. Ver. 23. anpD Tita, 
 God of the near distance, i.e. who only sees and hears near at 
 hand. Ver. 26 f. The above translation corresponds to the 
 reading D^BTin proposed by De Dieu, and rightly approved by 
 most moderns. U^>3 B" (synonymous with 3BTI), I have some- 
 
JEREMIAH XXIII. 28-34. 183 
 
 every one to his comrade, like as their fathers forgot my name 
 for Baal ? 
 
 28. The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; 
 and he who has my word, let him speak my word truly : 
 what has the straw in common with the wheat ? is Yahveh's 
 oracle. 29. Is not then my word like fire, is Yahveh's oracle, 
 and like a hammer, that breaks rock in pieces? 30. There- 
 fore, behold, I will (come) to the prophets, is Yahveh's oracle, 
 who steal my words, every one from his comrade. 31. Behold, 
 I will (come) to the prophets, is Yahveh's oracle, who take 
 their own tongue and utter oracles. 3 2. Behold, I will (come) 
 to those who prophesy deceitful dreams, is Yahveh's oracle, 
 and tell them and lead my people astray by their treacheries 
 and their boasting, whereas I sent them not, nor bade them ; 
 and they do this people no manner of good, is Yahveh's 
 oracle. 
 
 33. And if this people or the prophet or a priest inquires of 
 thee, saying : " What is the burden of Yahveh ? " thou shalt 
 say to them : You are the burden, and I will cast you away, 
 is Yahveh's oracle. 34. And the prophet, and the priest, and 
 the people, which say : " Burden of Yahveh," I will visit that 
 
 thing in mind, 1 Sam. xiv. 7 and often, lnjrr}, to be referred 
 to a prophetical colleague. Such dreams are current in the 
 body of prophets and repeated by every one. Ver. 30 ff. 
 The by "Mil thrice solemnly repeated. Ver. 31. DNJ here only 
 as finite verb, denominative of DX3, to utter oracles ; the latter 
 properly = something whispered. Taking one's own tongue 
 implies arbitrariness. They prepare divine oracles of their 
 own will, and with their own resources. Ver. 32. nitna, here 
 only, from tns, to be overboiled, overweening, rash ; here the 
 presumption of false prophets, who are called Dnnia in Zeph. 
 iii. 4 also. Ver. 33. KiPB, from KM, sc. ^P, utterance, solemnly 
 pronounced language, was a current phrase for a prophetic 
 message, sanctioned by early prophets. But this sacred ex- 
 pression was distorted in Jeremiah's days (ver. 36), as if it 
 meant a burden, which the word may also signify. Therefore 
 Jeremiah forbids its use entirely. Instead of KE2>D TO n« read 
 Nfrsn nm, which yields a pointed play of words, by which the 
 prophet retorts the word-play of the inquirers. You your- 
 selves are the " burden of Yahveh," which he is weary of bear- 
 
184 JEREMIAH XXIII. 35-40. 
 
 man and his house. 35. Thus shall you say, every one 
 to his comrade and every one to his brother: "What has 
 Yahveh answered, and what has Yahveh said ?" 36. But the 
 " burden of Yahveh " you shall mention no more ; for his own 
 word shall be every one's burden, that you have perverted 
 the words of the living God, Yahveh of hosts, our God. 37. 
 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet : What has Yahveh 
 answered thee, and what has Yahveh said? 38. But if you 
 say : " Burden of Yahveh," for this reason thus says Yahveh : 
 Because you utter this word " burden of Yahveh," and yet I 
 sent to you with the warning : You shall not say " burden of 
 Yahveh," — 39. for this reason, behold, I carry you forsooth 
 and cast you and the city, which I gave to you and your 
 fathers, away from my presence, 40. and I inflict upon you 
 eternal disgrace and eternal reviling, which cannot be for- 
 gotten. 
 
 ing, and will throw away. Ver. 35. Instead of that ambiguous 
 question, a simple one is proposed as seemly : What has the 
 Lord answered or said without previous question? Ver. 36. 
 His own word will be a burden to every one, i.e. here the 
 word HE'D, which he uses in a bad sense, though with the 
 appearance of reverence. This word will be a burden to them, 
 i.e. a heavy responsibility. You have perverted the words of 
 the living God, giving them a hateful or ludicrous sense, speci- 
 fically the word NE>D. Ver. 37. *|;j>, Ges. § 75. a. 19 ; Eng. § 74. 
 Ver. 39. Bead xto) VT^l, as the play of words and context 
 require (so LXX, Syr. Vulg.). Ver. 40. Cf. xx. 11. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xxiii. 9-40. Prophets and Prophecy : a. the 
 False Prophets at Jerusalem, vv. 9-22. b. Dream and Pro- 
 phecy, vv. 23-32. c. the unbecoming word Massah, vv. 
 33-40. 
 
 The preceding series of prophecies about and against the 
 kings is followed by a deliverance against the prophets, to 
 which are added different explanations of prophecy. The 
 date of this deliverance in all probability is the same as that 
 of ch. xiv. f. (cf. xxiii. 10), therefore the earlier days of 
 
JEREMIAH XXIII. 9-40. 185 
 
 Jehoiakim. "With this agrees the confident tone still assumed 
 by the false prophets (ver. 17 f.). 
 
 a. XXIII. 9—22. Jeremiah himself is completely crushed in 
 spirit, the victim of a weakness and despondency which destroys 
 his power of calm reflection, in consequence of divine messages 
 in his bosom (cf. xx. 7 ff.). This certainly needs further ex- 
 planation. Only because (ver. 10) the land is in such glaring 
 contradiction with God's holy law, are God's words so terrible to 
 the prophet who groans under the judgment beforehand. He 
 discerns clearly that the drought, now oft recurring (cf. xii. 4, 
 xiv. 1 ff.), is an effect of the curse lying on this adulterous 
 generation. The pursuit of the people, i.e. their zealous 
 effort, is in the service of sin, their strength in the service 
 of falsehood (ver. 10a). But the worst sinners are the 
 priests and prophets ; from the house of God pollution instead 
 of holiness penetrates the whole land (ver. 11). To strengthen 
 the accusation (cf. the similar parallel, iii. 11), the prophets 
 of Samaria are compared to those of Jerusalem ; the latter 
 are far the worst. To the former, indeed, belongs the guilt 
 of seducing the people to the senseless worship of foreign 
 gods ; but the latter are guilty of the grossest immorality in 
 conduct, and confirm all evil-doers in their wickedness by 
 their deceitful encouragement. Thus they turn God's city 
 into a Sodom. First of all, the origin of false prophecy is 
 exposed in ver. 16. Those men utter what their own heart 
 suggests and conceives, what has its origin in their own heart, 
 a "vision "of their own heart. This passage, like xiv. 14, 
 shows that the genuine prophet was conscious of a source of 
 his revelations entirely different and easily distinguished from 
 his own subjectivity. Again, as concerns the matter, they 
 preach a flippant optimism (ver. 17), whereas every prophet 
 really familiar with the Lord (cf. ver. 9) must know that 
 now the judgment is bursting in like a tempest, and that, 
 instead of passing quickly over, it will not rest until God's 
 purposes are carried out (ver. 19 f). The contradiction so 
 
186 JEREMIAH XXIII. 9-40. 
 
 evident between the talk of this body of men and what the 
 genuine prophet saw with undoubted certainty proves their 
 perversity and untruth (ver. 21). And this perversity is seen 
 also in the absence of saving results (ver. 22). Instead 
 of changing men's hearts, this prophecy only nourishes the 
 baneful dream of self-righteousness, and destroys whatever 
 may remain of the fruits of the true testimony. 
 
 b. XXIII. 23-32. After the ungodliness of the current 
 prophetic teaching has been exposed in its origin, matter, and 
 results, Jeremiah treats more in detail of its origin. It is 
 teaching, the impurity of which must be patent to the 
 omniscient God, who sees afar off. These prophets are espe- 
 cially fond of appealing to dreams, when they are not quite 
 audacious enough to invent revelations proper. Now the 
 dream is doubtless a means by which God may occasionally 
 speak to man ; this Jeremiah does not deny (cf. Konig, 
 Offeribarungsbegriff, ii. 10) ; but since it is much more un- 
 certain and far more easily confounded with the thoughts of 
 man's own heart than the genuine prophetic vision, it is not 
 to be put on a level with the latter and mixed up with it ; 
 it is to the latter as straw to wheat. Hence one should 
 keep the two carefully apart and not substitute one for the 
 other (ver. 28). How different the effect of soothing idealistic 
 dreams from that of God's inexorable word, which consumes 
 everything impure like fire, and breaks in pieces the hard, 
 stony heart like a hammer (ver. 29). All self-exalting 
 affectation in divine things is doubly unjust and foolish, 
 since the all-seeing God will not let Himself be mocked. 
 In vv. 30-32 God's drawing nigh to judgment is announced, 
 not so much against three classes of prophets as against 
 three ways in which they provoke God. They do this (a) by 
 stealing actual sayings of the Lord. Since original inspira- 
 tion is wanting to them, they are shut up to such borrowing 
 from genuine prophets. The robbery lies in this, that they 
 act as if they had received these revelations directly ; the 
 
JEREMIAH XXIII. 9-40. 187 
 
 danger in this, that an earlier prophetic message might be 
 wrongly applied to the present, e.g. Isaiah's saying respecting 
 the preserving of Jerusalem ; (6) by wilfully fabricating divine 
 oracles (ver. 31); (c) by prophesying false dreams (ver. 32), 
 either the dreams themselves being fictitious, or, while plainly 
 they did not claim to be a means of divine revelation, they 
 are now raised into prophecy, as was complained of before. 
 
 Ch. xxiii. 33-40. The section on prophets and prophecy 
 is closed by a warning against the use of the word Massah, 
 introduced by earlier prophets as a designation of a solemn 
 divine oracle, but abused by Jeremiah's contemporaries, the 
 same word signifying burden, to deal secret blows at God's 
 word. From the severity with which Jeremiah forbids the 
 word Massah to the people as to the prophets, we may gather 
 that the secondary sense was used in a thoroughly slander- 
 ous way, as if the word of the Lord were always a grievous 
 plague, not a benefit to the land. Thus the phrase, while 
 holy and divine in itself, became a perfidious byword, throw- 
 ing suspicion on the preaching of the genuine prophet, and 
 so of the Lord Himself, as if the purpose of His speaking 
 were to oppress instead of to save the people. In this way 
 we can understand the sharp rebuke and warning uttered by 
 Jeremiah. 
 
SECTION XVII. 
 
 The two Baskets of Figs, Ch. xxiv. 
 
 XXIV. 1. Yahveh showed me, and behold, two baskets with 
 figs set before the temple of Yahveh, after Nebuchadnezzar, 
 king of Babylon, had led captive Jeconiab, the son of Jehoiakim, 
 king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, and the smith and 
 the locksmith from Jerusalem, and had brought them to 
 Babylon. 2. The one basket contained very good figs after 
 the manner of early figs, and the other basket very bad 
 figs, which could not be eaten for badness. 3. Then said 
 Yahveh to me : What seest thou, Jeremiah ? And I said : 
 Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad very bad, so that 
 they cannot be eaten for badness. 4. Then came Yahveh's 
 word to me thus : 5. Thus says Yahveh, the God of Israel : 
 Like these good figs, so I look with favour on the captives 
 of Israel, whom I sent away from this place into the land of 
 the Chaldteans. 6. And I set my eye upon them for good, 
 
 Chapter XXIV. 
 
 Ver. 1. 'Ofcnn, used of supernatural showing ; with the form 
 of the narrative, cf. Amos viii. 1 f., Jer. i. 11. "in or TH, whence 
 plural Q'W'tt, basket. DHjeiD, exposed, set up ; the word may 
 have been a technical phrase for the exposing of fruits before 
 the temple for inspection ; they were, of course, fruits to be 
 used in divine worship, perhaps first-fruits. On this exile, see 
 2 Kings xxiv. 14 ff. Ver. 2. Early figs are specially juicy and 
 delicate, Hos. ix. 10 ; Isa. xxviii. 4. Since it was not just 
 spring, other figs already existing, the good ones are compared 
 with these only in reference to quality. Ver. 5. Ton, to regard 
 with attention and interest (cf. Buth ii. 10, 19), made still 
 clearer by the following miti?, follows up the allusion to the 
 inspecting priest, who regards some fruits with favour, others 
 with disfavour. Ver. 6, see on i. 10. Ver. 7. The heart is here 
 
 188 
 
JEREMIAH XXIV. 7-11. 189 
 
 and make them return to this land, and will build them 
 and not pull down, and plant them and not pluck up. 
 
 7. And I will give them a heart to know me that I am 
 Yahveh, and they shall be my people, and I will be their 
 God, if they shall turn to me with all their heart. 
 
 8. And thus says Yahveh, I will make Zedekiah, king of 
 Judah, and his princes, and the remnant of Jerusalem who 
 are left in this land, and who dwell in the land of Egypt, 
 like the bad figs, which cannot be eaten for badness. 
 
 9. And I make them a terror, an offence to all kingdoms of 
 the earth, a disgrace and a byword, a taunt and a curse in 
 all places whither I shall drive them. 10. And I send upon 
 them the sword, and the famine, and the pestilence, until they 
 are consumed from the soil which I gave to them and their 
 fathers. 
 
 the organ of the knowledge of God, as elsewhere of the under- 
 standing, specifically of the moral and religious reason. The 
 Lord will renew in them this corrupted organ; cf. xxxi. 33, 
 and especially Ezek. xxxvi. 26. The knowledge of the Lord 
 is the chief condition and also the highest stage of a right 
 attitude to Him, which is expressed in the usual reciprocal 
 form. laB" '3, generally translated : for they shall be converted, 
 which in this case would be the effect of divine regeneration. 
 But (see xxix. 13) it is rather the condition of the latter taking 
 place ; also those banished to Babylon are not eo ipso the object 
 of divine approval ; only when that condition is fulfilled can 
 God fulfil His saving purposes. There is unmistakeable allusion 
 to Deut. iv. 29 f. Ver. 8. Numerous exiles, of whom, however, 
 Jeremiah foretold nothing good, were therefore already in 
 Egypt, perhaps especially fugitives who betook themselves 
 there during different wars, perhaps also many who accom- 
 panied Jehoahaz. Ver. 9. njW$>, see on xv. 4. The following 
 njnb, omitted by Hitzig, Ewald, TJmbreit, Graf after LXX as 
 meaningless, is rather used intentionally to correspond to nijnn 
 and jno at the beginning of the verse. They will be an object 
 of horror, and also of dislike, regarded as an evil, and felt to be 
 such in all places. "A disgrace," in accordance with Deut. 
 xxviii. 37, only with the addition of rbbyb. Cf. also Jer. 
 xxix. 17 f. 
 
190 jeremiah xxiv. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xxiv. A Vision during the first part of 
 Zedekiah's reign, and its interpretation. 
 
 The carrying away of King Jehoiachin and a selection 
 of the inhabitants of Jerusalem had taken place (2 Kings 
 xxiv. 15 f.), impressing the whole nation with a vivid sense 
 of the terrible severity of God's judgments. Nevertheless 
 this impression did not last long. After the first terror had 
 passed off, they gave themselves up again to indifference, nay 
 perhaps, in foolish blindness deemed themselves better than 
 those on whom the hard lot of exile to Babylon had fallen, 
 instead of taking warning by their fate and seriously amend- 
 ing their own course. Over against this unwarrantable self- 
 content of those who for once had escaped God's punishing 
 hand, the prophet has to set the divine declaration, that the 
 portion of the people left behind, as well as the one that 
 had removed to Egypt, was thoroughly worthless, whereas 
 God's thoughts of mercy will be realized in those transported 
 to Babylon. This is presented to the prophet in the form 
 of a vision. He sees two baskets with figs of very dis- 
 similar quality set in front of the temple. The basket with 
 good figs is interpreted to him of the captives dwelling in 
 the land of the Chaldaeans, who will find favour in the Lord's 
 eyes if they sincerely repent. In that band of exiles is 
 found a kernel from which will issue the new people of God, 
 which the Lord creates for Himself. On the other hand, 
 what is left in Jerusalem, with King Zedekiah at the head, 
 will be rejected like the bad figs, and be an object of aversion 
 and dislike to all nations. 
 
SECTION" XVIII. 
 
 God's Judgment of the Heathen Nations, Ch. xxv. 
 
 XXV. 1. The word which came to Jeremiah respecting the 
 whole people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son 
 of Josiah, king of Judah, — this is the first year of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, king of Babylon, — 2. which Jeremiah the prophet 
 spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of 
 Jerusalem, saying : 3. From the thirteenth year of Josiah, 
 the son of Amon, king of Judah, until this day, these three 
 and twenty years, the word of Yalrveh has come to me, and 
 I spoke to you early and diligently ; but you hearkened not. 
 4. And Yahveh sent to you all his servants the prophets, 
 early and diligently ; but you hearkened not, nor inclined 
 your ear to hear ; 5. saying : " Turn ye every one from his 
 evil way and from the wickedness of your deeds ; then you 
 
 Chapter XXV. 
 
 Ver. 1. The first ?]> for PK; in ver. 2 also the two interchange. 
 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim. For the first time (apart from 
 i. 2) a prophecy is here exactly dated to the year, which is 
 done often afterwards. The year was one of special import- 
 ance. It is described as the first of King Nebuchadnezzar (see 
 on xxi. 2), in harmony with the reckoning elsewhere in this 
 book and the Book of Kings. This parenthesis may have been 
 added later. Yet the omission by the LXX proves nothing, 
 since they have dropped every reference to that king. It is 
 significant that in this year the destroyer of Jerusalem first 
 came on the scene, fighting the decisive battle of Carchemish 
 as his father's general, and advancing to Jerusalem and against 
 Egypt, but recalled by his father's death to assume the govern- 
 ment. Ver. 3 glances back at i. 2. About nineteen years of 
 Jeremiah's labours belong to the reign of Josiah, the last four 
 to that of Jehoiakim. MtM? for D3B>n, Aramaic form, Ges. § 53. 
 3. a. 2 ; Eng. § 52, unless a simple error in copying. Ver. 4. Cf. 
 vii. 25, xi. 7 f. Ver. 5. ^K$> joins on the first words of ver. 4. 
 
 191 
 
192 JEREMIAH XXV. 6-9. 
 
 shall continue to dwell in the land, which Yahveh gave you 
 and your fathers from of old for ever. 6. And run not after 
 foreign gods to serve them and fall down before them ; and 
 provoke me not by the work of your hands, then I will do 
 you no hurt." 7. But you hearkened not to me, is Yahveh's 
 oracle, that you might provoke me by the work of your 
 hands to your harm. 8. Therefore thus says Yahveh of 
 hosts : Because you hearkened not to me, 9. behold, I send 
 for all the tribes of the north, is Yahveh's oracle, and 
 Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, my servant, and bring 
 them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against 
 all these nations round about ; and I lay them under a ban, 
 and make them a solitude and a hissing and eternal desola- 
 
 " And you dwell " = you shall dwell securely, Ges. § 130. 2; Eng. 
 § 128. Ver. 7. Bead with Keri "JD'-jnn pja^ as in vii. 18, or 
 'MD ijnn (J. D. Michaelis, Graf). " To your hurt," as in vii. 6. 
 Ver. 9. The tribes of the north, as in i. 15. LXX have irarptav 
 am Poppa,, omitting King Nebuchadnezzar, which Hitzig prefers: 
 paSD nriBB'D, a horde from the north. But this would be far 
 too obscure a description of the Babylonian kingdom. Since 
 now, on the other hand, the LXX presuppose the mention of 
 the latter in ver. 12 f., although omitting bn ita hi! there also 
 (rJ tint ixiTvo, rriv yrjv Ixswjn !), so also not merely may the 
 indefinite plural " all races of the north " have stood in ver. 9 ; 
 but it is proved that the LXX, who show themselves very 
 untrustworthy in ver. 3 f., regularly omit the Babylonian king. 
 A commentator would scarcely have been bold enough to call 
 him ^"\2V, which predicate the LXX erase also in xxvii. 6, 
 xliii. 10, where they cannot avoid mentioning the king's name. 
 He is called Yahveh's servant, of course not in the sense that 
 God had special pleasure in him as in David, but as an instrument 
 which God used in executing His plan in reference to Judah and 
 the nations. '3133 i)Nl depends on r6fe>, I send to him = summon 
 him. After general mention of the nations, who will execute 
 the judgment, God's leading organ is mentioned in particular. 
 And I bring tJiem (the suffix referring to the hordes of 
 Nebuchadnezzar) upon this land (Judah) and all these nations 
 round about = the neighbouring peoples. The demonstratives 
 point to those lying nearest ; n?an therefore is not to be ques- 
 tioned, cf. xxviii. 14. And lay them under a ban, carry out 
 upon them the chereni, the doom of extermination — a phrase 
 often applied in Deuteronomy and Joshua to the Canaanites, 
 
JEREMIAH XXV. 10-13. 193 
 
 tions. 10. And I make the sound of singing and the sound 
 of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the 
 bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamps, 
 to vanish from them. 11. And this whole land shall be 
 made a desolation, a solitude ; and these nations shall serve 
 the king of Babylon seventy years. 
 
 12. And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are 
 fulfilled, I will visit on the king of Babylon and on that 
 nation, is Yahveh's oracle, their transgression, and on the land 
 of the Chaldaeans, and make it eternal solitudes. 13. And I 
 bring upon that land all my words, which I have spoken 
 respecting it (everything written in this book, which Jeremiah 
 
 in Jeremiah only again in the oracle respecting Babylon, 
 1. 21, 26, li. 3. And make them (their land) a solitude and a 
 hissing, see on xviii. 16 (xix. 8). Ver. 10. Cf. vii. 34, xvi. 9. 
 The present passage adds also the sound of the mills and the 
 light of the lamps, both signs of domestic life, which one sees 
 and hears in all inhabited houses. Ver, 11. This people and 
 these nations are distinguished, as in ver. 9. Their Babylonian 
 bondage, and, of course, that of Judah also, will last seventy years. 
 Even the LXX attest the passage, although they wrongly 
 translate x.a! SouKs-Jgovaiv h roTg efoisiv ipSo/ttjxovru £r?j. The critical 
 attacks on 11& have dogmatic reasons and aims. It is true 
 the same statement recurs ten years later in xxix. 10, but that 
 passage assumes it to be already well known. Vv. i2-14 are 
 attacked on various critical grounds by Hitzig, Graf, Nagels- 
 bach, and others. The LXX omit only ver. 14, because they 
 take 13c as the heading to the oracles respecting the heathen, 
 and insert the latter here, so that no room is left for ver. 14. The 
 LXX, therefore, do not come into account on the critical ques- 
 tion. The, mention of the seventy years' period requires a 
 statement of what will then happen, i.e. an announcement of 
 the overthrow of the Babylonian empire. The objection, that 
 it is not credible that Jeremiah already spoke so fully and 
 expressly (Nagelsbach) as in w. 12-14 of the destruction of 
 Babylon, is refuted by the example of Habakkuk. Ver. 12. 
 n&6co, infin. like the n"b ; cf. Judg. viii. 1. ins goes back to 
 "Un. D^y ni»D55> as in lx. 26, 62 (cf. xlix. 33), but not necessarily 
 borrowed thence. Ver. 13. , n K ?!T!, Keri, puts the form usual in 
 Jeremiah for *rriN3rn, Kethib. In the addition of the copyist or 
 of a commentator, ver. 13&, ~\&$ cannot refer to "ISD3, but only 
 to niron. There is therefore no reference to a special book 
 
 N 
 
194 JEKEMIAH XXV. 14, 15. 
 
 prophesied respecting all heathen nations) ; 14. for them also 
 will many nations with great kings bring into bondage, and I 
 will recompense them according to their doing and according 
 to the dealing of their hands. 
 
 15. For thus said Yahveh, the God of Israel, to me: Take 
 
 containing the oracles respecting the heathen, in which the 
 particular oracles about Babylon (ch. 1. 41) were to be found. 
 Looking at the form of this addition, it might be thought that 
 the copyist thought " all my words respecting them " needed 
 an explanation, because there were no direct oracles about 
 Babylon in the book before him. In this case the meaning 
 would be : everything which Jeremiah said of the judgment on 
 the heathen together (from ii. 3 up to and including ch. xxv.), 
 applies also to Babylon ; cf. ver. 14. It is more probable to us 
 that 'n 'a by, '^ N33 ie>k, is the heading of a commentator to 
 xxv. 15 ff. found on the margin, and then inserted in an awk- 
 ward place (cf. LXX) ; whereas the first part of the chapter, 
 according to ver. 1, was spoken mirr Dl? bz by, now an oracle 
 D'Un bz by follows (see this very phrase in ver. 15 and xxxvi. 2, 
 after which, besides the oracles of this chapter, others spoken 
 respecting the heathen followed here originally). Consequently 
 the remark added by the copyist, njn "IBD3 ainan i>3, must, of 
 course, apply to ch. 1. f., and spring, not from the redaction of 
 the fourth or fifth year of Jehoiakim, but from the later one 
 which took up those chapters. All my words, which I spoke 
 respecting them, will apply to the specific oracles respecting 
 Babylon, although not necessarily to all now collected in 
 ch. 1. f. ; there may be a reference even to the sayings of other 
 prophets like Isaiah and Habakkuk respecting that city. The 
 clause would have to be explained differently, if originally 
 the judgment on Babylon were only intimated in a brief saying, 
 supplemented in the subsequent redaction, according to ch. 1. f. 
 So Ewald takes as the original wording instead of vv. 12-14 : 
 " But when seventy years are fulfilled, I will visit on that 
 people (says Yahveh) their trangression ; for even them (eos) 
 many nations and great kings shall reduce to bondage, and I 
 will recompense them according to their action, according to 
 the work of their hands." Ver. 14. Nemesis will overtake 
 even them (pronoun added separately for emphasis). Cf. the 
 similar oracle, xxvii. 7. It should not be said that only the 
 latter one is genuine and accurate. The perf. my is prophetic. 
 After the formal announcement of ver. 13, one quite looks for 
 definite information. Ver. 15. The confirmatory "3 goes back 
 
JEREMIAH XXV. 16-22. 195 
 
 this goblet of the wine of wrath from my hand and give it to 
 all the nations to drink, to which I send thee. 16. And they 
 shall drink, and reel, and be mad because of the sword which 
 
 1 send among them. 17. Then I took the goblet from the 
 hand of Yahveh and gave all the nations to drink, to which 
 Yahveh sent me: 18. Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and 
 their kings, their princes, to make them a desolation, a solitude, 
 a hissing and a curse (as it is this day), 19. Pharaoh, king of 
 Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and his whole nation, 
 
 2 0. along with every mixed nation, and all the kings of the 
 land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, 
 and Ascalon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and the remnant of 
 Ashdod ; 21. Edom, and Moab, and the sons of Ammon, 
 22. and all the kings of Tyre and all the kings of Sidon, and 
 
 to the chief prophecy, ver. 11, which included already not 
 merely Judah, but also the heathen nations, norm, apposition 
 to pn, of wine, which is the divine wrath, nxtn belongs to Dia 
 (fern.) ; W)K refers to pTi ; cf. xiii. 13. Ver. 16. Peeling (cf. v. 22) 
 of a drunken man ; just so X>innn, to behave foolishly ; cf. ver. 27. 
 Ver. 18. Their kings, see on xvii. 19 ; hissing, see on xviii. 16. 
 ntn Dva (see on xi. 5) omitted by LXX, added later when the 
 fulfilment took place, but possibly by the prophet himself, who 
 probably also repeated this enumeration afterwards. Ver. 20. 
 3lJ?n ^3 nto belongs to the preceding verse. The non-Egyptian 
 settlers in the land are meant, e.g. Phoenicians, especially per- 
 haps the Ionian and Carian troops, who had been settled there 
 since the days of Psammetichus, father of Necho. 2~\V or 3"iy, 
 from yys, to mix, see Ex. xh. 38 ; Neh. xiii. 3 ; so in Jer. 1. 37, 
 of the foreign colony in Babylon. The idea is rather different 
 in ver. 24. The land of Uz (wanting in LXX), an idea com-" 
 bining, according to Lam. iv. 21, geographically with Edom 
 (cf. also the friendship of Job, who dwelt in Uz, with the 
 Temanite Eliphaz), is here distinguished politically from Edom. 
 These tribes perhaps dwelt east of Edom towards the Arabian 
 desert. Of the five Philistine towns, Gath is not even mentioned, 
 because its importance was lost (cf. Amos vi. 2 ; 2 Chron. 
 xxvi. 6) ; it is also wanting in Zeph. ii. 4 ; Zech. ix. 5 ff. ; only 
 the remnant of Ashdod, because the town was taken and 
 destroyed by Psammetichus after a twenty- nine years' siege 
 (Herod, ii. 157). Ver. 22. All the kings of Tyrus, etc. All 
 the governments dependent on these chief cities are meant. 
 The kings of the island. <KH (sing.) denotes the coast, both of 
 
196 JEREMIAH XXV. 23-20. 
 
 the kings of the island which is beyond the sea, 23. Dedan, 
 and Tema, and Buz, and all with clipped temple, 24. and all 
 the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed nations 
 which dwell in the wilderness, 25. and all the kings of Zimri, 
 and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media, 26. and 
 all the kings of the north, those which are near to each other 
 and those which are far off, and all the kingdoms (of the 
 earth), which are on the face of the earth. And the king of 
 
 islands and of the continent. " The coast beyond the sea " here 
 refers generally to the islands and coast-lands of the Mediter- 
 ranean Sea lying westward, especially the Phoenician colonies. 
 Ver. 23. Dedan, Tema, Buz, three tribes of northern Arabia. 
 See on Isa. xxi. 13 f. Buz adjoins Edom and Uz, Job xxxii. 2. 
 All with shorn temple, see on ix. 25. Ver. 24. Arabia embraces, 
 not the whole territory bearing this name at present, but the 
 portion bordering on the east and south-east of Palestine, 
 perhaps the territory of Ishmael, in opposition to Ereb, the 
 mixed people (cf. ver. 20), which was probably not of Semitic, 
 but Cushite origin. The latter is described, in distinction from 
 the use of the word in ver. 20, as dwelling on the coast. The 
 same tribes are mentioned in 1 Kings x. 15 as paying tribute 
 to Solomon. Ver. 25. Zimri (wanting in LXX), derived by 
 most writers from Zimran, Gen. xxv. 2, but not to be more 
 certainly indicated. On the other hand, the newest conjecture 
 of some Assyriologists is, that it is to be sought in north-east 
 Babylonia, south-west of Media ( = Namri of the inscriptions) ; 
 see Schrader, ii. 107. Elam (Gen. x. 22 ; Isa. xxi. 2) is also 
 called in the inscriptions the "highland," whose capital was 
 Shushan. It is mentioned already in Gen. xiv. 1, 9 as an 
 independent kingdom. Media (Gen. x. 2), lying north of Elam, 
 with the capitals Ecbatana and Ehagse. It was formerly sub- 
 ject to Assyria, but contributed materially to the fall of Nineveh. 
 Ver. 26. Instead of enumerating the more remote peoples of 
 the north, the seer is content with this summary : all the kings 
 of the north, those dwelling near each other and the distant. 
 They are all remote from Judah. psn, inserted in the 
 text by mistake, is excluded by the article of the preceding 
 word. The king of Sheshak without doubt = Babylon, as in li. 41. 
 The form is like one which appears in li. 1, formed after the 
 alphabetical figure of Athbash (K>"3 T\"s), according to which 
 the last letter (ri) takes the place of the first (s), and the next 
 last one (E>) the place of the second one (a). As in li. 1, a play 
 of meaning may be joined with the play of letters, ~\W remind- 
 
JEEEMIAH XXV. 27-29. 197 
 
 Sheshak shall drink after them. 27. And thou shalt say to 
 them : Thus says Yahveh of hosts, the God of Israel : Drink 
 ye and be drunken and spue, and fall down and rise not again 
 because of the sword which I send among you. 28. And it 
 shall come to pass, if they refuse to take the goblet from thy 
 hand to drink, thou shalt say to them : Thus has Yahveh of 
 hosts said : You shall surely drink ; 2 9. for behold, to the 
 city, over which my name was proclaimed, I begin to do evil, 
 
 ing of "pc, and so yielding the sense : abasing, humbling. In 
 some cases such names were perhaps used in order to speak of 
 powers of the day under a disguise. Yet Jeremiah also used 
 the actual name without fear ; at least in the present redaction 
 of the oracles in question this motive could have no influence. 
 In a quite different sense Lauth, Fried. Delitzsch (Paradies, 
 p. 214 f.) think that "\WP, as the name of a country or quarter 
 of Babylon, is to be recognised in Ses-ku of the inscriptions. 
 See, on the other hand, Schrader, ii. 108. The genuineness of the 
 addition, " and the king of Sheshak shall drink after them," is 
 likewise contested by Hitzig, Graf, Ewald, Cheyne et al. Its 
 absence in the LXX certainly proves nothing. Nor does the 
 use of the Athbash, which, indeed, is not beyond doubt, as 
 unworthy of the prophet, disprove Jeremiah's authorship. 
 This argument is materially weakened by the alphabetical 
 Lamentations ; and, to speak generally, we have to do here, not 
 with the invention of an individual, but with a custom of the 
 age. As to subject-matter, however, it is said the sentence 
 does not at all fit into the section, which treats of the judgment 
 on the nations which Babylon executes. No doubt this great 
 power stands in the foreground as the instrument of divine 
 judgment, but the description expands into a vision of universal 
 judgment (cf. especially ver. 30 f.), from which Babylon cannot 
 be exempted. It is quite in keeping, therefore, to say that on 
 the first act, where Babylon figures as avenger, a second will 
 follow in which it will itself succumb to the divine judgment 
 as the others do now. The acting subject here is not the king 
 of Babylon, but the prophet, who presents the wine of wrath 
 to all nations. In ver. 26 even the northern nations are 
 mentioned inclusively, who, according to ver. 9, at present are 
 acting with Nebuchadnezzar. Ver. 27. As in ver. 16, drunken- 
 ness is said to follow the draught of wrath, but at the same time 
 the material means is indicated by which they will ignorantly 
 come to ruin : the sword. Vj? for u*p, from nsp=Nip. Ver. 29. 
 Over which my name was proclaimed ; see on vii. 10, and cf. 
 
198 JEREMIAH XXV. 30-35. 
 
 and should you go utterly unpunished ? You shall not remain 
 unpunished. For I summon a sword upon all the inhabitants 
 of the earth, is the oracle of Yahveh of hosts. 
 
 30. And thou shalt address all these prophecies to them, 
 and say to them : Yahveh roars from on high, and from his 
 holy dwelling he makes his voice sound. Yea, he will verily 
 roar over his pasture, will raise a hurrah like the winepress- 
 treaders, against all the inhabitants of the earth. 31. The 
 turmoil has reached to the end of the earth ; for Yahveh has 
 a controversy with the nations ; he pleads with all flesh ; the 
 wicked — to the sword he has delivered them, is Yahveh's 
 oracle. 32. Thus said Yahveh of hosts: Behold, evil goes 
 forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest is stirred up 
 from the corners of the earth. 33. And the slain of Yahveh 
 shall be on that day from one end of the earth to the other 
 end of the earth ; they shall not be lamented, nor gathered 
 together, nor buried ; they shall lie as dung on the open field. 
 34. Howl, ye shepherds, and cry out, and sprinkle you (with 
 ashes), ye principal of the flock ; for your days are fulfilled 
 for slaughter, and I will dash you to pieces, so that you shall 
 fall like an elegant vessel. 35. And refuge fails the shepherds, 
 
 xlix. 12. Ver. 30, after the original passage, Joel iii. 16, to 
 which Amos i. 2 joins on ; Jeremiah, however, mentioning the 
 height of heaven instead of Zion-Jerusalem as the source of 
 the divine thunder, which empties itself on his own pasture 
 ( = Jerusalem and Judah). The blood-red treading of the wine- 
 press also alludes to Joel iii. 13. YVn, the far-resounding cry 
 with which the treaders encouraged one another, as in xlviii. 33, 
 li. 14. Ver. 31. tastM with b here only. The process this time 
 is not merely with individuals, but all flesh = all men. Ver. 32. 
 The storm, starting from one corner, embraces this time the 
 whole world of nations. Ver. 33. Those slain by Yahveh's 
 might fill the whole earth, phraseology as in viii. 2, xvi. 4. 
 Ver. 34. iB^BTim, sc. 13X3, as in vi. 26. The shepherds (kings) 
 and chief ones of the flock (common crowd) are to be slain 
 as if they were common sheep. DaTmnsn, many MSS. read 
 DDTiman : your scatterings (Aquila, Theodotion, Symmachus) ; 
 better : dashings to pieces. We must then supply from 
 the preceding : the days of your dashing. Still better, many 
 moderns read Dirnivan, as Hiphil or rather Tiphel: I dash 
 you to pieces. One does not indeed break elegant vessels 
 
JEKEMIAH XXV. 36-38. 199 
 
 and means of escape the principal of the flock. 36. Hark! 
 The cry of the shepherds and the howl of the principal of the 
 flock; for Yahveh lays waste their pasture. 37. And the 
 peaceful pastures perish before the fiery wrath of Yahveh. 
 38. He has forsaken his thicket like a lion; for their land 
 has become a solitude before the violent sword and before the 
 flame of his wrath. 
 
 intentionally, but they fall to pieces like others beyond repair. 
 Cf. xix. 11, xxii. 28. Ver. 36. Cf. Zech. xi. 3, nWn for r£h, 
 Ges. § 24. le. Ver. 37. Cf. Amos i. 2. Ver. 38. 3tj?,' with in- 
 definite subject, applies, according to iv. 7, to the Chaldaean, not 
 to Yahveh, to whom, however, the 1SN at the end (cf. ver. 37) 
 refers. Instead of the first jnn read 3in (LXX, Targ. and some 
 MSS., as well as most moderns); cf. xlvi. 16,1. 16. The mean- 
 ing of the 'O is that the desolation is the work of such a beast 
 of prey. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xxv. a. The seventy years' Bondage in 
 Babylon, xxv. 3-14 : a. the Condemnation of Judah and its 
 Neighbours, vv. 3-11; /3. Sentence on Babylon, vv. 12-14. 
 b. Judgment on the Heathen, xxv. 15-29. c. The Universal 
 Judge, xxv. 30-38: a. the Universal Judge, vv. 30, 31; 
 /3. the Earth judged, vv. 32-38. 
 
 This discourse, including a general review of the past and 
 a glance at the future, was uttered by the prophet in the 
 epoch - making fourth year of Jehoiakim, the year of the 
 decisive battle of Carchemish (xlvi. 2), which secured to the 
 Babylonian monarch supremacy over Judah and all the nations 
 in a narrower and wider range around. To this year belongs, 
 according to xxxvi. 1, the first written collection of all his 
 discourses delivered hitherto, which was made, however, in a 
 later part of the year, since the prophet was not then arrested 
 (xxxvi. 5), although prevented from entering the temple, 
 whereas he was to deliver the present discourse, as xxv. 1 f. 
 expressly declares, before all the people. But this discourse, 
 
200 JEREMIAH XXV. 
 
 like that act of recording, has already the character of a con- 
 cluding summary. Arrived at a decisive turning-point, which 
 puts the seal on his previous labours in the most glorious 
 way, the prophet looks back on his work and sums it up, at 
 the same time fixing his eye on a new epoch which would 
 put an end to the period of the Babylonian captivity. 
 
 a. XXV. 3-14. Jeremiah's preaching, which had now con- 
 tinued twenty-three years, and which was one unceasing call 
 to repentance, had proved fruitless. On this account the 
 Lord now summoned the northern conquerors, who were 
 referred to from the beginning. Nebuchadnezzar, an instru- 
 ment of God's will, now appears as their leader. He along 
 with his vassals will lay waste the land of Judah and also 
 the neighbouring lands, and reduce them to bondage for 
 seventy years (ver. 11). The number seventy is neither 
 merely ideal nor merely chronological, but partly one belong- 
 ing to sacred, prophetic symbolism (7 x 10), capable then of 
 further prophetic development (Dan. ix. 2, 24), and partly 
 intended to indicate definitely to the present generation the 
 limit of the period of judgment by way of comfort, and also 
 to dissipate false expectations (cf. xxviii. 3 ff.). Since the 
 revolution was completed with the current year, which is 
 carefully mentioned xxv. 1, the simplest course is to take 
 this year as the starting-point ; and since the period of seventy 
 years is described as that of the bondage in Babylon, the end 
 is the fall of Babylon, with which the Judsean exile also 
 reached its end. In fact, between the two points of time, the 
 fourth year of Jehoiakim (6 6) and the conquest of Babylon 
 by Cyrus (536), lie exactly seventy years. Specific prediction 
 must not be questioned from dogmatic prejudice. The intima- 
 tion here of the end of the rule of Babylon, and its express 
 prediction in vv. 12—14, are quite in keeping with the nature 
 of prophecy. Now, when the long-announced northern foe 
 appears on the scene, it again opens out a new period, which 
 likewise hastens to a surprising issue. Before two generations 
 
JEREMIAH XXV. 201 
 
 have passed, Nemesis will overtake the great world-power at 
 present victorious. 
 
 b. Vv. 15—29. Too great importance cannot be attached to 
 the new turn of things. The prophet pictures its gravity by 
 narrating to how many nations he has given the cup of 
 wrath at God's bidding. This wine of wrath being an ideal 
 drink, the incident is not to be conceived as outwardly trans- 
 acted, as if the prophet had journeyed to these countries, or 
 had symbolically offered a cup of common wine to their 
 ambassadors at Jerusalem, of which nothing is said. He 
 discharges here the office conferred on him in i. 10, admini- 
 stering a deadly drink to those nations by his effective 
 preaching. The sword, by which they will fall, is merely the 
 outward medium ; in reality they perish, intoxicated with 
 the wine of God's wrath. All are mentioned who suffer in 
 the same way through the unexpected elevation of Babylon 
 to world-wide power. They are enumerated at length, with 
 an evident anxiety that none may be passed over. The 
 specific oracles respecting the several heathen nations (ch. 
 xlvi. ff.) are an expansion of this summary review. They 
 nearly all had a place in the original book of the fourth year 
 of Jehoiakim (xxxvi. 2), perhaps there following upon ch. xxv. 
 There is no specific oracle respecting the kingdom of the 
 Medes, which was far distant from the seer. It is more 
 singular that Damascus and Syria are not mentioned (cf. 
 xlix. 23 ff.) in the present survey of the nations. Jerusalem 
 and Judah lying nearest to the prophet, on which the heaviest 
 judgment is to fall, of course come first in the list (ver. 18, 
 cf. ver. 9). Then follows (ver. 19) the great power in the 
 south which is first conquered, Egypt (see ch. xlvi.), then the 
 smaller, southern tribes bordering on Judah : Uz, Philistia 
 (ch. xlvii.), Edom (xlix. 7 ff.) ; then the eastern neighbours 
 Moab (see ch. xlviii.) and Ammon (xlix. 1 ff.) ; then the 
 Phoenicians in the north-west with their colonies (xlvii. 4) ; 
 next, as the circle enlarges, the Arab desert-tribes dwelling in 
 
202 JEREMIAH XXV. 
 
 the farther south and south-east (cf. xlix. 28 ff.), and the great 
 kingdoms to the north of Babylon: Elam (xlix. 34 ff. of a 
 later date) and Media ; finally, the vast northern lands in a 
 mass. But after all these comes, last in order, Babylon in a 
 closing act, where it is no longer an avenging conqueror, but 
 the object of vengeance (cf. vv. 12-14 and ch. iv. f.). "With 
 the mention of this imperial power, which at present leads 
 the way in inflicting judgment, the survey comes to a con- 
 clusion. The reasons of the judgment on the heathen follow 
 here, as in xvi. 10 f., v. 19, in this form: those devoted to 
 doom refuse to accept the divine decrees, whereupon they hear 
 its vindication. Of course the refusal to drink, like this action 
 itself, belongs to the ideal prophetic sphere. The vindication 
 of the judgment on the nations is, that if God deals so severely 
 with His own people, putting them at the head of those to be 
 punished, how should the more godless heathen escape with- 
 out punishment ! Cf. 1 Pet. iv. 1 7 f. 
 
 Vv. 30—38. The retribution is universal; it will smite all 
 nations without exception. What Joel foretold of a whole- 
 sale judgment of the nations, in which God thunders on high, 
 and a terrible vintage-cry announces his blood-red harvest on 
 the whole earth, will be fulfilled. It is not merely a conflict 
 of the nations among themselves which now opens, but a 
 judicial proceeding which the Lord Himself carries out with 
 all nations. As frequently in the prophetic visions, here also 
 a judgment — in itself affecting nearly the whole known world 
 — enlarges into the general and final judgment, of which, 
 indeed, it is one act. Vv. 32 ff. disclose a sad spectacle 
 on the earth. After the storm of judgment has roared past, 
 the earth will be a vast field of corpses, on which kings and 
 peoples, high and low, lie slain without distinction. This is 
 the work of God's wrath, which sent the destroyer. 
 
SECTION XIX. 
 
 Persecution of Jeremiah on occasion of the Temple- 
 Discourse UNDER JEHOIAKIM, CH. XXVI. 
 
 XXVI. 1. In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the 
 son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from Yahveh, 
 saying : 2. Thus has Yahveh said : Take thy stand in the 
 court of Yahveh's house and speak to all the cities of Judah, 
 who come to worship in Yahveh's house, all the words which 
 I have commanded thee to speak to them ; thou mayest not 
 omit a word. 3. Perhaps they will hear, and turn every one 
 from his evil way ; then will I repent me of the evil which I 
 intend to do them because of the wickedness of their deeds. 
 4. And thou shalt say to them : Thus has Yahveh said : 
 Unless you hearken to me to walk in my law, which I have 
 laid before you, 5. to hearken to the words of my servants 
 the prophets, whom I send to you, and sent to you early and 
 diligently, but you hearkened not, — 6. I make this house like 
 
 Chapter XXVI. 
 
 Ver. 1. nrn nmn rrn, sc. inw ba. Vv. 2-6 gives a summary 
 of the temple - discourse, ch. vii. f£, that passage in it being 
 emphasized which gave occasion to the judicial prosecution. Cf. 
 especially xxvi. 6, 9 with vii. 12, 14, xxvi. 13 with vii. 3, xxvi. 4 
 with ix. 12. That the prophet received and delivered a longer 
 communication than is given here is intimated in xxvi. 2, 8. 
 The present heading thus gives the date of the temple-discourse, 
 which is quite confirmed by the contents. Ch. xxvi. comes so 
 long afterwards, because historical in matter. It did not stand 
 in the book of his discourses first dictated by Jeremiah. Such 
 historical additions are found only from chs. xix., xx. onwards. 
 Ver. 2. Thou shalt not remove one word, i.e. suppress from pity 
 (cf. Deut. iv. 2, xiii. 1), which injunction had here special 
 reasons. Ver. 3. Dra with bn instead of the more frequent 
 by, as in xlii. 10. See there. Ver. 4. The law, see on ix. 12. 
 Ver. 6. Shiloh, see on vii. 12. In nnxrn, Kethib n is a copyist's 
 
 203 
 
204 JEKEMIAH XXVI. 7-14. 
 
 Shiloh, and I make this city a curse to all the nations of the 
 earth. 
 
 7. Then the priests, and the prophets, and the whole people 
 heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of Yahveh ; 
 8. and it came to pass, when Jeremiah had finished saying 
 everything which Yahveh commanded him to say to the whole 
 people, that the priests, and the prophets, and the whole people 
 seized him, saying : Thou shalt die ! 9. Wherefore hast thou 
 prophesied in Yahveh's name, saying : " This house shall be 
 made like Shiloh, and this city lie waste, without inhabitants" ? 
 Then the whole people gathered together against Jeremiah in 
 the house of Yahveh. 10. And the princes of Judah heard 
 these things, and they came up from the house of the king to 
 the house of Yahveh, and sat at the entrance of the new gate 
 of Yahveh. 11. And the priests and the prophets spake to 
 the princes and to the whole people, saying : This man is 
 worthy of death ; for he has prophesied against this city, as 
 you have heard with your eais. 12. Then spake Jeremiah 
 to all the princes and to the whole people, saying : Yahveh 
 sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city- 
 all the words which you have heard. 13. And now amend 
 your ways and your works and hearken to the voice of 
 Yahveh your God ; then will Yahveh repent him concerning 
 the evil which he has spoken respecting you. 14. But I — 
 behold, I am in your hand ; do to me as is good and right in 
 your eyes. 15. Only know ye distinctly that, if you kill me, 
 
 error. For ,v ia the Masoretic text requires here exceptionally 
 % Ges. § 8. 4. Ver. 9. mj like n'"?, Ges. § 75. a. 21c ; Eng. 
 § 74. Ver. 10. The princes of Judah are those who in xvii. 20 
 are also called kings; in xxi. 11 f. the house of the king or 
 house of David is addressed and summoned to faithful dispens- 
 ing of justice. They came up from the palace, see on xxii, 1. 
 They sat to judge in the new gate of Yahveh, supposed by many 
 to be identical with the " upper Benjamin gate," xx. 2, called 
 new because first built under Jotham (2 Kings xv. 35). But 
 this identity is by no means certain, considering the different 
 name. This "door of Yahveh " led to the inner court, xxxvi. 10. 
 Ver. 11. t3BB>D here and ver. 16, the sentence due to one by 
 right; thus properly, a capital sentence is due to him. Cf. 
 Deut. xix. 6, xxi. 22, as you, have heard, only to avoid repeating 
 
JEREMIAH XXVI. 15-22. 205 
 
 you lay innocent blood on you, and on this city, and on its 
 inhabitants ; for Yahveh has truly sent me to speak all these 
 words in your ears. 16. Then said the princes and the 
 •whole people to the priests and to the prophets : This man is 
 not worthy of death ; for he has spoken to us in Yahveh's 
 name. — 17. Then men of the elders of the land stood up and 
 spake to the whole assembly of the people, saying : 18. Micah, 
 the Morasthite, prophesied in the days of Hezekiali, king of 
 Judah, and spake to the whole people of Judah, saying : 
 " Thus says Yahveh of hosts : Zion shall be ploughed as a 
 field, and Jerusalem be made heaps of ruins, and the mountain 
 of the house forest-hills." 19. Did Hezekiah, king of Judah, 
 and all Judah, put him to death at all ? Did he not fear 
 Yahveh, and appease the face of Yahveh, that Yahveh might 
 repent of the evil which he spoke respecting them ? And 
 should we commit a great crime against our own souls ? 
 
 20. And there was again a man who prophesied in Yahveh's 
 name, Uriah, son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-Jearim, and he pro- 
 phesied against this city and against this land in agreement 
 with the words of Jeremiah. 21. And king Jehoiakim, and 
 all his mighty men, and all the princes heard his words ; and 
 the king sought to kill him. And Uriah heard it and was 
 afraid, and fled, and came to Egypt. 22. Then King Jehoia- 
 
 the narrative (Graf), since the people had heard, but not the 
 princes, to whom without doubt the points of accusation 
 were again exactly stated. Ver. 18. Instead of n^ya, Kethib, 
 Keri gives the briefer form usual in that prophet, nyn (Micah 
 i. 1) ; Kethib as in 2 Kings xxii. 12 ; Neh. xii. 35. K33, partic. 
 not 3 perf., cf. xxxii. 3. Ver. 19. 'n MS n^n, properly, to smooth, 
 stroke the face of the Lord ; hence to appease, as in Ex. xxxii. 
 11 and often ; and v:e, on the other hand, are about to commit 
 a great evil against our own souls (cf. xvii. 21), i.e. to incur a 
 deadly sin. The sentence is easily recognised as interrogative. 
 Ver. 20. Uriah, son of Shemaiah, not mentioned elsewhere, of 
 Kirjath-Jearim, the well-known Judsean town, 1 Sam. vii. 1 ; 
 according to Eobinson, the present Abu Gosh, formerly Karieth 
 el Enab, three hours north-west of Jerusalem. Concerning this 
 city and this land, is said in allusion to what precedes (ver. 12), 
 while what is here said is scarcely meant as a continuation of 
 the elders' words. Ver. 21. The mighty men, leaders in war, 
 as in 2 Kings xxiv. 16, men of war. Ver. 22. Jehoiakim was 
 
o 
 
 206 JEREMIAH XXVI. 23, 24, 
 
 kirn sent men to Egypt, Elnathan, the son of Achbor, and 
 people with him to Egypt. 23. And they brought Uriah 
 away from Egypt, and brought him to King Jehoiakim ; and 
 he slew him with the sword, and cast his corpse into the 
 graves of the common people. 24. But the hand of Ahikam, 
 the son of Shaphan, was with Jeremiah, that he delivered 
 him not into the hand of the people to kill him. 
 
 on good terms with the Egyptian court. Elnathan, son of 
 Achbor, mentioned also in xxxvi. 12, 25 among the princes 
 more favourably disposed to Jeremiah. His father is perhaps 
 the Achbor named 2 Kings xxii. 12 among the officers of 
 Josiah ; he himself perhaps was the father of Jehoiachin's 
 mother, 2 Kings xxiv. 8. Ver. 23. He slew him, and cast, i.e. 
 had him slain, and his body cast into the graves of the common 
 -people, as in 2 Kings xxiii. 6, who had no special tombs. Ver. 
 24. Ahikam, son of Shaphan, was the father of the governor 
 Gedaliah, xxxix. 14, xl. 5 ; 2 Kings xxv. 2. Gf. also 2 Kings 
 xxii. 12, and on xxxvi. 10. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xxvi. Judicial Prosecution of Jeremiah on 
 account of the Temple-Discourse delivered under Jehoiakim : 
 a. Eecapitulation of that discourse, vv. 1—6. b. Judicial 
 Action thereupon, vv. 7-19. c. Appendix: Death of the 
 Prophet Uriah, vv. 20-24. 
 
 There follows here a historical supplement to the temple- 
 discourse of chs. vii.-ix., which had a judicial epilogue similar 
 to the one in chs. xix., xx. First that discourse itself, and 
 especially its most caustic sayings are recalled, vv. 2-6 ; and 
 then the attack on the person of the prophet following upon 
 it in the temple-court is narrated, ver. 7 ff. That temple and 
 city should become like the ruined site of Shiloh, was a state- 
 ment touching too nearly leaders of the people (vii. 4-8), who 
 boasted of the impregnability of the place, for them to accept 
 such a public testimony calmly. Jeremiah thus made deadly 
 enemies of the priests, whose interests were so closely inter- 
 woven with the outward temple-service, and of the prophets who 
 
JEREMIAH XXVI. 207 
 
 were in alliance with them (cf. v. 31; in xx. 6 there is a 
 priest and prophet in one person) — of course the members of 
 both orders who were most alienated from God, but whose 
 numbers and influence were not inconsiderable. They demand 
 his death, and insist on it before the tribunal (ver. 11), after 
 the princes have come forward in consequence of the popular 
 excitement ; they evidently had the power of life and death, 
 whereas the priestly overseer of the temple (xx. 2) could only 
 inflict disciplinary punishment. The demand for the extreme 
 penalty was backed up, without doubt, by the statement that 
 prophesying against city and temple was gross blasphemy, as 
 in the trial of Stephen, Acts vi. 13 f. Jeremiah, on the other 
 hand, appeals to his divine mission (ver. 12), and points out 
 how irrational it is to punish the boldness of a prophet who 
 simply speaks at the behest of the Most High. His words 
 indeed, on the lips of some one else, would betray an impious, 
 nay, blasphemous disposition, and demand the interference of 
 authority ; but he stands as a genuine prophet, who cannot 
 speak otherwise than as God commanded him. He is ready, 
 indeed, to seal his testimony with his blood ; but would fain 
 not see his people stained also with such guilt. This simple, 
 incontestable reply seems to have made a profound impression. 
 His embittered enemies among the priests and prophets were 
 not, of course, pacified by his words ; but those in judicial 
 power who were not led away by passion thought his defence 
 conclusive. The princes here appear more favourable to him 
 than in xxxvii. ff. But the people are drawn hither and 
 thither (cf. vv. 8, 16, 24). On the first excitement they 
 sided with the priests against Jeremiah ; on calmer reflection, 
 and after hearing his defence, they took part with the princes 
 for him against the priests. This was greatly helped by the 
 action of some of the more considerable " elders," who referred 
 to former precedents. The memory of Micah of Moresheth 
 was the more easily revived by this discourse of Jeremiah 
 (chs. vii.-ix.), as the discourse in several respects recalled the 
 
208 JEREMIAH XXVI. 
 
 predictions of that prophet. Did then Hezekiah dream of 
 killing Micah, who uttered so much evil against Jerusalem 
 and the holy place ? On the contrary, he made his peace 
 with an angry God, and so turned aside the punishment. 
 This is the only wise course when God's word threatens. 
 Thus Jeremiah escaped the plot. 
 
 The appendix, ver. 2 ff., is meant to show how serious the 
 danger was, and perhaps to contrast with Jeremiah's faith and 
 courage the timidity of Uriah, who fled to Egypt and yet did 
 not escape his enemies, but found a sad end. In him the 
 threat of i. 17 was fulfilled. Jeremiah, on the other hand, 
 remained unhurt, even after that occurrence, by the rage of 
 his opponents and of the people instigated by them, especially 
 through the advocacy and protection of Ahikam, the worthy 
 father of Gedaliah. 
 
SECTION XX. 
 
 Jekemiah and the False Peophets, Chs. xxvil-xxix. 
 
 i. the yoke of babylon, ch. xxvii. 
 
 XXVII. 1. In the beginning of the reign of (Jehoiakim) 
 Zedekiah * the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to 
 
 Chapter XXVII. 
 
 Ver. 1. Almost literally as in xxvi. 1. Perhaps by a tran- 
 scriber's error Jehoiakim has crept in here from that passage 
 instead of Zedekiah, which is required by ver. 3 ff. On the 
 writing of the name Josiah, see on ii. 25. The somewhat 
 artificial supposition of Movers, Hitzig, Nagelsbach, that the 
 heading to the present chapter, wanting in LXX, is to be 
 sought in xlix. 34 (striking out Dyjn^N !), which verse the LXX 
 make an addendum to the oracle respecting Elam (which again 
 is explained by the fact that the oracles respecting foreigners 
 with Elam at the close preceded the present chapter, so that 
 the heading of ch. xxvii. was joined to what went before), is no 
 better an explanation than the simple supposition of a confu- 
 sion with the similar beginning of xxvi. 1. Especially it gives 
 no relief as to the main difficulty, which is, that here the begin- 
 ning of the reign is spoken of, whereas according to xxviii. 1 the 
 fourth year of Zedekiah is meant. Perhaps there a general 
 date (after the manner of xxvi. 1 and others) and a more specific 
 one clashed with each other. There can be no doubt that ch. 
 xxvii. really belongs to the fourth year. The king installed by 
 Nebuchadnezzar could not easily think of revolting against the 
 latter at the very beginning of his reign. In the fourth year 
 itself Zedekiah journeyed to Babylon (li. 59), perhaps in order to 
 contradict the rumour of his rebellious plan. — That chs. xxvii- 
 xxix. were composed somewhat later than the occurrence of 
 the events themselves, is self-evident. On the other hand, we 
 must not infer from certain forms of the proper names that 
 the section was revised by a much later (post-exilian) hand 
 (Movers, de Wette, Hitzig). In favour of this view, reference 
 
 o 
 
210 JEREMIAH XXVII. 2-7. 
 
 Jeremiah from Yahveh, saying : 2. Thus said Yahveh to me : 
 Make thee bands and yokes, and put them on thy neck. 3. And 
 send them to the king of Edom, and the king of Moab, and 
 the king of the sons of Amnion, and the king of Tyre, and 
 the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who are 
 come to Zedekiah, king of Judah. 4. And give them a 
 charge to their masters, saying : Thus says Yahveh of hosts, 
 the God of Israel : Thus shall you say to your masters : 5. I 
 have made the earth, the men and the cattle that are on the 
 earth, by my great strength and my outstretched arm, and 
 give them to whom it seems fit to me. 6. And now I have 
 given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king 
 of Babylon, my servant, and I have delivered to him even the 
 wild beasts of the field to serve him. 7. And all nations 
 shall serve him, and his son, and his grandson until the time 
 of his land also has come, and many nations with great kings 
 
 is made to the brief form ITDT only appearing in these three 
 chapters (xxvii. 1 and several times), rvpix (xxvii. 12 and 
 several times), JVy\y (xxvii. 20, etc.), which interchange with 
 the longer forms, without our assigning them to different 
 sources. In the same way the form Nebuchadnezzar prevails 
 here ; Nebuchadrezzar in xxix. 21 only, as usual elsewhere in 
 this book (except xxxiv. 1, xxxix. 5). These variations are to 
 be put down to the account of the copyists rather than of the 
 authors (Graf). Ver. 2. Bands and yokes or carrying-poles. 
 Connected with the wooden yoke are cords, fastening it to the 
 body. The sing. nDiD, xxviii. 10, interchanges with the plural, 
 xxviii. 13, even where one yoke is spoken of; D1D1D are 
 properly the vedes jugi (Lev. xxvi. 13) going round the neck 
 of the ox; here the entire framework of the yoke. Cf. Eiehm, 
 Edbk. Alt. p. 20. Yer. 3. The wording demands that Jeremiah 
 really delivered such yokes, like the one he himself wore, to 
 the ambassadors, an action quite in keeping with Oriental fond- 
 ness for concrete symbols. Ver. 5. Properly, to whom it is 
 right in my eyes (to give) ; cf. with the phrase, xviii. 4. Ver. 6. 
 Nebuchadnezzar, see on xxi. 2, xxvii. 1. Even the free 
 beasts of the field are to be subject to him, a sign of the 
 absolute giving up of the land into his power; cf. xxviii. 14. 
 Ver. 7 wanting in LXX. But it is not to be attacked because 
 it does not exactly agree with the history. For Nebuchad- 
 nezzar was only followed by his son Evil-Merodach, who was 
 slain by his brother-in-law. The statement is only meant to 
 
JEREMIAH XXVII. 8-15. 211 
 
 shall serve themselves of him. 8. And it shall come to pass, 
 the nation and the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebu- 
 chadnezzar, king of Babylon, and that which will not submit its 
 neck to the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will visit that 
 nation with the sword, and famine, and pestilence, is Yahveh's 
 oracle, until I utterly extirpate them by his hand. 9. But 
 as for you, hearken not to your prophets, and your diviners, 
 and your dreams, and your interpreters of signs, and your 
 sorcerers, who speak to you, saying : " You shall not serve the 
 king of Babylon." 10. For they prophesy deceit to you in 
 order to remove you far from your land, and that I may drive 
 you away, and you perish. 11. But the nation which puts 
 its neck into the yoke of the king of Babylon and serves him, 
 that will I leave peacefully in its land, is Yahveh's oracle, to 
 till it and dwell therein. 
 
 12. And I spoke according to all these words to Zedekiah, 
 king of Judah, and said : Put your necks into the yoke of the 
 king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live. 
 13. Wherefore will you die, thou and thy people, by the 
 sword, by famine and by pestilence, according to what Yahveh 
 said in regard to the nation which serves not the king of 
 Babylon ? 14. And hearken not to the words of the pro- 
 phets, who speak to you, saying : " You shall not serve the 
 king of Babylon," for they prophesy deceit to you. 15. For 
 I sent them not, is Yahveh's oracle, and they prophesy falsely 
 in my name, that I may drive you away and you perish, you 
 
 indicate about the same duration of the Babylonian supremacy 
 as in xxv. 11. Kin D3, to emphasize the suffix in 15ns. With 
 the end of the verse, cf. ix. 15. Ver. 8. DDfi, here transitively ; 
 cf. ix. 15. Ver. 9 mentions the various means used by these 
 nations to obtain professedly divine revelations. Cf. OrelJi, 
 0. T. Prophecy, p. 15. Prophets, i.e. those speaking from a 
 kind of inspiration, come first ; then D^ODp passes to technical 
 divination ; dreams, as is well known, were much resorted to 
 by the heathen. The WiiV, cloud - interpreters or weather- 
 makers, and D'BBO (elsewhere D'BBap), whisperers, charmers, 
 belong again to technical divination. Ver. 10. In order to 
 remove you. This is the end they strive after, without mean- 
 ing it. Ver. 12. The language goes on in the plural, because it 
 concerns not merely the king's person, but the whole govern- 
 
212 JEREMIAH XXVII. 16-22. 
 
 and the prophets who prophesy to you. 16. And to the 
 priests and this whole nation I said : Thus says Yahveh : 
 Hearken not to the words of your prophets, who prophesy to 
 you, saying: "Behold, the vessels of the house of Yahveh 
 shall now quickly be brought from Babylon ; " for they pro- 
 phesy deceit to you. 17. Hearken not to them, serve the 
 king of Babylon, and live. Wherefore should this city be 
 made a wilderness? 18. And if they are prophets, and if 
 the word of Yahveh is in them, let them now entreat Yahveh 
 of hosts, that the vessels which are still left in the house 
 of Yahveh and in the house of the king of Judah and 
 in Jerusalem, come not to Babylon. 19. For thus has 
 Yahveh of hosts said in regard to the pillars, and the sea, and 
 the stands, and the other vessels which are left in this city, 
 20, which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, did not take 
 when he carried away Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, from 
 Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the chief men of Judah 
 and Jerusalem. 21. For thus has Yahveh of hosts, the God 
 of Israel, said respecting the vessels which are left in the 
 house of Yahveh and in the house of the king of Judah and 
 Jerusalem: 22. They shall be brought to Babylon and remain 
 
 ment, and indirectly also the people, vni, imper., as in xxv. 5. 
 Ver. 16. Of your prophets, who, instead of being the Lord's 
 prophets, say what pleases you. The golden vessels had been 
 carried off on the deporting of Jehoiachin, according to ver. 20 
 and 2 Kings xxiv. 13. n^MO, properly, " from toward Babylon," 
 whither they were carried, Ges. § 90. 2c; Eng. § 88. The 
 Hoph. of 3iB> corresponds as passive to the Hiph. frequently 
 used with object of those taken captive, ver. 22 ; cf. xxviii. 3. 
 " Now speedily " (wanting in LXX), according to xxviii. 3 in 
 two years. Ver. 18. Bead ufcr TiW>, the imperf. being required, 
 Ges. § 72. a. 1. __ Ver. 19. The pillars, 1 Kings vii. 15 ff. ; the 
 sea, 1 Kings vii. 23 ff. ; the stand, 1 Kings vii. 27. These 
 brasen " vessels " were broken up on the later conquest by the 
 Babylonians and carried in part to Babylon, 2 Kings xxv. 13. 
 Vv. 19-22 are greatly abbreviated in LXX on account of their 
 diffuseness (Graf). Ver. 20. into instead of ln&im, as in 
 xxxvii. 12, xxxix. 7, and often. Dnh, the noble, eminent by birth 
 and wealth, 1 Kings xxi. 8, 11 ; Isa. xxxiv. 12. Ver. 22. DIYik, 
 referring to the vessels. Their return is, of course, included in 
 that of the captives, cf. xxix. 10. 
 
JEREMIAH XXVII. 213 
 
 there until the day when I inquire after them, and bring 
 them up and restore them to this place. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xxvii. Submit to the Babylonian yoke ! 
 a. Delivery of Yokes to the foreign Ambassadors, vv. 2-11. 
 h. Warning to Zedekiah, vv. 12-15. c. to the Priesthood, 
 vv. 16-22. 
 
 Chs. xxvii. -xxix. contains proofs how Jeremiah, after 
 Jehoiachin was carried away, continued, in energetic opposi- 
 tion to false prophets, to exhort government and people to 
 quietly accept the Babylonian yoke, which, as he knew, would 
 not so soon be removed from Judah and the neighbouring 
 peoples. He had special occasion for doing this, according to 
 xxvii. 1 ff. (cf. xxviii. 1), in the fourth year of Zedekiah, when 
 ambassadors from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon 
 came to Jerusalem, plainly in order to form a common 
 defensive alliance against Babylon. Many then expected a 
 speedy deliverance ; the prophets foretold it with all explicit- 
 ness, and encouraged to revolt ; the government lent a willing 
 ear to such counsels ; the priests already saw in spirit their 
 sacred vessels returning from Babylon ; the Judsean people at 
 Babylon and Jerusalem gave themselves up to similar hopes. 
 Against these treacherous fancies the prophet was to raise 
 loud protest, not from political prudence, but because it was 
 God's will that the yoke of the foreign king imposed by him 
 should meanwhile be borne with humility. Thus in that year 
 Jeremiah himself appeared before all the people with a yoke 
 round his neck, preaching by this means impressively enough 
 what the Lord's will was. Moreover, at God's bidding he 
 delivered such yokes to the foreign ambassadors, who were to 
 carry this symbolical teaching to their rulers, along with the 
 more explicit declaration that the God who created the earth 
 (Yahveh adored in Israel and Judah), and therefore disposed 
 of it at pleasure, had subjected their lands to the king of 
 
214 JEREMIAH XXVIII. 1. 
 
 Babylon for the next two generations (which agrees with the 
 seventy years, xxv. 11 f.). After this period has run out, 
 the days of bondage for Babylon also will come. Whoever, 
 meantime, presumptuously evades the divine appointment will 
 suffer under God's threefold scourge (ver. 8). These nations 
 are to beware of the specious delusions of their diviners and 
 sorcerers, their promises being hollow, fatal shams (ver. 9 f.). 
 Quite in the same spirit is the advice given to King Zedekiah 
 and his people, ver. 1 2 ff. For the welfare of the land they 
 are to submit willingly and patiently to the yoke of Babylon, 
 and to beware of being misled by the prophets, who promised 
 a speedy end of Babylon's supremacy, while really by this 
 very means driving the people into exile. Along with the 
 government the priestly party is especially warned ; it showed 
 itself specially susceptible to those soothing promises, and 
 fancied itself already in .possession of its lost temple-treasures. 
 Did those seers really know God's counsel, Jeremiah says, 
 instead of nursing such vain hopes, they would earnestly 
 beseech God not to cause the brasen adornments of God's 
 house to follow to Babylon the golden ones already lost ; for 
 it is God's purpose to give over everything to Babylon until 
 the day of deliverance. 
 
 II. JEREMIAH AND HANANIAH, CH. XXVIII. 
 
 XXVIII. 1. And it came to pass that year, in the first part 
 of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the fourth year in 
 the fifth month, Hananiah, the son of Azzur, the prophet who 
 was of Gibeon, spoke to me before the eyes of the priests and 
 
 Chapter XXVIII. 
 
 Ver. 1. Eespecting the double, somewhat awkward indication 
 of time, see on xxvii. 1. " In the beginning of the reign of 
 Zedekiah" seems to have been added by a not very careful 
 corrector. The following occurrences belong to the same year, 
 nay, the same days, as ch. xxvii., when Jeremiah appeared with 
 the yoke round his neck. JW3, construct, Kethib (for which 
 
JEGEMIAH XXVIII. 2-8. 215 
 
 of the whole people, saying: 2. "Thus has Yahveh, the God 
 of Israel, spoken : I have broken in pieces the yoke of the king 
 of Babylon. 3. "Within two years I bring again to this place 
 all the vessels of the house of Yahveh, which Nebuchadnezzar, 
 king of Babylon, took away from this place and brought to 
 Babylon. 4. And I bring again to this place Jeconiah, the son 
 of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the whole body of captives 
 of Judah who are come to Babylon, is Yahveh's oracle ; for 
 I break the yoke of the king of Babylon." 5. Then said 
 Jeremiah the prophet to Hananiah the prophet, before the 
 eyes of the priests and of all the people, of those who were 
 standing in the house of Yahveh ; 6. and Jeremiah the 
 prophet said : Amen, Yahveh do so ; Yahveh bring to pass 
 thy words, which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the 
 vessels of the house of Yahveh and the whole body of captives 
 from Babylon to this place. 7. Only hear now this message, 
 which I speak in thy ears and in the ears of the whole 
 people : 8. The prophets, who were before me and before 
 thee from of old, they have prophesied against extensive lands 
 and respecting great kingdoms, for war, and for evil, and for 
 
 Keri needlessly has absolute, cf. Ewald, Gram. § 287a), as in 
 xxxii. 1, xlvi. 2, li. 59. The fifth month is mentioned in allu- 
 sion to ver. 17. Hananiah of Gibeon, native of a priest-town 
 (Josh. xxi. 17), was perhaps himself a priest, like Pashhur 
 (xx. 1, 6) and Jeremiah himself (i. 1). Ver. 2. The example of 
 Hananiah is instructive as to the way in which the false 
 imitated the true prophets even in form and style. God says : 
 I have said ; so that to God it was already an accomplished fact 
 (perf. proph), which will certainly soon appear in outward 
 reality. Ver. 3. 1U3, properly, in yet two years, days 
 (= period), i.e. in the period of yet two years. The temple- 
 vessels, whose absence was painfully felt at this time especially by 
 the priests, stand first here also. Cf. on xxvii. 16 ff. Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, see on xxi. 2, xxvii. 1. Ver. 4. Jeconiah = Jehoiachin, 
 see on xxvii. 1 ; and cf. xxii. 24 ff., where Jeremiah (ver. 26 f.) 
 declares, on the contrary, that Jeconiah will die in exile. 
 Ver. 6. Amen, see on xi. 5. This solemn assent not merely 
 expresses Jeremiah's pious wish that it may happen, but also 
 holds the other speaker to his words in the form of the assent. 
 Ver. 8. The well-known prophets of former days had the 
 courage to prophesy war, etc., against mighty kingdoms, i.e. to 
 
216 JEEEMIAH XXVIII. 9-16. 
 
 pestilence. 9. The prophet who prophesies for peace — hy 
 the fulfilment of the message of this prophet is the prophet 
 known whom Yahveh has truly sent. 10. Then the prophet 
 Hananiah took the yoke from the neck of the prophet 
 Jeremiah and broke it to pieces. 11. And Hananiah spoke 
 before the eyes of the whole people as follows : " Thus has 
 Yahveh said: Just so I will break in pieces the yoke of 
 Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, within two years from the 
 neck of all nations." Then the prophet Jeremiah went his 
 way. 12. Then came Yahveh's word to Jeremiah, after the 
 prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke from the neck of the 
 prophet Jeremiah, saying: 13. Go and speak to Hananiah as 
 follows : Thus says Yahveh : Thou hast broken in pieces wooden 
 yokes, and instead of them hast prepared iron yokes. 14. For 
 thus says Yahveh of hosts, the God of Israel : I have laid an 
 iron yoke on the neck of all these nations, to be subject to 
 Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and they shall serve him ; 
 and I have given him even the wild beasts of the field. 15. 
 Then said Jeremiah the prophet to Hananiah the prophet : 
 Hear now, Hananiah, Yahveh has not sent thee, and thou 
 makest this people to trust in deceit. 16. Therefore thus 
 says Yahveh : Behold, I chase thee from the face of the 
 earth ; this year thou shalt die ; for thou hast preached 
 
 announce to them divine decrees of evil import, which was no 
 pleasant office, but only to be undertaken at the divine com- 
 mand. Instead of njnb, many MSS. have 3in^, answering to the 
 usual formula, but to which nontax does not belong. Ver. 9. The 
 prophet, singular, because evidently such an one forms an excep- 
 tion in the choir of acknowledged prophets. Ver. 10. nDlDn, 
 see on xxvii. 2. Ver. 14. These nations, see on xxv. 9. The wild 
 beasts, see on xxvii. 6. Ver. 16. irtast) is a retort to "]r6£>, ver. 15. 
 Because he unjustly attributes to himself a divine mission, the 
 Lord will roughly dismiss him from the face of the earth. 
 Because he uttered disobedience to Yahveh, i.e., as in xxix. 32, 
 preached apostasy, the Lord Himself executes on such a prophet 
 the punishment threatened in Deut. xiii. 1 ff. Tempting to 
 disobedience against God's will is here described as apostasy. 
 Cf. also Deut. xviii. 20 ff. Similar oracles against individuals 
 are found also elsewhere, xx. 6, xxix. 21, 32. The example 
 to be given in this Hananiah, whose conduct was full of 
 danger for king and people, was an especially striking one in 
 
JEREMIAH XXVIII. 17. 217 
 
 rebellion against Yahveh. 17. And Hananiah the prophet 
 died the same year, in the seventh month. 
 
 view of the shortness of the time and the rapidity of the fulfil- 
 ment. The case no doubt tells the more strongly against the 
 rationalistic conceptions of prophecy, but is not to be disparaged 
 in favour of the latter. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xxviii. Unmasking of the false prophet 
 Hananiah : a. Hananiah's Oracle and Symbolic Act, vv. 
 1-11. 6. Answer thereto, and Sentence of Death, vv. 12—17. 
 
 The chapter stands in intimate relation to what goes before. 
 In the very days of the fourth year of Zedekiah, when 
 Jeremiah went about with a yoke round his neck exhorting 
 to submission to Babylon and warning against false prophets, 
 one of the boldest of these fanatics appeared in the temple, 
 Hananiah of Gibeon, declaring that God had broken the yoke 
 of the king of Babylon, and in a short time would bring in 
 deliverance. In two years (not seventy) the stolen temple- 
 treasures should be there again, and King Jehoiachin (contrary 
 to Jeremiah's express assertion) should return with all the 
 captives ! Jeremiah confronted this prophet of peace publicly, 
 at first declaring his assent to his words (ver. 6), but adding 
 the explanation that the fulfilment of these words would decide 
 on the genuineness of his mission. He reminds him, ver. 7 ff., 
 that the genuine prophets were from of old as a rule prophets 
 of evil to their countrymen, the courage and self-suppression 
 shown in the delivery of so unwelcome a message giving 
 security for its truth. But now when a prophet announces 
 good, and what will be heard with pleasure, it is doubly 
 necessary to apply the canon laid down in Deut. xviii. 2 1 f. : 
 only the fulfilment of his message will attest the divinity of 
 his mission. Hananiah, however, pays no heed to warning ; 
 on the contrary, he is daring enough, by way of confirming 
 his prediction, to break the yoke Jeremiah carries ; whereupon 
 
218 JEREMIAH XXIX. 1, 2. 
 
 the latter at first quietly goes his way, but soon returns 
 with an oracle received from the Lord. The only effect of 
 that prophet breaking of his own will the wooden yoke will 
 be, that by God's design an iron one will take its place. The 
 corresponding fact in history will be, that the nations who 
 shall rebel against the supremacy of Babylon will have to 
 endure the rule of that empire in a more oppressive form. 
 In addition, Jeremiah passes on the deceiver sentence of 
 death, which he merits by law, and which the Lord Himself 
 will execute on him within a very brief space. Ver. 1 7 says 
 that this actually happened in a few weeks. It is a natural 
 supposition that Jeremiah's prophetic influence was not a 
 little enhanced by such public fulfilment of his oracle as the 
 further history shows. Despite the deep impression made by 
 such occurrences, and the regard for the representative of 
 God's genuine word which followed in consequence, no true 
 obedience to that word appeared. 
 
 III. TWO LETTERS TO BABYLON, CH. XXIX. 
 
 XXIX. 1. And this is the wording of the letter which 
 Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remaining 
 elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and the prophets, and 
 the whole people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had led captive from 
 Jerusalem to Babylon, 2. (after the departure of king Jeconiah, 
 and the queen-mother, and the courtiers, the princes of Judah 
 and Jerusalem, and the smiths and the locksmiths from 
 
 Chapter XXIX. 
 
 Ver. 1. rPDT 1 , briefer form, see on xxvii. 1. Those remaining, 
 alludes to the fact that some of these elders had died, either on 
 the journey, or during the early part of the sojourn in Babylon. 
 Nebuchadnezzar, see on xxi. 2, xxvii. 1. Ver. 2. Cf. xxiv. 1 ; 
 see 2 Kings xxiv. 12, 14 ff. The account of those addressed in 
 ver. 1 is followed by a statement of the time, ver. 2. nt«?, cf. 
 N¥\ ver. 16, here compulsory departure. rrraan, see on xiii. 18. 
 D'D'HD, eunuchs, here courtiers generally ; hence explained by 
 princes of Judah; whereas in 2 Kings xxiv. 12 the princes are 
 
JEREMIAH XXIX. 3-11. 219 
 
 Jerusalem,) 3. by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, 
 and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah, king of 
 Judah, sent to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to Babylon,) 
 saying : 4. Thus has Yahveh of hosts, the God of Israel, said 
 to the whole captivity, which I carried away from Jerusalem 
 to Babylon : 5. Build ye houses and settle down ; and plant 
 gardens and eat their fruit. 6. Take wives and beget sons 
 and daughters, and take wives for your sons and daughters, 
 and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear 
 sons and daughters, and multiply there and diminish not. 7. 
 And seek the weal of the city whither I led you captive, and 
 make intercession for it to Yahveh ; for, when it goes well 
 with it, it will go well with you. 8. For thus says Yahveh 
 of hosts, the God of Israel : Do not be misled by your 
 prophets, who are in your midst, and your soothsayers ; and 
 hearken not to your dreams, which you make yourselves 
 dream ; 9. for they prophesy to you in my name deceitfully ; 
 I have not sent them, is Yahveh's oracle. 10. For thus says 
 Yahveh : Only when seventy years are fulfilled for Babylon, I 
 ■will visit you and accomplish in you my word, that good (word), 
 to restore you to this place. 11. For I know my thoughts 
 
 distinguished from the sarisim, i.e. subordinate officials, unless 
 the word there embraces court-people generally, as noblemen in 
 distinction from priests, which is more probable. Ver. 3. 
 Shaphan, see on xxvi. 24. "Whether the same person is meant 
 as there, is uncertain. The ambassadors, also, who bring the 
 latter, are not mentioned elsewhere. The object of their 
 mission in general was to present the homage of the king. 
 "We know no further particulars. The ambassadors bringing 
 the letter shows that its contents were in accord with the 
 court-policy of the moment. Ver. 7. The city is not necessarily 
 Babylon, but the place where they happen to dwell, and will 
 dwell for some generations. Ver. 8. The prophets, who 
 promise a speedy revolution in the style of the Jerusalem 
 prophets, are in their midst, a part of the body of exiles. On 
 the other hand, the D^DDp are heathen soothsayers, who seek to 
 encourage them. The Hiphil of D^n, to cause oneself to dream 
 (with weakened vowel, Ges. § 53. 3. a. 5 ; Eng. § 52), essentially 
 = Kal, here only. Ver. 9 refers to the prophets first named in 
 ver. 8. Ver. 10. As to the period of seventy years formerly 
 announced and already passing away, see on and after xxv. 11. 
 
220 JEREMIAH XXIX. 12-18. 
 
 which I cherish respecting you, is Yahveh's oracle, thoughts 
 of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and hope. 
 12. And you shall call on me, and go and pray to me, and I 
 will hear you. 1 3. And you shall seek and find me, when 
 you shall ask after me with all your heart. 14. And I will 
 be found of you, is Yahveh's oracle. And I will turn your 
 captivity, and gather you together out of all nations and from 
 all the places whither I have driven you, is Yahveh's oracle, 
 and cause you to return to this place from which I led you 
 captive. 
 
 15. If you say: Yahveh has raised us up prophets in 
 Babylon, 16. yea, thus has Yahveh spoken concerning the 
 king, who sits on David's throne, and the whole people, that 
 dwells in this city, your brethren, who did not go with you 
 into exile. 1 7. Thus has Yahveh of hosts said : Behold, I 
 send upon them the sword, and famine, and pestilence, and 
 make them like abominable figs, which cannot be eaten for 
 badness. 18. And I pursue them with the sword and famine 
 and pestilence, and make them a horror to all kingdoms of 
 the earth, a curse, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a 
 
 Ver. 11. A future which is more precisely defined by nipm = an 
 auspicious future ; cf. xxxi. 17 ; Prov. xxiii. 18, xxiv. 14, 20. 
 Ver. 12. 5>7ann, with the introductory "|$>n, seems, in distinction 
 from top, to apply to solemn, set worship. Ver. 13. Cf. 
 xxiv. 7. Ver. 14. nue> 31B>, cf. Deut. xxx. 3 and Jer. xxiii. 3. 
 The LXX make ver. 21 follow directly on ver. 15, omitting 
 vv. 16-20, which does not justify the critical rejection of these 
 verses because it is plainly a designed simplifying. On the 
 contrary, an account of what will befall those left in Jerusalem, 
 completely dashing the premature hopes nourished by the pre- 
 tended prophets, forms a necessary part of the letter. Ver. 15. 
 If you say, Yahveh has raised us up prophets in Babylon, 
 r6aa (usually accus. of direction, Ges. § 90. 26; Eng. § 88) 
 implies that the God dwelling in Jerusalem has now sent His 
 messengers to the heathen city, — and build your confidence on 
 this fact, not recognising what was said in ver. 9, — verily, thus 
 has Yahveh said. Ver. 16. This '3 is asseverating : verily thus. 
 Ver. 17. "W, from ~\W, to shudder, abominable, here only. 
 Jeremiah borrows the figure from the vision of ch. xxiv., 
 though the Babylonian readers did not need to know that 
 chapter in order to understand the reference. Ver. 18. Almost 
 
JEREMIAH XXIX. 19-23. 221 
 
 disgrace among all nations whither I drive them, 19. because 
 they hearkened not to my words, is Yahveh's oracle, with 
 which I sent my servants the prophets to them, early and 
 diligently, but you hearkened not, is Yahveh's oracle. 20. 
 But as for you, hear ye the word of Yahveh, all ye exiled 
 ones, whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21. 
 Thus says Yahveh of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning 
 Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, 
 who prophesy to you deceit in my name : Behold, I deliver 
 them up into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, and he shall slay 
 them before your eyes. 22. And men shall take a curse 
 from them for the whole captivity of Judah, which is at 
 Babylon, so that it shall be said : " Yahveh make thee like 
 Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted 
 in the fire;" 23. because they committed villainy in Israel, 
 practising adultery with their neighbours' wives, and preaching 
 falsely in my name that which I commanded them not. But 
 I am he that knows and testifies, is Yahveh's oracle. 
 
 like xxiv. 9. DTirnn, perf. fut., I shall have driven them. 
 njm, see on xv. 4. np-iB», see on xviii. 16. Ver. 19. DnyoB', 
 instead of third person, because the writer of the letter falls 
 into the phraseology usual with him (vii. 13, xxv. 3 f, etc.), 
 after which he addresses himself more definitely to the persons 
 concerned (ver. 20). Ver. 20. Those whom I sent away. God 
 everywhere appears (cf. vv. 4, 7, 14) as the author of the exile. 
 Ver. 21. Concerning the two prophets here named, of the class 
 described ver. 8 f., nothing is known in detail. Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, see on xxi. 2, xxvii. 1. Ver. 22. As rejected Judah in 
 general becomes a form of curse to the heathen (xxiv. 9, 
 xxix. 18), so in particular these ringleaders do to the exiles 
 themselves, who (cf. the form of blessing, Gen. xlviii. 20) will 
 wish their worst enemies the lot of these men in their mode of 
 death. In nnto the second X is omitted, so that kametz comes 
 under n, and hence seghol under N. On burning alive as a 
 mode of execution, see Dan. iii. 6. Since nan stands in the 
 preceding verse, the expression is perhaps not to be pressed, 
 but means the most cruel form of death generally. Ver. 23. 
 rbll, especially frequent in reference to the sin of unchastity 
 (Gen. xxxiv. 7 ; Deut. xxii. 21, etc.), which was also here com- 
 bined with emancipation from God's rule, as the Omniscient 
 One well knew (xxiii. 24). 13W1, with virtually doubled X, 
 
222 JEREMIAH XXIX. 24-31. 
 
 24. And to Shemaiah the Nehelamite thou shalt speak as 
 follows: 25. Thus speaks Yahveh of hosts, the God of Israel, 
 saying : Because thou hast sent a letter in thy name to the 
 whole people which is at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah, the 
 son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying : 
 
 26. Yahveh appointed thee priest instead of the priest 
 Jehoiada, that there might be an overseer in the house of 
 Yahveh for every man who is insane and prophesies, and 
 that thou mightest put him in the stocks and in the block. 
 
 27. And now, wherefore hast thou not checked Jeremiah of 
 Anathoth, who prophesies to you ? 28. Yea, he has even 
 sent to us to Babylon the words : " It is for a long time ; 
 build ye houses and settle down, and plant gardens and eat 
 their fruit." 29. Then the priest Zephaniah read this letter 
 in the hearing of the prophet Jeremiah. 30. Then the word 
 of Yahveh came to Jeremiah, saying: 31. Announce to the 
 whole captivity the words : Thus has Yahveh spoken con- 
 
 Ges. § 64. 3. § 63. jnvn, transposing l, see on ii. 25. Ver. 24. 
 The Nehelamite, from a place or family of this name. Ver. 
 25. In opposition to Jeremiah's letter written in God's name, 
 Shemaiah permitted himself to write a letter of rebuke in his 
 own name. DnaD refers probably to one letter (as in 2 Kings 
 xix. 14, xx. 12), whose proper recipient was the Zephaniah 
 addressed in ver. 26, but in which the writer also addressed him- 
 self to people and priesthood. On Zephaniah, see on xxi. 1. 
 Ver. 26. He now held the office of chief overseer in the temple, 
 which Pashhur still holds in xx. 1. But the letter refers to 
 Jehoiada, the energetic high priest, who, according to 2 Kings 
 xi. 18, instituted an overseership in the temple, after reducing 
 things to order there, and who was thus in a sense the first 
 overseer in God's house, and served as an example of intrepid 
 activity to later generations. Especially, Shemaiah thinks, 
 should such overseers restrain the foolish men, such as Jere- 
 miah is said to be, who pretend to be prophets. M£>n, madman, 
 a nickname which genuine prophets had to submit to in other 
 instances, 2 Kings ix. 11 ; Hos. ix. 7. In addition to stocks 
 (xx. 2), here is a kind of neck-iron, prv (cf. Arabic zinak, neck- 
 chain). Conversely the older Eabbins in Kimchi rDBn»= 
 -iaw& 13DO, p3is=Dn^ "ijdq ^3. Plainly the two things together 
 form a complete apparatus for keeping prisoners in durance. 
 Ver. 28. p bv '3, as always in the sense : for this reason. Ver. 
 
JEREMIAH XXIX. 32. 223 
 
 cerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite : Because Shemaiah has 
 prophesied to you, whereas I had not sent him, and inspired 
 you with deceitful confidence, 3 2. therefore thus says Yahveh : 
 Behold, I visit Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed ; he 
 shall have no man to dwell amidst this people, and shall not 
 see the good which I do to my people, is Yahveh's oracle ; 
 for he has preached rebellion against Yahveh. 
 
 32. He shall have no man dwelling, i.e. no posterity belonging 
 to him in the nation, and also shall not himself see a change 
 for the better, because he spoke rebellion (see on xxviii. 16), i.e. 
 counselled disobedience against God. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xxix. Two letters to Babylon. First letter, 
 vv. 1—23. a. Exhortation to the exiles to settle quickly 
 in the place of banishment until the hour of deliverance, 
 vv. 1-14. h. Fate of those left in Jerusalem, vv. 15-19. 
 c. Bebuke of two false prophets, vv. 20-23. Second letter: 
 Oracle respecting Shemaiah, vv. 24—32. 
 
 First of all, the chapter speaks of a letter to Babylon, closely 
 akin in matter to chs. xxvii., xxviii., exhorting in like manner 
 to calm submission to the foreign rule, and warning against 
 prophets who excited hopes of speedy deliverance. Only this 
 time the exhortation is directed to the body of exiles in 
 Babylon, who were also inflamed by such lying prophet- 
 voices ; and specific condemnation is pronounced on two false 
 prophets dwelling there. According to vv. 1 f. and 5 £, this 
 letter was composed not long after the removal of Jehoiachin 
 and his companions in suffering, when those carried away had 
 not yet given up hope of a speedy return. It is perhaps to 
 be placed in the first or second year of Zedekiah's reign ; in 
 the fourth year, to which chs. xxvii., xxviii. belong, this king 
 himself was in Babylon ; on the other hand, in a year previous 
 to that one he probably sent thither the embassy mentioned 
 in ver. 3, which gave opportunity for forwarding Jeremiah's 
 
224 JEREMIAH XXIX. 
 
 letter. Thus the letter, which is perhaps given us literally in 
 the form in which it went to Babylon, was probably written not 
 long before the vision related in ch. xxiv. and referred to in 
 xxix. 17. This letter extends up to ver. 23. 
 
 From the close of the chapter it is clear that an important 
 member of the body of exiles was so enraged by Jeremiah's 
 letter, that he sent a letter to Jerusalem (perhaps by the 
 same ambassadors), exhorting the temple-overseer to do his 
 duty against this fanatic, who pollutes the temple. To this 
 the appended oracle (vv. 24—32) refers, which was likewise 
 to be sent in writing to those dwelling in Babylon (ver. 31), 
 so that the chapter shows how the prophet continued to exert 
 influence on that colony as on the home-land. 
 
 Vv. 4—7 exhorts the exiles, who were looking for a speedy 
 change in things and a return to the fatherland, to renounce 
 such hopes for ever and to prepare in God's name and under 
 His blessing for a longer stay in the place of exile ; instead 
 of imagining that the misfortunes coming on Babylon would 
 be their salvation, they are to pray for this country, since 
 their weal and woe will be bound up with it for generations 
 to come. The prophets who tell them a different story lie, 
 ver. 8 f. Yet, as vv. 10—14 comfortingly remind us, God has 
 by no means forgotten them, but holds to His redeeming plan 
 (which according to ch. xxiv. is to be realized in this very 
 colony at Babylon), and will carry it out when the seventy 
 years' period of that empire is fulfilled. But if they appeal 
 to the prophets who have arisen in the strange land (ver. 15), 
 who set before them the prospect of a speedy return, let them 
 know that, on the contrary, judgment awaits even the remnant 
 of the people left at Jerusalem in return for their disobedience 
 to the word of the Lord. Next, in ver. 20 ff., sentence is 
 pronounced on two false prophets belonging to the Babylonian 
 colony. God will not protect them as He does His genuine 
 prophets, but, on the contrary, give them into the hand of His 
 servant Nebuchadnezzar, who will put these agitators to death 
 
JEREMIAH XXIX. 225 
 
 in such a way that their name will excite horror, and their 
 fate be imprecated on a man's worst enemies. They merit 
 such punishment as reckless transgressors of God's laws, 
 whose conduct is as vicious as their language is godless. 
 Nothing is said of the fulfilment of this oracle ; but, as in 
 similar cases, (see ver. 32), the fulfilment may be certainly 
 inferred from the careful preservation of the prophecy. 
 
 Yet a third member of the body of captives is the object 
 of a penal oracle, Shemaiah, who replied to the above letter 
 of Jeremiah by a similar one to the temple-overseer, exhort- 
 ing him to such violent measures as Pashhur had already 
 attempted (ch. xx.). This Shemaiah did not claim to be a 
 prophet, but wrote in his own name, plainly as an influential 
 man, perhaps one of the elders referred to in ver. 1 ; but he 
 presumed to rebuke the Spirit of God. "What the Spirit of 
 God said he would have suppressed by law and authority, 
 whilst yielding implicit faith to the spirit of error — a not 
 uncommon perverseness ! The punishment assigned him for 
 this, in keeping with the degree of guilt, is not so severe as 
 in ver. 22 ; still it was a heavy one for every Israelite, whose 
 chief anxiety was that his name and memory should not be 
 rooted out from the people of God. 
 
SECTION" XXI. 
 
 Jeremiah's Book of Consolation, Chs. xxx.-xxxiii. 
 
 i. comforting oracles, chs. xxx., XXXI. 
 
 XXX. 1. The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahveh, 
 saying : 2. Thus said Yahveh, the God of Israel : "Write thee 
 all the words, which I have spoken to thee, in a book. 3. For 
 behold, days come, is Yahveh's oracle, that I will turn again 
 the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, Yahveh said, 
 and will make them return to the land which I gave to their 
 fathers, and they shall occupy it. 
 
 4. And these are the words which Yahveh spoke concern- 
 ing Israel and Judah. 5. Thus said Yahveh : "We have heard 
 a cry of dismay, terror, and a state of ruin. 6. Ask now and 
 see, whether a man brings forth ! Wherefore then do I see 
 every man with (his) hands on his loins like a travailing 
 woman, and (wherefore) have all faces turned to deathly 
 
 Chapter XXX. 
 
 Ver. 2. This direction, couched in general terms, refers, 
 according to ver. 3, to sayings respecting the return from exile. 
 The sayings meant are those of chs. xxx. and xxxi. as in 
 ver. 4. On the other hand, in ch. xxxii. there is a new heading 
 as in xxx. 1. Ver. 3. nuts' nits' as in xxix. 14. That deliver- 
 ance will come is both the reason and the substance of what is 
 said and written. Both notions are included in 'a. Ver. 5 f. 
 applies not to the impending conquest of Jerusalem, but, 
 according to ver. 7, to the day of Yahveh, when Babylon's yoke 
 is broken ; even to Jacob this will be a time of tribulation 
 (ver. 7), but freedom or salvation will be born to it from the 
 throes of judgment. Cf. Isa. xiii. 4 ff. The tumult of war 
 arising will be fearful. Ver. 6. They will see all men behaving 
 like terrified women when the hour of travail is approaching. 
 Corpse-like pallor, properly, a greenish yellow hue, terror freez- 
 
 226 
 
JEREMIAH XXX. 7-14. 227 
 
 pallor ? 7. Alas, for that day is great beyond comparison ; 
 and it is a time of tribulation for Jacob, but he shall be 
 delivered from it. 8. And it shall come to pass on that day, 
 is the oracle of Yahveh of hosts, that I will break his yoke 
 from off thy neck, and I will burst thy bonds, and strangers 
 shall no more make him their servant. 9. But they shall 
 serve Yahveh their God, and David their king, whom I will 
 raise up unto them. 10. But as for thee, be not afraid, my 
 servant Jacob, is Yahveh's oracle, and despair not, Israel ; 
 for behold I deliver thee from afar off, and thy seed from the 
 land where they are captive, and Jacob shall return and rest, 
 cheerful and undisturbed. 11. For I am with thee, is 
 Yahveh's oracle, to save thee. For I will make an end of 
 all the nations whither I have scattered thee ; only I will 
 not make an end of thee, but chastise thee in measure, and 
 by no means leave thee unpunished. 
 
 12. For thus says Yahveh: Grievous is thy wound, 
 grievous thy bruise. 13. No one maintains thy right; thou 
 hast no medicine for thy wounds to heal them. 14. All thy 
 lovers have forgotten thee ; they ask not after thee. For I 
 
 ing the blood, cf. Joel ii. 6. Ver. 7. Cf. Joel ii. 11. In pxD 
 the ;d, as in ii. 15. Ver. 8. Yoke and bands, see xxvii. 2 ; his 
 yoke refers to Jacob. Ver. 9. The rightful king of the days of 
 deliverance is called David, as in Hos. iii. 5 ; not that the 
 ancient king David would rise from the dead ; D'pn, so common 
 in Jeremiah, nowhere has this sense, but means in this 
 connection to raise to power, as in 2 Sam. vii. 12. On the 
 contrary, this David is, of course, identical with the " righteous 
 sprout," xxiii. 5, xxxiii. 15. Ver. 10. |3KB>, quadriliteral verb. 
 Ver. 11. rte T\vy (iv. 27, v. 10, 18), the second time with 
 accusative. — t2SB>ob, by the measure of right, fairness, cf. x. 24, 
 — npj, cf. Ex. xxxiv. 7 ; to declare the sinner altogether guilt- 
 less, without satisfaction being made to justice, would be against 
 God's love of right ; cf. xlvi. 27 f., a repetition of the passage. 
 Hitzig regards it as an interpolation of Deutero-Isaiah. On 
 the contrary, the latter adopts Jeremiah's style. Ver. 12. Evil 
 obtains in regard to thy wound, i.e. it is ill therewith. Cf. x. 19, 
 and see on iv. 6. Ver. 13. "ilTD^to be joined to the after-clause, 
 against the accents. <t>yn, see on viii. 22. rvixai, means of 
 cure, as in xlvi. 11. Ver. 14. Thy lovers, neighbouring peoples 
 who once paid thee court, not from quite unselfish motives, as it 
 
228 JEREMIAH XXX. 15-21. 
 
 have smitten thee with hostile stroke in cruel' chastisement 
 because of the multitude of thy guilt, for thy sins have 
 become great. 15. Why criest thou on account of thy wound, 
 thy smarting pain ? Because of the multitude of thy guilt, 
 for thy sins are great, I have done this to thee. 16. There- 
 fore all they who devour thee shall be devoured, and all thy 
 oppressors shall go into captivity together. And all thy 
 plunderers shall be for plunder, and I give all them that have 
 preyed on thee for a prey. 1 7. For I restore health to thee, 
 and heal thee of thy wounds, is Yahveh's oracle ; for they call 
 thee " outcast one/' " Zion, for whom no one asks." 
 
 18. Thus says Yahveh : Behold, I turn the captivity of 
 the tents of Jacob, and I have compassion on his dwellings ; 
 and the city is built on its hill, and the palace stands in its 
 right place. 19. And praise shall go forth from them, and 
 the sound of them that keep jubilee, and I make them 
 numerous so that they shall not be few, and bring them to 
 honour so that they shall not be small. 20. And his sons 
 shall be as before, and his congregation be established before 
 me, and I will visit all them that annoy them. 21. And his 
 prince shall spring from him, and his ruler go forth from his 
 
 now appears; cf. xxii. 20. 1»W depends here and in ver. 15 
 on the preceding causal by. Ver. 16. Therefore, namely, be- 
 cause it was the righteous God who allowed Israel's foes a 
 long time to inflict on it terrible outrages because of its sins, 
 these foes must suffer retribution. Cf. ii. 3. — dxk', Kethib, is 
 a Syriasm for DDfc> ; on the other hand, Keri derives from 
 npB», Ges. § 67. a. 4 ; Eng. § 66. Ver. 17. nmx, see on viii. 22. 
 The base treachery of old friends moves the Lord to show Him- 
 self a genuine friend ; cf. on ver. 16. Zion, she of whom it is 
 said : no one asks for her. Ver. 18. The city is most natur- 
 ally (ver. 17) identified with Jerusalem. The palace will 
 stand in the spot belonging to it, in its right place, or as 
 Hebrews say of buildings and cities : sit. Ver. 20. As formerly, 
 properly, in the foretime, by which is meant here not the 
 patriarchal age, but the most nourishing age of the kingdom 
 under David and Solomon. As, then, the sons of the nation 
 will be numerous and famous, its congregation will stand 
 erect, i.e. have firm standing before God. Ver. 21. The suffix 
 in vrmpni refers not to the nation, but to the ruler or king in 
 Israel, who is the subject in this verse. y~ipn is taken 
 
JEREMIAH XXX. 2'2-XXXI. 2. 229 
 
 midst, and I make him approach that he may draw near to 
 me ; for who is he that will pledge his heart to draw near to 
 me ? is Yahveh's oracle. 22. And you shall be my people, 
 and I will be your God. 23. Behold, the tempest of Yahveh, 
 fierce wrath shall go forth, a driving whirlwind shall sweep 
 round the head of the wicked. 24. Yahveh's wrath shall 
 not return until it executes and until it brings to pass the 
 purposes of his heart ; at the end of the days you shall 
 perceive it. 
 
 XXXI. 1. At that time, is Yahveh's oracle, I will be a 
 God to all the families of Israel, and they shall be to me a 
 people. 2. Thus says Yahveh : the nation of those escaped 
 from the sword found favour in the wilderness ; up then, to 
 
 designedly from the priestly phraseology, in which Kal and 
 Hiphil are used for drawing near to God with sacrificial 
 gifts. C'33 asserts still more : a drawing nigh so as to touch. 
 It is used, e.g., of Moses, Ex. xxiv. 2. It is true the whole 
 nation is to bear the priestly character (Ex. xix. 6), and is 
 therefore called mp DJ>, Ps. cxlviii. 14 ; but the question also 
 points to one entering into the closest fellowship with God : 
 who is there that would pledge his heart to draw near to 
 me ? To offer the heart — the seat not of life, but of con- 
 science, and the courage which a good conscience gives — as a 
 pledge = to draw near to God, relying on his own conscience, 
 on the confidence of his heart. This no man will venture to 
 do who is acquainted with God's holiness. The opposite to 
 this is : I will cause him to draw near to me, so that he does 
 not do it uncalled. Ver. 23 f. Almost like xxiii. 19 f. "nunn 
 is synonymous with &innn ; "TO, akin to bbi, to roll. The 
 genuineness of these verses is not to be questioned. Even the 
 work of redemption is brought about by the going forth of 
 God's judicial might (cf. v. 5 ff), whose final goal is the com- 
 pletion of the plan of salvation. 
 
 Chapter XXXI. 
 
 Ver. 2. Found favour— perfect, which will be fulfilled in the 
 future. For the nation of those escaped from the sword are 
 the exiles, li. 50.— T^n, infin. abs. to give emphasis : he verily 
 goes, cf. Ex. xxxiii. 14, or God's challenge to Himself: let me 
 go, let us go ! The wilderness is named as the place of the 
 meeting of God and the exiles, after the analogy of the Sinaitic 
 
230 JEREMIAH XXXI. 3-8. 
 
 bring him to rest, Israel ! 3. From afar Yahveh appeared to 
 me — and with everlasting love I loved thee ; therefore I con- 
 tinued favour long to thee. 4. Again I will build thee that 
 thou mayest be built, virgin of Israel ; again thou shalt ply 
 thy timbrels and go forth in the dance of those that make 
 merry ; 5. again thou shalt plant vineyards on the mountains 
 of Samaria ; they who do so shall plant and also enjoy. 6. 
 For there is a day when watchers cry on the mountains of 
 Ephraim : Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion, to Yahveh our 
 God! 
 
 7. For thus says Yahveh : Eaise ye a joyous song for 
 Jacob, and exult for the head of the nations ! Publish praise, 
 and say : Give salvation, Yahveh, to thy nation, the 
 remnant of Israel ! 8. Behold, I bring them from the north 
 country and gather them from the corners of the earth, blind 
 
 march. Ver. 3. From afar, namely, from Jerusalem, cf. li. 50. 
 The speakers here change rapidly. God affirms that, despite 
 the removal of the nation and the long time that has 
 elapsed since the first love, He has remained faithful to the 
 covenant of grace; cf. ii. 2. TTDB'D="^> 'roco, after Ps. xxxvi. 
 10 ; cf. Ges. § 121. 4 ; Eng. § 119. Ver. 4. To build = to make 
 grow on firm ground, to give position and prosperity. The 
 small hand-drums were fastened on girls' fingers, hence " put 
 on." Ver. 5. Isa. xxviii. 1 alludes to the abundance of wine in 
 the vicinity of Samaria. Planters will plant and enjoy, pro- 
 perly = profane. The first produce was hallowed, according to 
 Lev. xix. 23 ff., that of the fourth year in fruit-trees (that of 
 the first three was unclean), so that the fruit was first available 
 for profane use in the fifth year. By God's blessing the planter 
 will have this enjoyment, which was not often the case (Deut. 
 xxviii. 30). Cf. on the idiom, Deut. xx. 6. Ver. 6. Watchers, 
 who, posted on high positions, here proclaim the feasts, whose 
 beginning had been signalled to them from Judah, i.e. new- 
 moon observances and feasts dependent on the moon. Ver. 7. 
 The head, the first, most distinguished of the nations (cf. on 
 ii. 3), by reason of its theocratic dignity, in which it is again 
 installed. Israel's position of honour, towering above all nations, 
 is prominent also in Deut. iv. 7 f., xxvi. 19. nnec, adverbially, 
 exults because of the first of the nations ; congratulations and 
 good wishes will be brought it on its newly-acquired dignity, 
 ycnn is used by preference for this, Ps. xx. 9, cxviii. 25 (Matt, 
 xxi. 9). Ver. 8. The northern country is in a general way the 
 
JEREMIAH XXXI. 9-14. 231 
 
 and lame, those with child and those travailing among them 
 together, — they shall return hither in great assemblage. 9. 
 They shall come with weeping, and I will lead them — amid 
 piteous supplications, will guide them to brooks in a straight 
 way, in which they shall not stumble ; for I have become a 
 Father to Israel, and as for Ephraim, he is my first-born. 
 10. Hear Yahveh's message, ye nations, and declare it in the 
 isles afar off, and say : He that scattered Israel will gather it 
 and guard it like a shepherd his flock. 11. For Yahveh has 
 ransomed Jacob and released him from the hand of a stronger 
 one. 12. And they shall come and sing on the hill of Zion 
 and stream to the goodness of Yahveh, to the wheat, and the 
 wine, and the oil, and the young sheep, and the cattle ; and so 
 their soul shall be like a watered garden, and they shall 
 languish no more. 13. Then shall the virgin, and youths, 
 and old men rejoice in the dance together, and I change their 
 mourning into gladness, and will comfort them and relieve 
 them of their sorrow, 14. and will refresh the soul of the 
 priests with fat, and my people shall be replenished with my 
 goodness, is Yahveh's oracle. 
 
 land where the chief body of the exiles of both kingdoms is 
 found; cf. iii. 18. It is significant of God's loving care, that 
 He does not leave blind and lame, those with child and in 
 labour, behind on this march, but makes it possible for all to 
 follow ; in Isa. xxxv. 5 f., somewhat differently the removal of 
 all infirmities is contemplated. Ver. 9. Cf. Hos. xii. 5. They 
 will come with weeping, and amid earnest supplications (pro- 
 perly, petitions for favour) I will lead them. Hitzig, Graf join 
 D'junrn to what precedes, but the passage gains nothing by it. 
 By this delicate solicitude God proves Himself the Father of 
 the nation, which He wished to be from the first (iii. 19 ; Deut. 
 xxxii. 6), but which can only be revealed now. The whole 
 nation is called God's first-born (Ex. iv. 22), here Ephraim with 
 obvious reference to the northern nation which had been driven 
 farthest away ; really among Jacob's sons Joseph-Ephraim was 
 invested in a sense with the birthright (1 Chron. v. 2) ; even 
 this privilege is not forgotten. Ver. 12. Those who have 
 returned from exile strike up a holy song on Mount Zion ; then 
 they stream forth to the rich abundance which God has lavished 
 upon them. This oracle also leans on Hos. iii. 5. Da, not of 
 moral, but material goodness. Ver. 14. The priests, to whom a 
 
232 JEEEMIAH XXXI. 15-18. 
 
 15. Thus says Yahveh : A voice is heard at Eamah, 
 lamentation, bitter weeping ; Eachel weeps for her sons ; she 
 refuses to be comforted for her sons, because they are no 
 more. 16. Thus says Yahveh: Eefrain thy voice from 
 weeping and thine eyes from tears ; for there is yet a reward 
 for thy labour, is Yahveh's oracle, and they shall return from 
 the enemy's country ; 1 7. and there is hope for thy future, is 
 Yahveh's oracle, and (thy) sons return to their border. 18. I 
 hear, yea, I already hear Ephraim, how it mourns : Thou hast 
 chastised me, and I let myself be chastised, like an un- 
 accustomed bullock ; cause me to turn again, and I will turn ; 
 
 portion of the thank-offerings belongs (Lev. vii. 31-34), in these 
 happy days will have rich revenues, their portion will be a fat 
 one. JBH is, of course, not the inner fat (3^n), which it was for- 
 bidden to eat. Ver. 15. hdt is not taken appellatively (as in 
 Ezek. xvi. 24, 25, 39), but as a local name. Eamah in Benjamin 
 is probably meant, which certainly elsewhere is always called 
 riDin (xl. 1) with article (perhaps identical with Eamathayim 
 Sophim), to-day Er-Eam, two hours north of Jerusalem, a place 
 lying high and commanding the land. Eachel's mourning 
 there, according to most moderns, has its reason in the fact of 
 her lying buried near this Eamah, 1 Sam. x. 2 being appealed 
 to in evidence. The traditional grave of Eachel, near Bethlehem, 
 would then correspond to a later tradition, and the same with 
 the addition Di"6 rP2 KTt, Gen. xxxv. 19. In fact, 1 Sam. x. 2, 
 "in the border of Benjamin," can scarcely be harmonized with 
 both. On the other hand, the present passage says nothing of 
 the grave of Eachel, who might be conceived on such a height 
 not far from Jerusalem as surveying her desolated country 
 (Benjamin and Joseph); and in Gen. xxxv. Eamah is not 
 referred to, but, perhaps as the nearest place, Ephrathah lying 
 a considerable distance farther, which name cannot be shown 
 to belong to any place but Bethlehem. The question, therefore, 
 cannot be decided by the present passage. The evangelist 
 Matthew sees in the murder of the children at Bethlehem a 
 "fulfilment" of our passage, assuming, of course, the traditional 
 relation of Eachel to Bethlehem. — urt?, there is nothing more 
 (of them). Ver. 16. ^30, cf. ii. 25. Thy labour = what thou 
 hast gained for thy sons by toil, and especially suffering. Ver. 17, 
 see on xxix. 11. Ver. 18. 113, xx. 10, to lament; here Hithpael, 
 to express its deepest regret and sorrow. It is the sorrow of 
 penitence with which it is filled. The voluntariness of the 
 
JEREMIAH XXXI. 19-22. 233 
 
 for thou art Yahveh, my God. 19. For after I turned away, 
 I repented ; and after I understood, I smote on (my) thigh ; 
 I am ashamed and feel my dishonour ; for I bear the reproach 
 of my youth. 20. Is Ephraim to me a favourite son or a 
 darling child ? For as often as I speak about him, I perforce 
 always remember him ; therefore my soul yearns for him ; I 
 will surely have compassion on him. 21. Set thee up the 
 landmarks, place thee guide-posts; turn thy mind to the 
 path, the way which thou wentest. Turn again, virgin of 
 Israel, turn again to these thy cities! 22. How long wilt 
 thou wander about, thou rebellious daughter ? For Yahveh 
 makes a new thing in the land : The woman shall protect the 
 man ! 
 
 penitence is expressed in "iDINI — I have accepted the chastise- 
 ment — as well as in the comparison to the ox not yet broken 
 in, which must be first trained for labour by discipline. 
 Ephraim is willing to return to God, if God permits it to 
 return; see on iv. 1, xv. 19. Ver. 19. Here, on the other 
 hand, ait:' is used of turning away, apostasy, cf. viii. 4. The 
 ISTiphal SHU, not = Hophal passive (to be made wise), but 
 reflexive : to know for oneself, come to perceive. Striking the 
 thigh is a sign of the deepest shame (also of sorrow, Ezek. 
 xxi. 17). I bear the reproach of my youth, i.e. the shame I 
 incurred by my former thoughtless life. Ver. 20. The Lord is 
 to Ephraim as a father to a favourite child ; as often as he 
 mentions but the name, the child does not quit his thoughts. 
 3 "U"l, not to be specialized : to speak against him, which would 
 mean to dismiss. No doubt the speaking about Ephraim as 
 matter of fact is not favourable; but the emphasis lies on 
 the fact, that the mere mention of the name so affects the 
 father that he constantly thinks with kindness of the son. 
 p bv, because He stands in this fatherly relation to Ephraim, 
 His innermost feelings rebel against the wretched state in which 
 Ephraim is found. The bowels are the seat of maternal, gene- 
 rally parental, sympathy ; cf. Hos. xi. 8. Ver. 21. Since it is 
 only a question of time when Israel (the whole community) 
 returns, it is to set up way-marks, that individuals may not go 
 astray in returning. It is to reflect earnestly, as is said poeti- 
 cally, on the way by which it went, nnnnn, here from "icri 
 (differently in ver. 15, from -no).—- Tobn, see on ii. 20. rbx, 
 without article, Ges. § 111. 25; Eng. § 109. Ver. 22. pon, to 
 bend, turn aside, Cant. v. 6; here: to withdraw by turning 
 
234 JEREMIAH XXXI. 23-26. 
 
 23. Thus says Yahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: Again 
 shall men utter this saying in the land of Judah and in its 
 cities, when I bring back their captivity: "Yahveh bless 
 thee, thou field of righteousness, thou holy mountain!" 24. 
 And Judah shall dwell therein, and all its cities together, 
 husbandmen and they who go about with the flock. 25. For 
 I refresh the weary soul, and every fainting soul I will 
 replenish. 26. Upon this I awaked and beheld, and my 
 sleep pleased me well. 
 
 round. Thou lacksliding daughter, cf. iii. 6, 14. For the Lord 
 does a new thing in the land, i.e. in the fatherland, from which 
 she will not long remain absent. The last three words, charac- 
 terizing in enigmatic style the new state which the Lord will 
 introduce by a creative act, are very variously explained. The 
 Poel 321D signifies, according to Deut. xxxii. 10, Ps. xxxii. 10, 
 to embrace in order to shield. The woman guarding, shielding 
 the man ("OJ, instead of "or, intimates strength, capacity of 
 defence), is the new thing, opposed to the usual order, which 
 the Lord creates. We refer this not to a single pair (such as 
 the Messiah and His mother), but to the contrast of masculine 
 strength and feminine weakness in Israel. The genuine Church, 
 though defenceless, will guard the land along with its martial 
 heroes. — Other explanations. There will be so little danger, 
 that the woman will be able to protect the man (de Wette, 
 Gesenius, Umbreit et al.). But why then the reversal of the 
 natural order ? Ewald : a woman changing into a man. 
 Hitzig: the woman (the Church) will seek after the man 
 (God). Neither meaning can be proved of 331D. Ver. 23. 
 pn (see on xxiii. 6), a right relation to God ensures God's 
 goodness ; BHp, a holy character renders impregnable. It will 
 be seen that the land is one inhabited by a people righteous in 
 God's sight, and one declared sacred and inviolable by the 
 Lord. Ver. 24. Not " as husbandmen/' as if all Judseans were 
 to practise agriculture and cattle-keeping ; but after the cities 
 have been named, it is pointed out that the country-people also 
 will again practise their calling under the divine blessing ; for 
 God will (ver. 25) satisfy every need, ver. 12. Ver. 26. Con- 
 clusion. The prophet has been wrapt in this pleasant dream 
 of the future, it has long occupied his thoughts. Now he 
 bestirs himself like one awaking, looks once more critically 
 (n&oxi) on the state in which he found himself, and pronounces 
 it good, delightful. There is no reference to literal sleep, as 
 there is no evidence that Jeremiah received the revelation as a 
 
JEREMIAII XXXI. 27-35. 235 
 
 27. Behold, days come, is Yahveh's oracle, that I sow the 
 house of Israel and the house of Judah with seed of men 
 and seed of cattle. 28. And it shall come to pass, like as I 
 watched over them to pluck up, and to tear down, and to 
 overthrow, and to destroy, and to do hurt, so I will watch over 
 them to build and to plant, is Yahveh's oracle. 29. In those 
 days men shall no more say : " The fathers have eaten sour 
 grapes, and the teeth of the sons were set on edge thereby ; " 
 3 0. but every one shall die by his own guilt ; every man that 
 eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. 
 
 31. Behold, days come, is Yahveh's oracle, that I make a 
 new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 
 32. not after the manner of the covenant which I made with 
 their fathers on the day when I took their hand to lead them 
 out of the land of Egypt, which covenant of mine they have 
 broken, and I am weary of them, is Yahveh's oracle. 33. 
 But this is the covenant which I will make with the house 
 of Israel after these days, is Yahveh's oracle : I will put my 
 law in their inward parts and write it on their heart, and I 
 will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. 
 34. And they shall no longer instruct every one his comrade, 
 and every one his brother, saying : " Know ye Yahveh ; " for 
 they shall all know me, from the least among them unto the 
 greatest, is Yahveh's oracle ; for I will forgive their guilt, and 
 no more remember their sin. 35. Thus says Yahveh, who 
 makes the sun a light by day, the ordinances of the moon 
 
 dream in a sleeping state. He was no dreamer (xxiii. 25 ff.), 
 but like a dreamer withdrew a while from the gross reality into 
 the blessed prospect which God's word had opened to him. 
 On awaking to the consciousness of the actual present, rest of 
 spirit came to him through that picture of the future, like a 
 refreshing sleep. Ver. 27. God is contemplated as a sower 
 scattering seed abundantly, so that new harvests spring up in 
 plenty. Ver. 28. See on i. 10, 12. Ver. 29. 1D3, sour, unripe 
 grapes like vinegar (Prov. x. 26), injurious to the teeth. See 
 also in Ezek. xviii. 2 f., the proverb which affirms that 
 posterity suffer through their fathers' doings. Ver. 32. Ti^n. 
 See on iii. 14. I am become weary of them, so here LXX. and 
 Heb. viii. 9. Ver. 33. ruarpK, to be read according to Dikduke, 
 p. 15. Ver. 35. npn, the ordinances of the moon and stars, i.e. 
 
236 JEREMIAH XXXI. 36-40. 
 
 and stars a light by night, who stirs up the sea that its waves 
 roar — Yahveh of hosts his name: 36. If these ordinances 
 depart from my sight, is Yahveh's oracle, then shall also the 
 seed of Israel cease, that it be no more a people before me 
 for ever. 37. Thus says Yahveh : If the heavens above can 
 be measured, and the foundations of the earth beneath be 
 searched, then will I also cast off the whole seed of Israel for 
 that which they have done, is Yahveh's oracle. 
 
 38. Behold, days come, is Yahveh's oracle, that the city 
 shall be built for Yahveh from the tower of Hananel to the 
 corner -gate. 39. And the measuring - line shall go again 
 straight over the hill Gareb and turn to Goah. 40. And the 
 whole valley of carcases and ashes, and all the cultivated land 
 up to the brook Kidron, up to the corner of the horse-gate 
 
 the inviolably settled forms and phenomena of these bodies. 
 The God who shows His omnipotence both in the peaceful 
 shining of these hosts and in the storm-tossed sea, pledges to His 
 people the same indestructibleness as to these ordinances of 
 nature. Ver. 36. Depart from my face, i.e. cease to exist 
 before me, who regard approvingly all that exists. Ver. 37. 
 Allusion to the immensity of space, which also declares the 
 divine greatness that ensures Israel's continued existence. 
 Ver. 38. Keri supplies D*N3 according to the ordinary phrase- 
 ology ; it has probably fallen out. The rebuilding of the city 
 is here foretold, in enlarged extent, so that even the impure 
 surroundings of the city are added to it, and the whole is 
 declared sacred and impregnable. The tower Hananel stood at 
 the north-east corner of the city-walls (Zech. xiv. 10 ; Neh. 
 iii. 1), the corner-gate at the north-west of the city (2 Kings 
 xiv. 13 ; 2 Chron. xxvi. 9). Thus the northern line is first 
 indicated. Ver. 39. nip, Keri !£, needlessly. The hill Gareb 
 and the site of Goah are unknown ; both are to be sought west 
 of the city. Ver. 40. The valley is the Hinnom-valley south of 
 the city, of which at least a part was held unclean from Josiah's 
 days (2 Kings xxiii. 10), and whither corpses and sacrificial 
 ashes were carried, both having their special place. PCJffl, of 
 course, not construct state, but denoting the whole valley south 
 of the city, whose several parts follow, as to which pay should 
 be supplied. ]EH, properly fat, then the ashes of burnt fat and 
 flesh (Lev. vi. 3). Those ashes were to he brought to a clean 
 place (Lev. iv. 12) ; Tophet was especially regarded as impure 
 after Josiah's days, and even then there was a distinction of 
 
JEREMIAH XXX., XXXI. 237 
 
 towards the east, shall be sacred unto Yahveh ; it shall no 
 more be rooted out, nor pulled down for ever. 
 
 clean and unclean, according to this passage, between the slaying- 
 place and the ash-heaps. But these outer districts will be 
 joined to the holy city. mmt5>, Keri niCHE*, as in 2 Kings 
 xxiii. 4, where the idolatrous utensils were burnt, is perhaps 
 a copyist's error for the latter. The horse-gate perhaps stood 
 at the south-east corner of the temple-site ; from here to the 
 north-east corner the boundary was naturally fixed by the 
 Kidron valley. The sacredness of this whole district will 
 ensure that no one can again destroy what is built. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Chs. xxx.— xxxiii. form a group, with promises for its con- 
 tents. Ch. xxx. 2 speaks of a real book containing comforting 
 oracles. The book covers primarily chs. xxx. and xxxi. Chs. 
 xxxii., xxxiii. were added because of the similarity of contents. 
 These two chapters belong to the time of Zedekiah. Ewald, 
 Graf, Nagelsbach suppose an earlier origin for chs. xxx. and 
 xxxi. It is supposed they formed part of the prophet's first 
 book (fourth year of Jehoiakim, Ewald), or of the edition 
 referred to in xxxvi. 32 (Graf), or formed an independent 
 book (without xxx. 20-24) of the time of Josiah, because that 
 other work contained exclusively threatening oracles (Nagels- 
 bach). Support is sought for these views especially in the 
 many points of contact with chs. iii.-vi. But the difference 
 from those more isolated promises must not be overlooked. 
 In chs. iii— vi. repentance is still preached; Judah's con- 
 version, which would turn aside the judgment, is not utterly 
 excluded. In ch. xxx. f., on the other hand, the judgment is 
 not only an unchangeably settled thing, but it has already 
 begun, so that the self-righteous indifference, once prevalent, 
 has vanished, and the business now is to guard against despair 
 in believers. Promises like xxx. 7 ff. would in the time of 
 Jehoiakim have only strengthened the carnal spirit, which 
 eagerly caught up such sayings from the lips of other prophets. 
 
238 JEREMIAH XXX., XXXI. 
 
 Of course public discourses are not referred to here (xxx. 2), 
 but only a writing down, which was perhaps communicated 
 to the spiritually enlightened. But there is no hint of the 
 writing being kept secret or sealed up. Thus it is probable 
 that it was in the time of the last tribulation, when the 
 prophet, according to all appearance, received a great number 
 of comforting oracles, and so was able, despite all personal 
 affliction, to lift up his head and also encourage others, that 
 he made a written collection of such promises, which had not 
 all been given to him at the same time. Chs. xxx. 1— 
 xx xi. 26 certainly now reads as one connected piece. On 
 the other hand, in ver. 2 7 ff. there seems to be an independent 
 oracle, and so in vv. 31 ff., 35 f., 37. Most clearly this is 
 the case in vv. 38—40, which supplement was perhaps written 
 after the catastrophe, but in any case is Jeremiah's work. 
 Some scholars (Movers, de Wette, Hitzig) think that in chs. 
 xxx., xxxi. we have additions from the hand of the exilian 
 Isaiah. This, as Graf has shown, is without proof; but it 
 shows that the prophetic hour had advanced. In our opinion, 
 on the contrary, that exilian prophet follows Jeremiah. Cf. 
 Orelli, 0. T. Prophecy, p. 336. 
 
 Contents of chs. xxx., xxxi. Comforting Oracles : a. Intro- 
 duction, xxx. 1—3. b. Setting up of the New Kingdom of 
 David, xxx. 4-xxxi. 26. c. Further Comforting Oracles of a 
 New Covenant, xxxi. 27—40. 
 
 The bondage of Judah is presupposed to be already 
 existing (xxx. 8). But the prophet now contemplates its 
 conclusion, which indeed, as the former chapters have shown, 
 will not come as soon as credulity fancies, but still must one 
 day come according even to the true prophet's revelation. 
 That epoch of deliverance, according to ver. 5 ff., is preceded 
 by a time of unrest and war, from which Judah also will 
 suffer tribulation, but which will eventually result in deliver- 
 ance. Then the state of foreign domination will give way 
 to the righteous rule of the promised Son of David (cf. 
 
JEREMIAH XXX., XXXI. 239 
 
 xxiii. 5), who is called directly David in xxx. 9, because he 
 will not only spring from his seed, but will also, like that 
 king, be entirely after God's heart, and again take up his 
 mission. The previous judgments, painful as they were to 
 God's people because of its sin, could not be spared it (vv. 
 1 2-1 5) ; but just because divine justice dispenses them, and 
 a merciful purpose is behind them, retribution will also 
 overtake the enemy (ver. 16), and the Lord will show Him- 
 self a helper in time of need in opposition to false friends 
 (ver. 17). In vv. 18-22 the restoration of the destroyed 
 nationality with its capital is depicted. As to the future 
 ruler, it is emphasized that he will be no foreigner, but a 
 fellow-countryman, and especially, that he will be able as 
 the nation's priestly representative to enter into the most 
 intimate relation and intercourse with God (Ps. ex. 4). If 
 the head is so closely united with God, the community also 
 will be truly God's people (ver. 22). But these glorious 
 things must be preceded by terrible storms. God's judicial 
 wrath will not be pacified until His glorious plan is accom- 
 plished (ver. 23 f.). 
 
 In xxx. 1 ff. the promise is extended to " all the families 
 of Israel." As in xxx. 3 already redemption was promised 
 to "Israel and Judah," so here, vv. 5 f., 9, 15—20, 21, the 
 former, Ephraim-Samaria, comes specially into the foreground, 
 just as in iii. 12 ff. ; yet in such a way that Jerusalem is 
 evidently the sacred centre of the new kingdom (ver. 6). 
 All Israel will thus take the place of honour, divinely destined 
 for it, at the head of the nations (ver. 7). With the loving 
 care of a shepherd the Lord will lead His people, with all its 
 weak and frail members, home from exile as He once led it 
 through the wilderness to Canaan (ver. 8 ff., cf. ver. 2 f.), 
 when they return to their newly-found God with penitential 
 tears and earnest prayers, as a lost son to a father's arms 
 (ver. 9). Then begins for the land a period of richest 
 abundance streaming from God's goodness (vv. 12-14). 
 
240 JEREMIAH XXX., XXXI. 
 
 Again the strain of consolation begins, ver. 15 ff., addressed 
 specifically to the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. The 
 salvation of her children is at hand, for they will repent 
 and bow in deepest contrition under God's well-merited cor- 
 rection (cf. iii. 2 1) ; then God's fatherly love, which can never 
 forget them and never blot them out, will certainly have a 
 new and bright dawn. 
 
 In ver. 21 ff. Israel is exhorted on its part not to forget 
 the way back to its home, and not to defer any longer 
 returning to God and His salvation. In a mysterious but 
 significant saying the conclusion of ver. 22 gives a hint of 
 the miraculous, completely transformed state of things which 
 they will find at home after God's creative work is done : 
 The woman shall encompass and protect the man. Weak, 
 lightly-esteemed woman will be the safeguard of man, i.e. the 
 defence and shield of the land will no longer lie in manly 
 strength and human valour, but in the Church which, though 
 humanly weak and humble, is subject to the Lord, and re- 
 ceptive to His word and grace. Cf. Luther's letter to the 
 Elector, he who has most faith will be best guarded ; he 
 will better protect the Elector than the Elector him. How 
 under such protection of the Most High the land will bloom 
 and flourish, vv. 23-25 describe in glowing terms. The seer 
 cannot tear himself from this picture, which enchants him 
 like a pleasant dream (ver. 26). 
 
 In ver. 2 7 f. God Himself appears as the sower attending 
 to the tillage of the land and putting in life-germs in abun- 
 dance, or as the builder setting up anew the ruined kingdom. 
 With the same divine energy, which he had hitherto shown 
 in laying waste and depopulating the land, and which no 
 one felt like Jeremiah, he will now be intent on blessing 
 the land and multiplying the people. Then the curse hitherto 
 lying on them, by which posterity suffered through the mis- 
 deeds of their forefathers, will be cancelled. No one will 
 perish for inherited evil, but every one will freely decide his 
 
JEREMIAH XXX., XXXI. 241 
 
 own lot. That the proverb here mentioned is justifiable to 
 a certain extent, so far as it rests on Ex. xx. 5, Deut. v. 9, 
 cannot be questioned; Jeremiah knows only too well the 
 influence of inherited guilt (cf. xxxii. 18). But the nation 
 will one day be relieved of this curse ; according to this 
 passage, inherited guilt will cease ; whereas Ezekiel contends 
 against the abuse to which the proverb was put, as if re- 
 sponsibility were abolished by it. Only ignorance can suppose 
 a polemic against the doctrine of the Decalogue concerning 
 retribution in either passage. 
 
 But the basis of the blessed state of the last days will 
 be a complete transforming of the relation between God 
 and His people, of the covenant between the two, ver. 31 ff. 
 A new covenant renders the old Mosaic one obsolete. How 
 deep the change penetrates, ver. 32 ff. shows. The old rela- 
 tion between God and His people is not restored, but entirely 
 recast. The covenant, indeed, is declared, subsequently as 
 previously, to be God's Torah, the revelation of His will — 
 how could it be otherwise, if the Lord is to reign over His 
 people ? — but the declaration of God's will no longer stands 
 over against the people on tables of stone as a foreign 
 " Thou shalt," but is so implanted in man's heart that it 
 remains ineffaceable there. The divine law is printed, not 
 only on the memory, but on man's thinking, feeling, and 
 willing, as appears from xxxii. 40. Only when God's will, 
 instead of being external, becomes immanent in the heart, 
 will the covenant be no more dissolved, but remain inde- 
 structible. What profound insight into the nature of the 
 new covenant ! Then, too, the knowledge of God will be 
 independent of human mediation, all the members of the 
 Church being themselves taught by the Spirit of the Lord ; 
 cf. Joel ii. 28 ; Isa. liv. 13 ; John vi. 45 ; 1 John ii. 20, 27. 
 That which forms the indispensable condition of this blessed 
 transformation, and therefore precedes in Ezek. xxxvi. 25, 
 here follows at the close (ver. 34) : full remission of the 
 
 Q 
 
242 JEKEMIAH XXXII. 1-3. 
 
 sins previously committed, and of the accumulated burden of 
 guilt. Cf. xxxiii. 8. 
 
 In ver. 35 f. follows a comforting oracle, declaring the 
 existence of God's people Israel as inviolable as the ordinances 
 of the heavens (the same Almighty God ensures both) ; the 
 oracle of ver. 37 appeals to the boundlessness of the sphere 
 of God's dominion for the same purpose. Finally, vv. 38-40, 
 the restoration of Jerusalem is foretold with topographical 
 precision. An enlargement, although a modest one, of the 
 city is spoken of ; but special emphasis is laid on the cir- 
 cumstance, that even the quarters about Jerusalem that 
 were regarded as under a curse or impure, will share in the 
 holiness which ensures indestructibleness to all Jerusalem. 
 Zech. xiv. 20 f. is in substance a parallel passage. Our 
 passage gains in significance when we consider that it was 
 written shortly before the utter destruction of Jerusalem, or 
 even after it. 
 
 II. BUYING A HELD AT ANATHOTH, CH. XXXII. 
 
 XXXII. 1. The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahveh 
 in the tenth year of Zedekiah, king of Judah, which is the 
 eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar ; 2. and at that time 
 the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, 
 and the prophet Jeremiah was shut up in the guard-court, 
 which is in the house of the king of Judah, 3. where 
 
 Chapter XXXII. 
 
 Ver. 1. Heading parallel with xxx. 1. — n:&2, construct, see 
 on xxviii. 1. Nebuchadnezzar, see on xxi. 2. Ver. 2. Nebu- 
 chadnezzar was then besieging the city a second time, after the 
 approach of an Egyptian host had relieved the city for a short 
 time. How Jeremiah came into confinement, xxxvii. 12-21 
 relates. rntOD (from nii3, to guard), guard, custody. This court, 
 where suspected persons were kept in custody, was more toler- 
 able than the prison proper (xxxvii. 20 f.). The guard-court 
 occurs also in Neh. iii. 25, xii. 39. Ver. 3. See more details 
 
JEREMIAH XXXII. 4-8. 243 
 
 Zedekiah, king of Judah, had imprisoned him, saying : 
 " Wherefore prophesiest thou in this way : Thus says 
 Yahveh : Behold, I deliver this city into the hand of the 
 king of Babylon, and he will take it ; 4. and Zedekiah, 
 king of Judah, shall not escape from the hand of the 
 Chaldaeans, but will certainly be delivered into the hand of 
 the king of Babylon, and will speak with him mouth to 
 mouth, and see him eye to eye, 5. and he will take Zedekiah 
 to Babylon, and there he will remain until I visit him, is 
 Yahveh's oracle ; though you contend with the Chaldasans, 
 you shall not succeed"? 6. Then said Jeremiah: Yahveh's 
 word came to me thus : 7. Behold, Hanameel, the son of 
 Shallum, thy uncle, will come to thee and say : Buy thee 
 my piece of ground, which is at Anathoth, for thou hast the 
 redemption-right to buy it. 8. Then came Hanameel to me, 
 the son of my uncle, as Yahveh said, to the guard-court, and 
 
 about the imprisonment in ch. xxxvii. The charge brought 
 against him was correct. Cf. xxi. 4 ff., xxxiv. 2 £, xxxvii. 17. 
 Ver. 4. Cf. xxxiv. 3. Ver. 5. Until I visit him, says nothing 
 definite about his ultimate fate ; yet Ipa is to be interpreted 
 in bonam partem. His ill-treatment, see xxxix. 7, lii. 11. 
 That he died a natural death in comparative peace, is not 
 demanded by xxxiv. 4 f. Ver. 7. "l*n belongs to Shallum, 
 according to ver. 8. On a more exact definition of the relation, 
 the word signifies, as is here to be expected, the father's 
 brother; but as the term denotes in the appellative sense a 
 friend, a confidant, it might be extended also to further degrees, 
 as ver. 12 proves, where Hanameel himself is so called. Thou 
 hast the right of redemption, which here justifies thee in 
 buying. According to Lev. xxv. 25, the next kinsman, the 
 b$i, redeemer, was empowered and bound to buy back what 
 the other had alienated. In the same way he had the right of 
 pre-emption in the same capacity, and this is here referred to. 
 That Jeremiah might easily have declined to exercise the right 
 (cf. Buth iv. 4 ff.), is required by the context. According to 
 Num. xxxv. 2, members of the tribe of Levi also had property 
 in the immediate vicinity of the towns. According to Lev. 
 xxv. 34, this ought not to be sold ; yet perhaps the meaning 
 here is simply that such priestly possessions were not to pass 
 into non-priestly hands (Nagelsbach). Ver. 8. Thou hast (as 
 next kinsman) the right of inheritance (cf. EH\ xlix. 2), and 
 so the duty of redemption and the right of pre-emption 
 
.244 JEREMIAH XXXII. 9-13. 
 
 said to me: Buy now my piece of ground, which is at 
 Anathoth in the land of Benjamin ; for the inheritance be- 
 longs to thee, and the redemption is thine ; buy it for thee. 
 Then I perceived that it was Yahveh's word. 9. And so I 
 bought of Hanameel, the son of my uncle, the field which is 
 at Anathoth, and weighed him seventeen shekels of silver. 
 10. And I wrote it in a deed, and sealed it, and took wit- 
 nesses, and weighed the money in the balance. 11. And I 
 took the purchase-deed, the sealed one, the settlement and 
 the stipulations, and the open one, 12. and delivered the 
 purchase-deed to Baruch, the son of Neriah, the son of 
 Maaseiah, before the eyes of Hanameel, my cousin, and be- 
 fore the eyes of the witnesses who had subscribed the pur- 
 chase-deed, before the eyes of all the Jews who dwelt in the 
 guard-court, 13. and declared to Baruch before their eyes 
 
 implied therein. From the fact of the cousin's desire being 
 declared to him by God, Jeremiah saw that it was a thing 
 acceptable to the Lord (cf. Gen. xxiv. 50). Ver. 9. Seven 
 shekels and ten of silver = seventeen silver shekels, was the 
 official or business style. The price is low ; but this is not 
 merely to be explained by the position of the city, since the 
 present history conversely intends to inspire confidence in the 
 value of land. Bather we have to consider, that we are not 
 acquainted with the obligations of the Goel to the seller 
 (cf. Lev. xxv. 15 f, xxvii. 16 ff.). To Jeremiah in his present 
 position the small sum might be heavy enough. Ver. 10 ff. 
 According to this passage, in such transfers two deeds were 
 drawn up, one sealed and the other left open ; the latter for 
 occasional inspection, the other to guard against any changes 
 by the buyer who retained the deed. But the matter of both 
 seems to have been the same (Hitzig thinks differently) ; both 
 together are called rupon -ibd, the purchase-deed. To both, 
 without doubt, the witnesses affixed their names ; they must 
 also have been present at the paying of the money. The 
 DnriKl only precedes the mention of them, because it belonged 
 to the preparing of the deed. Ver. 11. The settlement and the 
 stipulations refer to the fixing and the several conditions of the 
 purchase, which in our view formed the contents of the sealed 
 deed, and were also open to inspection in the other one. Ver. 
 12. The purchase-deed, article in the construct state, unless 
 we suppose that rupon is epexegetical, Ges. § 110. 2a ; Eng. 
 § 108. Properly, who had written in the deed, namely, their 
 
JEKEMIAH XXXII. 14-21. 245 
 
 as follows : 14. Thus said Yahveh of hosts, the God of Israel : 
 Take these writings, this purchase-deed, both the sealed one 
 and this open deed, and put them into an earthen vessel, that 
 they may remain many days. 15. For thus has Yahveh of 
 hosts, the God of Israel, said : Again shall houses, and fields, 
 and vineyards be bought in this land. 
 
 16. Then I prayed to Yahveh, after I had given the 
 purchase-deed to Baruch the son of ISTeriah, as follows : 1 7. Ah 
 Lord, Yahveh, behold, thou didst make the heavens and the 
 earth by thy great power and by thy outstretched arm ; 
 nothing is too wonderful for thee; 18. thou showest favour 
 to thousands, and repayest the guilt of the fathers into the 
 bosom of their children after them, thou great, powerful God, 
 whose name is Yahveh of hosts, 19. great in counsel and 
 mighty in deed, who openest thine eyes upon all the ways of 
 the children of men, to give every one according to his ways 
 and according to the fruit of his deeds; 20. thou didst signs 
 and wonders in the land of Egypt unto this day both to 
 Israel and to men, and madest thyself a name, as is the case 
 to-day, 21. and didst make thy people Israel go forth from 
 the land of Egypt by signs and wonders, and by a strong 
 
 names ; LXX and other versions, as well as many MSS., 
 less aptly read passive D^nan. Ver. 14. The preserving in an 
 earthen vessel to avoid damp points to the long time which 
 will elapse before the legal stipulations can take effect. The 
 entire occurrence recalls the one told by Livy (xxvi. 11) and 
 Florus (ii. 6) : whilst Hannibal was encamped before the gates 
 of Rome, the very ground on which his camp stood was put up 
 to auction in the city and bought at the ordinary price. Ver. 
 17. Cf. xxvii. 5 ; Deut. ix. 29 ; nothing is too wonderful, 
 extraordinary for Thee, beyond the limits of human probability 
 and power, that Thou canst not do it; cf. Gen. xviii. 14; 
 Deut. xvii. 8 (xxx. 11). Ver. 18. After the Decalogue, Ex. 
 xxxii. 6 (5) ; Deut. v. 10 (9). Into the bosom (Isa. lvii. 6), 
 figurative phrase taken from measuring into the lap of any 
 one's garment the quantity due to him, Ruth iii. 15 ; cf. Prov. 
 vi. 33, xvii. 23. On the divine appellation, cf. Deut. x. 17. 
 Ver. 19. rrfyhv, here only, extension of rM>J>. Ver. 20. And 
 from then unto this day ; the same ellipsis in xi. 7. DV3 
 ntn, see on xi. 5. Ver. 21. Almost the same as Deut. xxvi. 8. 
 With great terror which seized the surrounding peoples, cf. 
 
246 JEREMIAH XXXII. 22-31. 
 
 hand and outstretched arm, and by great terror, 22. and didst 
 give them this land which thou didst swear to give to their 
 fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23. And they 
 came and took it in possession, but they hearkened not to 
 thy voice, and they walked not in thy law; then thou 
 broughtest all this evil upon them. 24. Behold, the mounds 
 have come up to the city to conquer it, and the city is given 
 up into the hand of the Chaldaeans, who fight against it, 
 because of the sword and famine and pestilence, and what 
 thou saidst has come to pass, and behold thou seest it ; 
 25. and yet thou hast said to me, Lord, Yahveh: Buy thee 
 the field for silver and take witnesses, whereas the city is 
 given up into the hand of the Chaldaeans. 
 
 2 6. Then the word of Yahveh came to Jeremiah as follows : 
 2 7. Behold, I am Yahveh, the God of all flesh ; can anything 
 be too wonderful for me ? 28. Therefore thus said Yahveh : 
 Behold, I deliver this city into the hand of the Chaldceans, 
 and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, that 
 he make take it 29. And the Chaldaeans, who fight against 
 this city, shall come in, and set this city on fire and burn it 
 along with the houses, on whose roofs they burned incense 
 to Baal and offered libations to foreign gods, to provoke me. 
 30. For the children of Israel and the children of Judali 
 used to do only evil in mine eyes from their youth ; for the 
 children of Israel only provoked me with the work of their 
 hands, is Yahveh's oracle. 31. For this city has been cause 
 of wrath and fury to me from the day when it was built 
 
 Deut. xi. 25. Ver. 22. Cf. xi. 5. Ver. 23. Respecting Kethib 
 irrnmi, see on ii. 25. According to ii. 8, the priests did not 
 rightly handle the law, did not rightly instruct the people, 
 and the latter did not practise the instruction given, trip, 
 cf. xiii. 22. Ver. 24. The embankments, see on vi. 6. Ver. 
 27. Cf. ver. 17. Ver. 29. Cf. vii. 18, xix. 13. Ver. 30. nB>j» 
 DrVP refers not, as in i. 16, to concrete idols, which, of course, 
 could only cause the Lord anger, but to the whole work of 
 their hands, which was utterly heathenish, and therefore 
 highly offensive to the Lord. D'Djno is a climax after 
 jnn D'B'J?. What they did was not merely wicked in God's 
 sight, but the boldest provocation of His anger. Ver. 31 
 enhances the climax. ?V, as in Isa. lx. 7 = i?, Isa. lvi. 7. 
 
JEREMIAH XXXII. 32-41. 247 
 
 unto this day, to remove it from my sight, 32. because of all 
 the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah, 
 which they did to provoke me, they, their kings, their princes, 
 their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the 
 inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33. And they turned their back to 
 me and not their face, and though they were taught ever so 
 early and unweariedly, they hearkened not to receive cor- 
 rection. 34. And they put their abominations in the house 
 over which my name was proclaimed, to defile it. 35. And 
 they build the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of 
 Ben Hinnom, to devote their sons and their daughters to 
 Moloch, which I commanded them not, nor did it come into my 
 mind to do this abomination, in order to make Judah to sin. 
 
 36. And therefore now thus says Yahveh, the God of 
 Israel, concerning this city, of which you say : It is given 
 into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword and famine 
 and pestilence : 3 7. Behold, I will gather them from all 
 lands whither I have driven them in my wrath and my fury 
 and great indignation, and will bring them again to this 
 people and make them dwell in safety, 38. and they shall be 
 my people, and I will be their God. 39. And I will give 
 them one heart and one way to fear me, always for their 
 good and their children's (good) after them. 40. And I will 
 make an everlasting covenant with them, so that I will never 
 turn away from them to do them good. And I will put my 
 fear in their heart, so that they shall not depart from me. 
 41. And I will take delight in them to do them good, and 
 
 nTDPT?, so that I intended removing them. Ver. 33. Cf. ii. 27, 
 xviii. 17. 1c6l, infin. abs., "and though one, or though I, teach 
 ever so much." Ver. 34 f. Almost like vii. 30 f. Ver. 35 f. 
 See on vii. 31. "Vajjn, sc. B>N3 (2 Kings xxiii. 10 ; Ezek. xx. 31), 
 to cause to pass through fire in honour of Moloch, LXX 
 and the Rabbins explain not of actual burning, but of a 
 symbolic act of consecration ; but the meaning is scarcely 
 different from what it is in vii. 31, xix. 5, where the phrases are 
 unmistakeable. " In order to make Judah sin " depends on m v l. 
 In ^onn, K is wanting, see on xix. 15. Ver. 38 f. See on vii. 
 23 ; is constantly repeated in these promises. Ver. 39. nsa^, 
 infin., Ges. § 45. 16. Ver. 41. nosn refers to the spirit in which 
 the Lord plants them ; this is done in a sincere, faithful spirit, 
 
248 JEREMIAH XXXII. 42-44. 
 
 will plant them in this land in faithfulness with my whole 
 heart and my whole soul. 42. For thus says Yahveh : Like 
 as I brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I 
 bring upon them all the good which I speak concerning them. 
 43. And thus men shall buy fields in this land, of which you 
 say : It is a desert, where there are neither men nor cattle ; 
 it is given into the hand of the Chaldseans. 44. They shall 
 buy pieces of ground for money, and draw up deeds and seal 
 them, and appoint witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in 
 the surroundings of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and 
 in the cities of the highland, and in the cities of the lowland, 
 and in the cities of the south ; for I will bring back their 
 captivity, is Yahveh's oracle. 
 
 which ensures permanence to the new settlement in the land. 
 The Lord now rejoices with undivided heart to do them good. 
 Ver. 42. Cf. xxxi. 28. Ver. 44. 2irD1, infin. abs. after finite 
 verb in enumerating actions following one another, Ges. § 131. 
 4a; Eng. § 128. Kespecting the divisions of the land of Judah, 
 see on xvii. 26. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 The sayings of the Book of Consolation (chs. xxx., xxxi.) are 
 followed by two further sections by way of supplement. In 
 ch. xxxii. we have a symbolic action, by which a prosperous 
 future is divinely ensured to the land : the purchase of a 
 field at Anathoth. First of all — a. the act itself is related, 
 vv. 1—15; then follows, b. a Prayer for Enlightenment, vv. 
 16—25 ; then, c. the Divine Explanation, vv. 26—44. The 
 whole belongs to the tenth year of Zedekiah. 
 
 At the time of Jerusalem's greatest distress, when there 
 could no longer be any doubt that the Chaldaeans would 
 energetically resume the siege and carry it to a successful end, 
 an offer was made to the prophet, then in easy imprisonment, 
 by a relative to buy a field in the neighbourhood of his native 
 place, and the Lord instructed him to conclude the purchase. 
 In the " guard-court " of the royal palace this act was trans- 
 acted with every form of legal arrangement. Jeremiah gave 
 
JEREMIAH XXXII. 249 
 
 orders for the double purchase-deed to be carefully preserved. 
 Was he under illusion as to the fate of the city and its 
 surroundings ? By no means. On the contrary, in the 
 prayer offered to God after this transaction (vv. 16—25) he 
 declares that the judgment, as he knows well and has been 
 taught by God Himself, must come and is immediately im- 
 pending ; why then does God command him to purchase a 
 field, when general captivity and desolation are at hand ? 
 To this the voice of the Lord gives answer, ver. 26 up to the 
 conclusion. It reasserts that the city will fall into the 
 hands of the conquerors, and recalls in detail the reasons of 
 this judgment (vv. 29-35). But just when God's threefold 
 scourge (ver. 36) and the approaching end of the resistance 
 of the defenders are certain to every one, the Lord announces 
 unexpected news with perfect certainty : the gathering of the 
 exiles and the restoring of the covenant - relation between 
 God and His people in a purity and perfection not yet seen. 
 Ver. 39 f. beautifully completes what was foretold in xxxi. 
 31 ff., showing more particularly what that writing in the 
 heart meant : God will give them one way and one heart, 
 so that they will always fear Him and turn no more from 
 Him, and will thus inspire them all with obedience of heart 
 and life. In this way the permanence of the covenant and 
 the constant well-being of the land will be ensured (ver. 40). 
 God will be able to confer blessings and benefits on a people 
 entirely sanctified by Himself with perfect delight and love. 
 This is the meaning of the purchase of a field by His prophet. 
 As the Romans, when Hannibal lay before their capital, 
 showed their confidence in their own valour by raising the 
 ground, where the enemy stood, to its full value, so the 
 prophet, by acquiring possession of a field with every legal 
 form, certifies that the land has still a bright future of 
 glorious prosperity to expect from its God, after the cup of 
 suffering is exhausted. It is not too sanguine hope, nor 
 trust in his people's strength, which encourages and impels to 
 
250 JEREMIAH XXXIII. 1-6. 
 
 this faith, but the Lord's unfailing word ; and the same word 
 exhibits that future not merely as a restoring of former success, 
 but as a time of unexampled salvation and blessing from God. 
 
 III. SECOND SERIES OF COMFORTING ORACLES FOR THE 
 CAPTIVES, CH. XXXIII. 
 
 1. And the word of Yahveh came to Jeremiah the second 
 time, while he was yet in confinement in the guard-court, as 
 follows: 2. Thus says Yahveh, who also performs, Yahveh, 
 who plans that he may also bring to pass, Yahveh is his 
 name : 3. Call on me, and I will answer thee and tell thee 
 great and unsearchable things which thou knowest not. 
 4. For thus says Yahveh, the God of Israel, respecting the 
 houses of this city and respecting the houses of the kings of 
 Judah, which are cast down, (and respecting them who) come 
 to the walls and to the sword, 5. to fight with the Chaldeeans, 
 and to fill them with the corpses of the men whom I slew in 
 my wrath and my fury, and for whose wickedness I hid my 
 face from this city : 6. Behold, I make healing and health 
 
 Chapter XXXIII. 
 
 Ver. 1 refers back to xxxii. 1 f. Ver. 2. "W, cf. xviii. 11. 
 Ver. 3. rrnxa, properly, cut off, inaccessible, which man cannot 
 find of himself. The reference is to the blessed future of God's 
 people, so opposite to the unhappy present, and therefore so 
 difficult to conceive. Ver. 4 f. The words are very differently 
 combined, explained, and emended. The divine message intro- 
 duced in 4a follows in ver. 6 ; the previous clauses point out 
 the comfortless state of those referred to. The double btf, as 
 the text now runs, despite the division of the verses, to be 
 joined with D^a. But some words have probably dropped out 
 after Dorian (torn down, battered by the shots of the besiegers), 
 perhaps : " and respecting their inhabitants, who hasten " 
 (D^nn, synonymous with the word given above) to the mounds 
 of the besiegers and the conflict with swords, coming to fight 
 with the Chaldseans ; but the only result is that they fill them 
 (the Chaldseans, or their swords) with corpses. Here as in 
 xxv. 15 it is really the Lord who slays by His wrath, having 
 withdrawn from them His gracious help. Ver. 6. See on 
 viii. 22. r6 applies to the ill-used city, Drv? to its inhabitants; 
 
JEEEMIAH XXXIII. 7-12. 25l 
 
 return to her, and heal them, and open to them an abundance 
 of peace and stability ; 7. and I bring back the captivity of 
 Judah and the captivity of Israel, and build them as before ; 
 8. and I will cleanse them from all their guilt, wherewith 
 they have sinned against me, and will vouchsafe forgiveness for 
 all their transgressions, with which they have sinned against 
 me and offended against me. 9. And she shall be to me a 
 name of delight, a praise and a pride before all nations of the 
 earth, which shall hear all the good which I do them, and 
 shall quake and be troubled because of all the good and all 
 the peace which I show to her. 
 
 10. Thus says Yahveh: Again in this place, of which you 
 say : It is waste, forsaken of men and cattle, in the cities of 
 Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, which are solitary, 
 without men and inhabitants and without cattle, 11. shall be 
 heard the sound of singing and the sound of gladness, the 
 voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the cry of 
 those who say : " Praise ye Yahveh of hosts, for Yahveh is 
 good ; for his mercy endures for ever," of those who bring 
 sacrifices of praise into the house of Yahveh ; for I will bring 
 back the captivity of the land as before, says Yahveh. 
 
 1 2. Thus says Yahveh of hosts : Again in this place, which 
 
 Open, properly, disclose to them. Hitzig, from bhi, I roll on 
 them like a river. See on xi. 20. mnj/, Aramaic form ; 
 cf. Ex. xxxv. 13. Peace or salvation and stability, cf. xiv. 13. 
 Ver. 8. Cf. xxxi. 34. Ver. 9. The city is the subject, cf. ver. 6. 
 It will be a name of delight, a praise, an ornament to the 
 Lord in the sight of the nations, i.e. a living monument of His 
 saving power and grace, hence also His glory and pride. DniK, 
 not necessarily for dhk, but <\wy, with double accusative (Isa. 
 xlii. 16). The nations tremble, because this blessing of Zion 
 convinces them of the utter superiority of Yahveh to their 
 gods ; cf. Deut. ii. 25. They will anxiously long for salvation. 
 Cf. on these mingled emotions, Ps. ii. 11 ; Hos. iii. 5. Ver. 
 10. pK», see on ii. 15. D'pD, see on vii. 3. Ver. 11. Contrast 
 to vii. 34, xvi. 9, xxv. 10. HDn— mn, according to this passage, 
 even in the pre-exilian age was already a doxology. See the 
 same in Ps. cvi. 1, cvii. 1, cxviii. 1, cxxxvi. 1 ; the same in 
 2 Chron. v. 13, vii. 3, 6, xx. 21. The passage shows the amount 
 of truth in the assertion that in the pre-exilian age the soil for 
 the growth of Psalms was wanting. "Tin, see on xvii. 26. 
 
252 JEREMIAH XXXIII. 13-19. 
 
 is waste, empty of men and even of cattle, and in all its cities, 
 shall be a field of shepherds causing the flock, to lie down. 
 1 3. In the cities of the highland, in the cities of the lowland, 
 and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, 
 and in the surroundings of Jerusalem, and in the cities of 
 Judah, again shall the sheep pass under the hands of the 
 counter, said Yahveh. 
 
 14. Behold, days come, is Yahveh's oracle, that I bring to 
 pass the good word which I spoke to the house of Israel and 
 to the house of Judah. 15. In those days and at that time 
 I make a sprout of righteousness spring forth to David, and 
 he shall exercise justice and righteousness in the land. 16. In 
 those days Judah shall enjoy deliverance, and Jerusalem dwell 
 safely ; and this is the name with which she shall be called : 
 Yahveh our righteousness. 1 7. For thus says Yahveh : Never 
 shall there be cut off from David one sitting on the throne of 
 the house of Israel ; 18. and never shall the Levitical priests 
 want one before my face to bring burnt-offerings, present gifts, 
 and offer sacrifice always. 
 
 19. And Yahveh's word came to Jeremiah saying: 
 
 Ver. 12. Ijn, properly, and unto the cattle, i.e. empty even of 
 cattle. The whole land will be a peaceful field of shepherds, 
 and so everywhere alive with men and beasts. The meaning, 
 of course, is not that pasture-lands will take the place of the 
 cities, which would suggest permanent desolation. Ver. 13. 
 The parts of the territory of Judah, as in xviL 26, xxxii. 44. 
 On the counting of sheep, the daily business of the shep- 
 herd, cf. Verg. Eel. iii. 34. Ver. 14. The good word is the 
 promise already uttered previously in xxiii. 5 f., and here 
 repeated in substance. Ver. 15. Instead of the P'HV rav there 
 npix nov appears ; the meaning is similar, see on xxiii. 5. 
 Ver. 16 like xxiii. 6, but with the difference that here Judah- 
 Jerusalem bears the auspicious name assigned there to 
 David's Sprout. See respecting this difference on xxiii. 6. 
 The Church can then boast : Yahveh our righteousness. That 
 the Messiah gives her this salvation in possession, appears 
 from ver. 15, where the repeated npnv is noticeable. pe>, 
 cf. 3K», xvii. 6. Ver. 17 like 2 Sam. vii. 15 f., but in form 
 more akin to Nathan's oracle, 1 Kings ii. 4, viii. 25, ix. 5. 
 Ver. 1 8. " The priests, the Levites " (apposition), usual form in 
 Deuteronomy (Deut. xvii. 9, 18, etc.) = of the family of Levi. 
 
JEKEMIAH XXXIII. 20-26. 253 
 
 20. Thus said Yahveh : If you can break my covenant; 
 with the day and my covenant with the night, that there be 
 no more day and night in their time, 21. then also shall my 
 covenant with David my servant be broken, that he should 
 not have a son to be king on his throne, and with the Levitical 
 priests, my servants. 22. As the host of heaven cannot be 
 numbered and the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply 
 the seed of my servant David and the Levites, who serve me. 
 23. And the word of Yahveh came to Jeremiah thus: 
 24. Hast thou not seen what these people say, that they 
 say : " The two families whom Yahveh chose, these he has 
 contemned," and how they revile my people as though it 
 were no more a nation in their eyes ? 25. Thus said 
 Yahveh : If my covenant stand not day and night, if I have 
 not given the laws of heaven and earth, 26. then will I also 
 contemn the seed of Jacob and David my servant, that I no 
 longer take of his seed rulers over the seed of Abraham, 
 Isaac, and Jacob. For I will bring back their captivity and 
 have compassion upon them. 
 
 Their male line will not die out or cease to fill the priestly 
 office. The allusion is to the high priest corresponding to the 
 king. Ver. 20 f. The covenant of David and Levi, like that of 
 the nation in xxxi. 35 f., is compared with the order of 
 nature as regards inviolableness. My covenant with the day 
 (cf. on the form, Lev. xxvi. 42), i.e. my covenant made with the 
 day. DOV, daytime, here and in ver. 25 for DV, not necessarily 
 a copyist's error. Tiiwl, and that not. . . . The covenant of 
 David dated from Nathan's message, see on ver. 17 ; that of 
 the Levites from Moses, Num. iii. 12, viii. 16 ; Deut. xxxiii. 
 8 ff. Cf. in reference to a single line, Num. xxv. 12 f. Ver. 
 22. The general -it?K for nPto. TIN Tn^D = Tnt^D. Ver. 24. 
 The two ninacD are not the royal and the priestly family, but 
 the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Jeremiah not 
 seldom uses the word of national races, as in i. 15. The people 
 who so speak are not heathen or foreigners, but people of 
 the country who have lost faith in the existence of their 
 nation ; , o» is in emphatic contrast with nrn Dyn. Ver. 25. 
 The laws of heaven and earth fixed by God are the unchange- 
 able ordinances of nature observable in the heaven and on 
 earth. Cf. xxxi. 35 f. Ver. 26. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — 
 great names, of high import before God, to which the covenant 
 
254 JEREMIAH XXXIII. 
 
 promises were attached. Instead of 2W«, Keri unnecessarily 
 has Hiphil ; cf. xxix. 14 and often. 
 
 The whole section xxxiii. 14-26 is wanting in LXX, and is 
 denied to be Jeremiah's by J. D. Michaelis, Hitzig, and partly 
 by Movers. But these oracles so manifestly bear the stamp of 
 Jeremiah's style, as Ewald and Graf confess, that the suspicion 
 is groundless. And if the promise of the continuance of the 
 Levitical priesthood seems to contradict Jeremiah's style of 
 thought, it is because too spiritualistic a character is ascribed 
 to Jeremiah, or the spiritualizing process is overlooked which 
 awaits this priesthood according to ver. 22. The LXX 
 probably were held back from receiving these oracles by 
 similar doubts, or their desire to avoid repetitions led to the 
 omission. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xxxiii. New Consolatory Discourse in the 
 tenth year of Zedekiah. a. Blessing on the unhappy Nation, 
 vv. 2—13. b. The Justified Church of the last days relying on 
 the inviolable permanence of the Davidic Kingdom and the 
 Levitical Priesthood, vv. 14-26. 
 
 Out of Jeremiah's imprisonment there dawned on the small 
 believing flock in Judah a star of hope promising deliverance 
 from captivity. The Lord, whose nature it is not merely to 
 utter comforting words or refresh by inspiring ideals, but 
 perfectly to realize His purposes (ver. 2), just now, when the 
 city resembles a pile of ruins and corpses (ver. 4 f.), brings 
 before the seer anew the picture, far surpassing human ex- 
 pectation, of a restored, purified, blissful Israel enjoying the 
 rich blessings of its God in undisturbed peace. Ver. 9 adds 
 an important feature : As God now in His own people presents 
 to the nations an example of His strict retributive judgment, 
 so then the unparalleled deliverance which His people will 
 experience, will move the nations to do Him homage. Jeru- 
 salem will be to Him a name or memorial of delight, i.e. a 
 speaking proof that He is able to save, a living song of praise 
 in His honour, an ornament in which He will shine before all 
 the world. The news of this salvation of His people will 
 
JEREMIAH XXXIII. 255 
 
 stir up the heathen from their self-confidence and their 
 worldly bliss. They will learn with trembling the uniqueness 
 of God from the way in which He bestows blessing, and will 
 long after it themselves (cf. iii. 17). 
 
 In ver. 1 4 ff. the promise of a Eighteous Sprout of David, 
 given before in xxiii. 5 f., is renewed (see p. 178) with the 
 variation there mentioned, that here the Church of the future 
 itself bears the conspicuous name : " Yahveh our Eighteous- 
 ness," and with a ratification (ver. 17 f.) emphasizing the 
 indestructibleness of the Davidic kingdom and the Levitical 
 priesthood as the two pillars of the theocracy now collapsing. 
 God's two ideas of a divinely-anointed king and a divinely- 
 founded priesthood cannot perish, but must find a purer and 
 fuller realization in the future. This is expounded in further 
 oracles (ver. 19 ff.), in which ver. 22 is specially noticeable, 
 according to which the seed of David and the Levites with 
 priestly functions will be countless, as the patriarchal blessing 
 had promised to the entire seed of Abraham and Isaac (Gen. 
 xxii. 17, xxvi. 4). In this Hengstenberg and Nagelsbach find 
 the promise, that all Israel will attain royal and priestly rank. 
 But if this is too definite an interpretation, at all events there 
 is an intimation of a multiplying, analogous to the enlarging 
 and glorifying of the temple foretold in iii. 1 6, of that family 
 which could boast of standing in a special filial relation to 
 God (2 Sam. vii. 14), and of that priesthood which had the 
 privilege of entering into God's presence in the temple. That 
 according to this account sacrifices are still offered in the new 
 Jerusalem, should seem as little strange, as that a special 
 priesthood of the tribe of Levi continues to exist. Jeremiah 
 still stands, like Ezekiel, on the principles and ideas of the 
 old covenant, to which a people serving God without sacrifice 
 and priest is inconceivable (cf. xvii. 26, xxxi. 14). But that 
 the limits of the conceivable are broken through by the en- 
 largement beyond all measure of the theocracy hitherto existing, 
 leads on to the thought of the theocracy being spiritualized. 
 
SECTION" XXII. 
 
 Zedekiah's Fate, Ch. xxxiv. 1-7. 
 
 XXXIV. 1. The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahveh, 
 whilst Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and his whole 
 army, and all the kingdoms of the dominion of his hand, and 
 all nations, were fighting against Jerusalem and against all its 
 cities, as follows : 2. Thus has Yahveh, the God of Israel, said : 
 Go and speak to Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and say to him : 
 Thus says Yahveh : Behold, I give this city into the hand of 
 the king of Babylon, that he may burn it with fire. 3. And 
 thou shalt not escape from his hand, but shalt certainly be 
 seized and delivered into his hand, and thine eyes shall see 
 the eyes of the king of Babylon, and his mouth speak to thy 
 mouth, and thou shalt come to Babylon. 4. But hearken to the 
 word of Yahveh, Zedekiah, king of Judah, thus says Yahveh 
 respecting thee : Thou shalt not perish by the sword ; 5. thou 
 shalt die in peace, and they shall kindle burnings for thee as 
 
 Chapter XXXIV. 1-7. 
 
 Ver. 1. Nebuchadnezzar, see on xxi. 2, xxvii. 1. All nations 
 (omitted by LXX), who fought under the Babylonians. The 
 heaping together of subjects is meant to give vividness to the 
 great host of the invaders. Ver. 2. D1DX1 ~{?n, as in ii. 2 and 
 often. Ver. 3. Cf. xxxii. 4. Ver. 4 f. is usually taken as a 
 comforting mitigation of the oracle of destiny : Zedekiah shall 
 not die a violent death, but be honourably interred by his own 
 people, which also may have taken place at Babylon ; his fate, 
 therefore, would be more tolerable than that of Jehoiakim 
 (xxii. 18 f.). But the honourable burial after the manner of 
 his fathers rather implies that he will die as king at Jerusalem. 
 Cf. on the other hand the comfortless end, lii. 11. It is rather 
 to be explained, with Hitzig, Graf, after xxxviii. 20 : be obedient 
 to the word of the Lord (yoB*, with accus. as in xxxv. 14) ; ver. 
 46 and 5 contain the promise in this case. Ver. 5. With the 
 
 256 
 
 & 
 
JEREMIAH XXXIV. 6, 7. 257 
 
 for thy fathers, the former kings, who were before thee, and 
 shall mourn for thee, " Alas, Master," for I have spoken the 
 word, is Yahveh's oracle. 6. And the prophet Jeremiah said 
 to Zedekiah, king of Judah, all these words at Jerusalem, 
 7. whilst the army of the king of Babylon was warring against 
 Jerusalem and against all the remaining cities of Judah, 
 against Lachish and against Azekah ; for these were still left 
 among the cities of Judah as fenced cities. 
 
 burnings of thy fathers, so shall they burn for thee, i.e. carry out 
 at thy burial such burnings as were usual in the case of kings, 
 2 Chron. xvi. 14, xxi. 19. The reference is not to the burning 
 of corpses, which, on the contrary, was an offence (Amos ii. 1), 
 except perhaps in time of pestilence (Amos vi. 10), but the 
 burning of incense on a large scale. On mourning for the dead, 
 cf. xxii. 18. Ver. 7. Lachish and Azekah, lying south-west in 
 the Judsean lowland (Josh. xv. 33, 35, 39), were fortified by 
 Eehoboam (2 Chron. xi. 9). Sennacherib had already tried 
 hard to capture Lachish, 2 Kings xviii. 14, 17, xix. 8 = Isa. 
 xxxvi. 2, xxxvii. 8. These were still left among the cities of 
 Judah as fenced cities, i.e. untaken. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Here the fate of King Zedekiah is told him beforehand, as 
 in xxxii. 3—5, but in fuller detail. But we must not suppose 
 that the present is an appendix to that oracle, which occasioned 
 the prophet's imprisonment. According to ch. xxxvii., which 
 gives the exact occurrence, it was not a conversation with the 
 king that led to his imprisonment. Moreover, xxxii. 3—5 
 does not give a single oracle, but the habitual preaching of 
 the impending issue. On the other hand, xxxiv. 1—7 is the 
 precise recounting of an oracle which Jeremiah had to convey 
 to the king ; and, indeed, ver. 2 seems to imply that he was 
 still free, so that we cannot identify this oracle with the 
 conversation in xxxvii. 18 ff. While xxxiv. 1 ff. in any case 
 belongs to a later time than xxi. 1 ff. (ninth year of Zedekiah), 
 since there are only a few fortresses yet unconquered outside 
 Jerusalem (xxxiv. 7), it scarcely belongs to the time after the 
 resumption of the siege spoken of in ver. 22, when Jeremiah 
 
 K 
 
258 
 
 JEREMIAH XXXIV. 1-7. 
 
 had been long in prison, but to the time of the first siege or 
 that of the temporary deliverance. For the rest, from the 
 beginning to the end of the siege the prophet foretold the fall 
 of the city, if resistance were offered, as well as the captivity 
 of the king, xxi. 4 ff., xxxii. 3 ff., xxxvii. 1 7, xxxviii 1 7 ff. 
 And in the same way, in case they surrendered to the Baby- 
 lonians, he promised, during the whole time, that the king 
 and city would be treated indulgently. God pledges His word 
 that if the king obeys the prophet's message and submits to 
 the Babylonians, he will not only not be slain by the harsh 
 conqueror, but be left in office and honour until his death 
 (cf. xxxviii. 17, 20). This Jeremiah was permitted to pro- 
 mise him at a time when outside Jerusalem only two cities 
 of the Judsean territory offered resistance to the conquerors. 
 
SECTION XXIII. 
 
 A Shameful Bkeach of Vows, Ch. xxxiv. 8-22. 
 
 XXXIV. 8. The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahveh, 
 after king Zedekiah had made a covenant with the whole 
 people which was at Jerusalem, to proclaim a setting free to 
 them, 9. that every one should let his servant and every one 
 his maid, Hebrew and Hebrewess, go free, that no one should 
 keep his Jewish brother in service. 10. And all the princes 
 and all the people, who had entered into the covenant, had 
 obeyed, that they should freely dismiss, every one his servant, 
 
 Chapter XXXIV. 8-22. 
 
 Ver. 8. The king made a covenant with the people, i.e. they 
 bound themselves reciprocally, to proclaim freedom to them, i.e. 
 to those whom it concerned, those in slavery. The phrase is 
 plainly a technical one for proclaiming a general release, and 
 springs from Lev. xxv. 10 (cf. Ezek. xlvi. 17 ; Isa. lxi. 1), where 
 it is used on occasion of the jubilee year, the pre-exilian exist- 
 ence of which is confirmed by these prophetic passages, even if 
 it remained mostly an ideal of the lawgiver, like the Sabbatical 
 year and the regulations respecting the release of a slave after 
 six years' service, referred to in ver. 13 f. ; see Ex. xxi. and 
 Deut. xv. That a Sabbatical year gave occasion to this decision, 
 is unwarranted conjecture ; the prophet makes no direct refer- 
 ence to the jubilee year in ver. 13 f., but to the regulations 
 about the setting free in the sixth year after the purchase of a 
 slave, — regulations existing long before, as is evident here, but 
 not carried out. Eespecting the relation of these laws to that 
 about the jubilee year, see Herzog, xiv. p. 341 f. He calls a 
 general release after the manner of the jubilee year well- 
 pleasing to God, because those occasions had been so long 
 neglected, and for this reason the majority of slaves were in 
 illegal bondage. Ver. 9. The regulations refer only to Hebrew 
 slaves, being based on God's relation to His people ; Deut. 
 xv. 12 expressly includes the Hebrew maid, Ezek. xxi. not. 
 
 259 
 
260 JEUEMIAH XXXIV. 11-17. 
 
 and every one his maid ; they had obeyed and dismissed them ; 
 11. but afterwards they had again brought back the servants 
 and the maids, whom they freely dismissed, and made them 
 subject as servants and maids. 12. Then came the word of 
 Yahveh to Jeremiah as follows :, 1 3. Thus says Yahveh, the 
 God of Israel : I made a covenant with your fathers on the day 
 when I led them forth from the land of Egypt, from the house 
 of bondage, saying: 14. After the lapse of seven years you 
 shall dismiss every one his brother, the Hebrew who sold 
 himself to thee ; and he shall serve thee six years, then thou 
 shalt freely dismiss him from thee. But your fathers heark- 
 ened not to me, and inclined not their ear. 15. And you 
 turned this day and did that which is right in mine eyes to 
 proclaim a setting free, every one for his neighbour, and you 
 made a covenant before me in the house over which my name 
 was proclaimed. 16. Then you turned again and polluted my 
 name, and brought back every one his servant and every one 
 his maid whom you had freely dismissed to their will, and 
 made them subject, that they might be your servants and 
 maids. 1 7. Therefore thus has Yahveh said : You have not 
 hearkened to me to proclaim a setting free every one to his 
 brother, and every one to his neighbour : behold, I proclaim a 
 setting free to you, is Yahveh's oracle, to the sword, to pesti- 
 
 2 *ny, to keep in bondage, as often in Jeremiah (xxii. 13, xxv. 
 14). Ver. 11. The afterwards is denned by ver. 21 f. ; after 
 the withdrawal of the Babylonian army. B>33, Kethib, Hiphil, 
 everywhere else Kal (Keri). Yer. 13. I myself am the author 
 of the covenant, by means of which the slaves are again to be 
 free. On the day when I led them out of Egypt — refers to 
 the Sinaitic legislation, which followed on the emancipation, 
 cf. vii. 22. Egypt, the house of bondage, Ex. xx. 2 and often, 
 here with special emphasis, pointing to the right of the slaves 
 to deliverance ; cf. Deut. xv. 15. Ver. 14. After Deut. xv. 12, 
 where it is said more precisely that the bondage is only to last 
 six full years. Ver. 15. 2.W, turning to good; on the other 
 hand, in vv. 11 and 16 to bad. The house over which my 
 name was proclaimed, see on vii. 10. Ver. 16. Dca^ as in 
 Deut. xxi. 14. The soul is the seat of desire, will, and there- 
 fore of free decision respecting oneself. Ver. 17. I announce 
 setting free to you ; word-play, as in xxiii. 33 = 1 dismiss you 
 from the relation of service in which you stood to me (Lev. 
 
JEREMIAH XXXIV. 18-22. 261 
 
 lence and to famine, and make you a horror to all the kingdoms 
 of the earth. 18. And I make the men, who trample upon 
 my covenant, who have not performed the words of the 
 covenant which they made in my presence, into the calf, 
 which they hewed in two, passing between its pieces, 
 19. the princes of Judah and the princes of Jerusalem, the 
 courtiers and the priests and the whole people of the land, 
 which passed between the pieces of the calf. 20. And I 
 deliver them into the hand of their foes and into the hand of 
 those who lie in wait for their life, and their corpses shall be 
 food for the birds of heaven and the beasts of the earth. 
 21. And Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his princes I 
 deliver into the hand of their enemies and their waylayers, 
 and into the hand of the king of Babylon, who have departed 
 from you. 22. Behold, I command, is Yahveh's oracle, and 
 bring them back to this city, that they may fight against it, 
 and conquer it, and burn it with fire, and I make the cities 
 of Judah a desert and without inhabitant. 
 
 xxv. 42), and declare you free as air. njjit, see on xv. 4. Ver. 
 18. Explained by the old custom of hewing a sacrificial animal 
 in two at the making of a covenant and passing between its parts 
 (Gen. xv. 10), whence also perhaps the phrase rvn n~o, SpKia 
 r'lfMuv, fcedus icere = Whoever keeps not the covenant shall be 
 cut in two in the same way. Ver. 19. The courtiers, see on 
 xxix. 2. Ver. 20. See on vii. 33. Ver. 21. See the occasion 
 of this departure of the Chaldaeans in xxxvii. 5. Ver. 22. 
 See on ii. 15. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of xxxiv. 8—22. Eebuke on account of a disgrace- 
 ful breach of faith with dependants. 
 
 This rebuke belongs to the interval between the retirement 
 of the Babylonians towards Egypt and their reappearance 
 before Jerusalem. Its subject is an incident which, like few 
 events known to us, show us the prevailing spirit in Jerusalem, 
 and explains the futility of the attempts at reformation, such 
 as those by Josiah. We see that it was not impossible in a 
 time of distress to rouse the people's conscience and bring 
 
262 JEREMIAH XXXIV. 8-22. 
 
 about a general acknowledgment of the divine law which had 
 fallen into neglect and disesteem, but that as soon as the 
 pressure from without relaxed, the fear of God professed for a 
 time gave place to the basest selfishness. While the city was 
 besieged by an overpowering army of Babylonians, there 
 plainly arose, under the impression made by the earnest testi- 
 mony of the prophet, a conviction of the need of acknowledging 
 by an act of free surrender the God from whom help was yet 
 expected. Had not the humane precepts of the law, securing 
 freedom to Israelitish slaves at certain periods, been no longer 
 obeyed for time beyond memory ? Could they rely on the 
 divine assistance, if they selfishly neglected so essential a 
 part of the Sinaitic legislation ? The king himself seems to 
 have taken a conspicuous share in the decision to be made, 
 and to have guarded it by his authority. In a general 
 assembly in the temple (ver. 15), perhaps a day of humilia- 
 tion, on which God's help was sought, a formal and solemn 
 covenant was made, in which all bound themselves to set free 
 all Hebrew slaves, who had lost their freedom mostly by 
 poverty and debt. This was done on the part of the princes 
 and priests as well as of the people. But scarcely had the 
 danger, at which they trembled, been lessened by the tem- 
 porary withdrawal of the besieging army, than excuses and 
 pretexts enough were found to bring those who had been set 
 free again under the yoke. So little shame was felt at 
 breaking the faith solemnly pledged to God ! Jeremiah's 
 discourse announces the approaching punishment for this base 
 violation of faith and covenant. Only too quickly will the 
 enemies, from whom they thought themselves free, return, and 
 then as God's avengers complete their destroying work. 
 
SECTION XXIV. 
 
 A Humbling Example, Ch. xxxv. 
 
 XXXV. 1. The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahveh 
 in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, 
 thus : 2. Go to the house of the Eechabites, and speak to 
 them, and bring them into the house of Yahveh into one of 
 
 Chapter XXXV. 
 
 Ver. 1. In the days of Jehoiakim, in his fourth year, since, 
 according to ver. 11, Nebuchadnezzar and the Syrians had 
 already invaded the land, cf. xxv. 1 ; 2 Kings xxiv. 1 f. Ver. 2. 
 To the house of the Eechabites = to their family, since they could 
 not possess a dwelling of their own. This, of course, does not 
 preclude their dwelling at that time in houses at Jerusalem, 
 which was excused by the necessity of the times (ver. 11). 
 According to 1 Chron. ii. 55, these Eechabites were a branch 
 of the tribe of the Kenites who had been friends of the 
 Israelites since the days of Moses ; they had been received into 
 the Israelitish community and religion, while preserving special 
 customs and traditions. Their father Jonadab had taken part, 
 as an influential chieftain, in Jehu's days in rooting out Baal- 
 worship in the northern kingdom (2 Kings x. 15 ff., 23). The 
 regulations, which the tribe had faithfully observed for almost 
 300 years, are traced back to this ancestor (ver. 6 f.) ; but 
 plainly he merely enforced anew the old tribal custom. It 
 is the nomadic mode of life, by whose observance these 
 children of the desert were to be preserved from the 
 effeminacy, subjection, and degenerate morals which are the 
 accompaniments of culture. So Diodorus Sic. xix. 94 
 says of the Nabatseans : No>oj zsrh avroTc, (L7\n sTrov avilpuv 
 pyre ipuTiimv //.ri&h pt/rov xapiropopov /tyri o'fou) %p%<s8tt,i /tyri o/'x/av 
 xarasx.eva.fytv. The modern history of Islam presents similar 
 features. Cf. Herzog x. 427. — Lead them into the house of 
 Yahveh, into one of the chambers. There was a great number 
 of such chambers in the forecourt of the temple. They served 
 partly as magazines, partly as official dwellings, and also, as 
 
 263 
 
264 JEREMIAH XXXV. 3-11. 
 
 the chambers, and give them wine to drink. 3. Then I 
 fetched Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, 
 and his brothers, and all his sons, and the whole house of the 
 Eechabites, 4. and brought them into the house of Yahveh to 
 the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah the 
 man of God, which is beside the chamber of the princes, 
 which is above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, 
 the keeper of the threshold. 5. And I set cups full of wine, 
 and goblets, before the sons of the house of the Eechabites, and 
 said to them : Drink ye wine ! 6. Then they said : We will 
 drink no wine ; for Jonadab the son of Eechab, our father, 
 commanded us saying : You shall not drink wine, nor your 
 sons, for ever. 7. And you shall not build a house, nor sow- 
 seed, nor plant a vineyard, nor shall you possess it ; but you 
 shall dwell in tents all your life, that you may live long on 
 the soil of the land where you sojourn. 8. Thus then have 
 we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Eechab, our father, 
 in all which he commanded us, so that we drink no wine all 
 our life, we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters, 9. and 
 that we build no houses for our dwelling, and have no field, 
 and vineyard, and sowing. 10. Thus then we dwell in tents, 
 and obey and do all which Jonadab our father commanded. 
 11. But it came to pass, when Nebuchadnezzar, king of 
 
 this passage shows, for social gatherings and feasts, etc. In 
 the present case a larger hall of the latter kind is meant. 
 Ver. 3. Jaazaniah was the head of the Eechabite family at the 
 time. His name (= Yahveh attends, hearkens) is, like the 
 obscure one of his father, combined with the name of the 
 Israelitish covenant-God ; in like manner Jonadab, i.e. Yahveh 
 impels. Ver. 4. Hanan, called a " man of God," and so 
 without doubt a prophet, is otherwise unknown. His " sons " 
 may be also his disciples, who gathered together in this hall. 
 Maaseiah was " keeper of the threshold," which, according to 
 lii. 24, was not a menial office ; he is perhaps identical with 
 the one mentioned xxxvii. 3, whose son Zephaniah filled a still 
 higher office. Ver. 6. Jonadab, as an honoured head of the 
 family, having far-reaching moral influence on his posterity, is 
 called "our father" (cf. ver. 10), not Eechab, who appears 
 nowhere in person. Ver. 7. Cf. iv. 5. DIN agrees with 2 Kings 
 xxiv. 2 ; LXX wrongly puts Assyria instead. This settlement 
 in a city seems to be in contradiction to their regulations, but 
 
JEREMIAH XXXV. 12-19. 265 
 
 Babylon, came up to the land, we said : Come and let us go 
 into Jerusalem for the army of the Chaldaeans and the army 
 of the Aramaeans ; thus we settled again in Jerusalem. 
 
 12. Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah as follows : 
 13. Thus says Yahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and 
 say to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem : 
 Will you not receive correction to hearken to my words ? is 
 Yahveh's oracle. 14. The words of Jonadab the son of 
 Eechab, which he commanded his sons, to drink no wine, are 
 in force ; and they drink none unto this day, for they obey 
 the command of their father. But / have spoken to you early 
 and diligently, yet you have not hearkened to me. 15. And I 
 sent to you early and diligently all my servants the prophets, 
 with the message : Turn ye now, every one from his evil way, 
 and be diligent in good deeds, and run not after foreign gods 
 to serve them : then shall you dwell in the land which I gave 
 to your fathers ; but you inclined not your ear, and hearkened 
 not to me ! 16. For the sons of Jonadab the son of Eechab 
 observed the precepts of their father, which he commanded 
 them, but this people hearkened not to me ! 17. There- 
 fore thus says Yahveh of hosts, the God of Israel : Behold, I 
 bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem 
 all the evil which I have spoken respecting them, because I 
 spoke to them, and they hearkened not, and I called to them, 
 but they answered not. 18. And to the house of the 
 Eechabif.es Jeremiah said: Thus says Yahveh of hosts, the 
 God of Israel : Because you obeyed the precept of Jonadab 
 your father, and kept all his commands, and did throughout as 
 he bade you: 19. therefore thus says Yahveh of hosts, the 
 God of Israel : Jonadab the son of Eechab shall not lack one 
 to stand before me for all time. 
 
 was merely a temporary necessity which they did not regard 
 as unfaithfulness to their traditions. Ver. 13. To receive 
 correction, here rebuke by a humiliating example. Ver. 14. 
 nx Dpin, accusative, as often in the passive, Ges. § 143. la; Eng. 
 § 140 : the law and covenant of Yahveh is maintained, kept in 
 force, carried out. Ver. 15. Cf. vii. 3, etc. UE'l, see on xxv. 5. 
 Ver. 19. As to the form of the promise, cf. xxxiii. 17 f. The 
 promise is not merely that the family will continue, but that 
 its heads will be privileged to serve the Lord, standing in 
 
266 JEREMIAH XXXV. 
 
 intimate converse with Him (cf. xv. 19). Bespecting a priestly 
 Bechabite in apostolic times, see Eusebius, Hist. ii. 23. _ Wolff 
 thought he discovered them in Yemen in the Keibari Jews, 
 who also live in the Sinaitic peninsula. Palmer, Scene of the 
 Wanderings of the Israelites. This conjecture has no ground. 
 At all events they were not settled in the desert south of 
 Canaan in Jeremiah's days, when they took refuge in Jeru- 
 salem from the foe advancing from the north. Judg. i. 16 
 would rather point to a southern abode. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xxxv. Humbling of Israel by means of the 
 Bechabites. a. The Obedience of the latter tested, vv. 1—11. 
 o. God's Judgment respecting the disobedient Israelites and this 
 faithful family, vv. 12-19. 
 
 It was in the fourth year of Jehoialrim, when the advancing 
 power of the enemy had frightened many strangers into 
 Jerusalem as a fortified city, that our prophet, at the divine 
 bidding, held up before his fellow-countrymen an example of 
 faithful devotion to paternal injunctions which rebuked their 
 disobedience. He one day invited the family of the Bechab- 
 ites, an ancient ally of Israel-Judah, which had then taken 
 refuge within the walls of the capital from the plundering foe, 
 to one of the rooms in the temple where sacred feasts were 
 held, and set wine before them. They all refused to drink, 
 because they were forbidden such indulgence, as well as 
 dwelling in houses and tilling the soil, by family tradition. 
 Not only had these employments and indulgences been always 
 avoided on the part of nomads who held tenaciously to their 
 own modes of life, but Jonadab, who stood in special repute, 
 and who was the head of the family about three hundred years 
 before, made these forms of abstinence a law and testament to 
 his posterity, and they had never departed therefrom. From 
 the temple-chamber, where he gave the faithful tribe the 
 promise in ver. 18 f, the prophet hastens with painful 
 emotion into the forecourt, in order to set before the people 
 
JEREMIAH XXXV. 267 
 
 their unbroken treachery in the light of the example, standing 
 bodily before their eyes, of centuries of conscientious fidelity 
 to duty. What the Eechabites had observed so faithfully was 
 only a human, although paternal, command, — human in refer- 
 ence to the authority from which it proceeded, human also in 
 regard to the value of its contents, resting only on a ground of 
 relative truth, and therefore claiming only conditional force. 
 On the other hand, the great God had in the most emphatic 
 manner (cf. the emphatic I, ver. 14 ff.) issued commands of 
 absolute validity (ver. 15), adding thereto a more glorious 
 promise than the father of the Eechabites, who remitted his 
 race to restless wanderings : the promise of permanent abode 
 in its own fair land. Yet the commands found no acceptance 
 and obedience ! He had renewed His admonition, not merely 
 for a generation like Jonadab, but from one generation to 
 another, without effect ! The word of that patriarch, dead 
 so long, still had legal force ; the living testimony of Yahveh 
 gained no hearing ! On this account the doom, threatened so 
 long, must fall on Judah- Jerusalem (ver. 17) ; the Eechabites, 
 on the other hand, will receive the reward of their fidelity, 
 the Lord recompensing the perseverance of the family in its 
 devotion to the tradition of its pious fathers by a like pro- 
 longing of its existence, and — what is more — always accepting 
 its service to Himself. 
 
SECTION XXV. 
 
 Jeremiah's Prophetic Book, Ch. xxxvi. 
 
 XXXVI. 1. And it came to pass in the fourth year of 
 Jehoiakim, the sou of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word 
 came to Jeremiah from Yahveh, saying: 2. Take thee a book-roll 
 and write therein all the words which I spoke to thee against 
 Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, since 
 I spake to thee, from the time of Josiah unto this day. 
 '.i. Perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the evil which 
 I intend to do them, that they may turn every one from 
 his evil way, and I may forgive their guilt and their sin. 
 4. Then Jeremiah called Baruch, son of Neriah ; and Baruch 
 wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of Yahveh, 
 which he had spoken to them, in a book-roll. 5. Then 
 Jeremiah commanded Baruch thus : I am restrained, I 
 
 Chapter XXXVI. 
 
 Ver. 2. rrpx for nvy. — by, against. The reference is to the 
 menacing prophecies, which indeed had hitherto been pre- 
 dominant, as in xxx. 2 a book of promises is composed. It is 
 not probable, and this passage does not require us to think, 
 that during the twenty-three years of his preaching (xxv. 3) 
 Jeremiah never wrote anything. But now a complete review 
 of his discourses is proposed, which will make a deep impression 
 on the people. For this end Jeremiah, who could certainly 
 write himself, dictated the book. In so great a work, for which 
 he had again to rely on the Spirit, he gladly availed himself of 
 the help of his trusty servant (Baruch, cf. xxxii. 12). That he 
 refreshed his memory by former records of single oracles is 
 obvious ; but he not merely read aloud former leaves, but 
 threw the whole into a new shape, thus laying a basis for his 
 present book. Ver. 5. "iixy might mean : kept in custody 
 (xxxiii. 1, xxxix. 15). But since, according to ver. 19, Jeremiah 
 moves freely about, the hindrance must refer to visiting the 
 temple. A prohibition is meant, preventing him entering the 
 
 268 
 
JEREMIA.H XXXVI. 6-9. 269 
 
 cannot go into the house of Yahveh. 6. Therefore go thou 
 in and read from this roll, which thou hast written from my 
 mouth, the words of Yahveh in the ears of the people in 
 Yahveh's house on the fast-day ; and also in the ears of all 
 Judah, which have come from their cities, thou shalt read 
 them. 7. Perhaps their supplication will fall before the 
 Lord, and they will turn every one from his evil way, for 
 great is the wrath and the fury of which Yahveh has spoken 
 to this people. 8. Then Baruch the son of Neriah did all 
 as Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, in reading aloud 
 from the book the words of Yahveh in Yahveh's house. 
 
 9. And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, 
 the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month they 
 proclaimed a fast before Yahveh, the whole people at Jeru- 
 salem, and all the people that had come from the cities of 
 
 place where he was accustomed to speak in public. Ver. 6. 
 On the fast-day. This description applies not merely to the 
 one day of atonement in the seventh month. In those dis- 
 turbed times, days of fasting and humiliation were often 
 proclaimed ; hitherto Jeremiah had chiefly spoken on these 
 occasions ; now the written word was to take the place of the 
 oral word forbidden him, in order, if possible, to move the people 
 to true repentance. That Jeremiah refers to the fast-day 
 mentioned in ver. 9 in the ninth month of the fifth year, before 
 he made this earnest attempt at conversion, is unlikely in itself, 
 and is also too opposed to the entire course of the narrative. 
 Ver. 9 does not exclude a former reading, which is required by 
 ver. 8, but only relates the occasion that led to the burning 
 of the book. Ver. 7. Perhaps their supplication will fall 
 down, more drastic than the usual NU (Ps. cxix. 170 and 
 often), describes, like the latter, reaching God, but in more 
 humble and urgent form. What falls before any one's eyes he 
 must notice. Ver. 8. To read aloud = in reading aloud. 
 Construction as in xliii. 4 and often. Ver. 9. In the fifth year, 
 — LXX wrongly in the eighth, — in the ninth month, about 
 December, cf. ver. 22. They proclaimed a fast-day, an extra- 
 ordinary day of humiliation, as was usually done when calamity 
 threatened (Joel i. 14 ; 1 Kings xxi. 9, 12 ; 2 Chron. xx. 3). 
 The fear probably referred to the Chaldeeans who were advanc- 
 ing nearer and nearer (ver. 29), and who at this crisis had not 
 yet arrived before Jerusalem. The whole people here appears 
 inexactly as proclaiming the fast, in order to intimate that the 
 
270 JEREMIAH XXXVI. 10-15. 
 
 Judah to Jerusalem. 10. Then Baruch read from the book 
 the words of Jeremiah in Yahveh's house in the chamber of 
 Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper fore- 
 court at the entrance of the new gate of Yahveh's house in 
 the ears of all the people. 11. Then Micaiah the son of 
 Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words from the 
 book. 12. And he went down to the house of the king to 
 the chamber of the secretary, and behold, all the princes 
 were sitting there : Elishamah the secretary, and Delaiah the 
 son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and 
 Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of 
 Hananiab, and all the princes. 13. Then Micaiah made 
 known to them all the words which he heard, when Baruch 
 read from the book in the ears of the people. 14. And 
 all the princes sent to Baruch Jehudi, son of Nethaniah, the 
 son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, saying : " That roll, from 
 which thou readest in the ears of the people — take it in thy 
 hand and come ! " Then Baruch the son of Neriah took 
 the roll in his hand and came to them. 15. And they said 
 to him : " Sit down now and read it in our ears ; " then 
 
 whole people took part in the celebration. D'fcOii, not for the 
 purpose of worship, but because of the insecurity of the 
 country. Ver. 10. Gemariah, the king's secretary, had a room 
 in the temple ; he seems in particular to have had charge of 
 all that pertained to worship in the government. The treasury 
 proper was in the palace (ver. 12) ; his father Shaphan is 
 perhaps the one mentioned in 2 Kings xxii. 3 likewise as 
 secretary, his brother the protector of Jeremiah mentioned in 
 xxvi. 24. The new gate, see on xxvi. 10. The chamber in 
 question was at its entrance. Since the people were not 
 admitted into the inner court, this hall had an exit towards 
 both fore-courts ; of course, Baruch sat on the raised steps, 
 with face to the people, therefore nna applies as usual to the 
 outer place in front of the gate. Ver. 12. In the royal treasury, 
 separated, according to ver. 20, by a court from the king's 
 dwelling, the secretaries and other dignitaries or "princes" 
 were then holding a session. More exactly, this room is called 
 the chamber of the secretary Elishamah, ver. 20. Mnathan, see 
 on xxvi. 22. Ver. 14. Jehudi, a subordinate officer, perhaps 
 deriving his name from the fact that he became a naturalized 
 Jew as the first member of his family, according to Deut. 
 
JEREMIAH XXXVI. 16-23. 271 
 
 Baruch read in their ears. 16. And it came to pass, when 
 they heard all the words, they looked at one another with 
 alarm, and said to Baruch : We must verily make known all 
 these words to the king. 17. And they questioned Baruch 
 thus : Tell us now, how thou wrotest all these words from 
 his mouth ? 18. Then Baruch said to them: He spake all 
 these words to me with his mouth, whilst I wrote them in 
 the book with ink. 19. And the princes said to Baruch: 
 Go, hide thyself, thou and Jeremiah, and let no one know 
 where you are. 20. Then they went in to the king into 
 the court — and they had laid up the roll in the chamber of 
 Elishamah the secretary, — and made known to the king all 
 these things. 21. Then the king sent Jehudi to fetch the 
 roll, and he fetched it from the chamber of Elishamah 
 the secretary ; and Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, 
 and in the ears of all the princes who stood about the 
 king. 22. But the king was sitting in the winter-house in 
 the ninth month, and a brazier was kindled before him. 
 23. And it came to pass, when Jehudi had read three or four 
 pages, he cut it off with the penknife and cast it into the 
 fire that was in the brazier, until he had destroyed the whole 
 
 xxiii. 9, his great-grandfather having been a Cushite. Ver. 16. 
 Properly, they were alarmed one at another, i.e. expressed their 
 horror one to another at the import of the divine words (see 
 ver. 24) by look and bearing, Ges. § 141. Ver. 18. Nip' 1 , he 
 dictated (imperf. in case of frequent repetition or long con- 
 tinuance). Vl, ink, here only. Ver. 22. nx, brazier, filled with 
 burning coal and set in the middle of the room, the inmates 
 sitting round and warning themselves — used still in Jerusalem. 
 JIN, variously explained, lays greater stress on the noun, some- 
 what like our " and indeed." Ver. 23. Pages does not quite 
 correspond to ninbl, properly door-wings, denoting the columns, 
 the four-cornered squares into which the rolls were divided. 
 Such a column plainly covered the whole breadth of the roll, 
 so that it might be separated therefrom at one stroke. From 
 this usage has come the designation of chapters or sections 
 as "doors" among the later Jews and Arabs. The burning 
 suggests a papyrus or parchment roll, tops, as soon as Jehudi 
 had read, he (the king) cut it off ; imperf., because the act was 
 repeated piece by piece, as is also intimated by the infin. 
 li>E>m and what follows : until the roll was at an end, i.e. 
 
272 JEREMIAH XXXVI. 24-30. 
 
 roll in the fire that was in the brazier. 24. And they were 
 not alarmed, nor tore their garments, the king and all his 
 servants who heard all these words; 25. and although 
 Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah begged the king not to 
 burn the roll, he hearkened not to them. 26. And the 
 king commanded Jerahmeel the king's son, and Seraiah son 
 of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdiel, to fetch Baruch the 
 scribe, and Jeremiah the prophet ; but Yahveh had hidden 
 them. 
 
 27. Then the word of Yahveh came to Jeremiah, after 
 the king had burnt the roll with the words which Baruch 
 wrote from Jeremiah's mouth as follows: 28. Take thee again 
 another roll, and write therein all the former words which 
 were on the first roll, which Jehoiakim, king of Judah, burnt. 
 29. And respecting Jehoiakim, king of Judah, thou shalt say : 
 Thus says Yahveh : Thou hast burnt this roll with the words : 
 Wherefore hast thou written therein : " The king of Babylon 
 will certainly come and destroy this land, and banish there- 
 from men and cattle"? 30. Therefore thus says Yahveh 
 respecting Jehoiakim, king of Judah : He shall have no one 
 to sit on the throne of David, and his corpse shall be cast 
 
 destroyed in the fire burning in (bit for bv) the pan. Ver. 24. 
 The hearing of God's threats of judgment did not make the 
 impression on them which it must have made if they had not 
 been thoroughly hardened, 2 Kings xxii. 11. Ver. 25. The 
 princes mentioned in ver. 12, who were so impressed (ver. 16), 
 wished to restrain the king from the outrage, the fear of which 
 led them not at once to bring the roll with them (ver. 20). 
 Ver. 26. King's son, prince of the royal family, not the real 
 son of Jehoiakim, who was now about thirty years old. 
 Yahveh withdrew them from the sight of the spies. "Without 
 the Lord's forethought they would not have been hidden. 
 Ver. 29 gives in the form of an objection the substance of the 
 prophecy which had been burnt, and which inflamed the king's 
 wrath, — the threat, running through the whole book, of a 
 complete destruction of the land by the king of Babylon. 
 Ver. 30 was, of course, not said to the king in person. Hence 
 he is spoken of in the third person, whereas in ver. 29 he was 
 still addressed in living presence. The three months' (!) reign 
 of Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim (2 Kings xxiv. 6, 8), is not 
 a testimony against but for the fulfilment of this oracle. 
 
JEEEMIAH XXXVI. 81, 32. 27 
 
 out to the heat by day and the cold by night. 31. And I 
 will visit on him, and on his seed, and on his servants their 
 guilt ; and I will bring on them, and on the inhabitants of 
 Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah, all the ruin which I 
 spoke respecting them, but they would not hear. 32. And 
 Jeremiah took another roll and gave it to Baruch, son of 
 Neriah, the scribe ; and he wrote therein from the mouth of 
 Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim, king 
 of Judah, had burnt in the fire ; and many other words of 
 the same kind were added. 
 
 Eespecting the forbidding of burial, see on xxii. 19. Ver. 32. 
 Not only was no prophetic saying banished from the world by 
 the king's outrage, but the second roll was made still more 
 complete, enlarged by many testimonies of like purport, especi- 
 ally those of later origin, noro here only, in pause. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xxxvi. Jeremiah's Prophetic Book and 
 its Fortunes. a. Preparing of such a book in the fourth 
 year of Jehoiakim (vv. 1-8) ; b. Its Destruction by the king 
 in the next year (vv. 9-26); c. Eenewal of the Book and 
 Oracle respecting Jehoiakim and his nation (vv. 27—32). 
 
 In that eventful fourth year of Jehoiakim, whose influence 
 on history as well as on Jeremiah's prophetic labours was 
 pointed out, p. 199, the prophet received the divine direction 
 to record in a book-roll intended for public reading all his 
 previous discourses which were chiefly of threatening import. 
 There was a twofold reason for this being done just then. 
 First, it might be expected that such a complete collection 
 of the prophetic announcements which had remained un- 
 changed for decades, now visibly hastening to fulfilment, so 
 far as they had not yet been fulfilled, would make an over- 
 whelming impression on the readers and hearers. In the 
 second place, without doubt Jeremiah had been strictly for- 
 bidden, in consequence of the powerful discourses he had 
 delivered there in this very year, to enter the temple and 
 
 3 
 
274 JEREMIAH XXXVI. 
 
 address the people. The written word was now to take the 
 place of oral preaching. Thus the basis was laid for the 
 present compilation, which does not preclude earlier record^ 
 ing of single oracles. Jeremiah dictated this book to his 
 trusty disciple Baruch, and commanded him to read it to the 
 people "on the fast-day," i.e. on the penitential days with 
 which its contents were most in keeping, in the hope by this 
 powerful testimony to bring the community to reflection and 
 repentance before God. Baruch perhaps did this several 
 times without the attention of the great ones being arrested. 
 But ver. 9 ff. relates how on one such occasion, towards the 
 end of the fifth year of Jehoiakim, the book in question fell 
 into the hands of the king. On that specially solemn fast- 
 day, when all the people assembled and listened in the 
 temple, the reading seems to have made a deeper impression. 
 The attention of the secretary's son, in whose room Baruch 
 was sitting, was drawn to the matter, which seemed to him 
 grave and urgent enough to be at once reported to his father, 
 who was in the royal treasury. The princes and dignitaries 
 there assembled sent for Baruch with his roll and had it 
 read. They were not insensible to the divine greatness of 
 what they heard, were receptive to God's word, and wished 
 no ill to Jeremiah ; and the contents of the roll startled them 
 greatly. They felt themselves bound to inform the king of 
 the matter, not merely from political motives, but that the 
 head of the nation might know the threats coming to all 
 appearance from the Lord. But they first advised Baruch 
 to take refuge along with his master in a safe hiding-place, 
 knowing as they did the tyrant so well. In fact Jehoiakim, 
 who desired at once to see the roll, on hearing the writing 
 showed no sign of a troubled conscience, but cast the roll 
 piece by piece, as it was read to him, into the fire in order 
 to demonstrate his scorn, and, still more, his indignation at 
 the prophet's treasonable language. He would also have 
 seized the prophet's person. But at God's bidding Jeremiah 
 
JEREMIAH XXXVI. 275 
 
 had followed the counsel of the princes and remained in 
 hiding under the care of his God, but not idle or dismayed. 
 On hearing of the unexampled violence towards the word of 
 God of which the king had been guilty, he received the oracle 
 given in ver. 30, which agrees substantially with the sentence 
 passed in xxii. 18 f. Jeremiah met the foolish violence, by 
 which God's enemy thought to banish that mighty word from 
 the world, with the renewed assurance, that the hateful pro- 
 phecies would all be fulfilled, and as a pledge of this cheerfully 
 wrote them again, and that not in a reduced but an enlarged 
 form. This example of the way in which a prophet, not 
 at his own will and at random, but at God's express and 
 repeated command, as well as with the special assistance of 
 God's Spirit and God's outward protection, committed his 
 oracles to writing, has an important bearing also on those 
 prophetical books, the occasion of whose origin is not ex- 
 pressly noted. The God who inspired these discourses also 
 cared for and watched over their preservation. 
 
SECTION XXVI. 
 
 Jeremiah's Fortunes during the Siege, Chs. xxxvil-xxxix. 
 
 i. his imprisonment, ch. xxxvii. 
 
 XXXVII. 1. And Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, became king 
 instead of Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar, 
 king of Babylon, made king in the land of Judah. 2. But 
 he, like his servants and the people of the land, hearkened 
 not to the words of Yahveh, which he spake by Jeremiah 
 the prophet. 3. And king Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of 
 Shelemiah, and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest, to 
 Jeremiah the prophet, to say : Pray now for us to Yahveh, 
 our God. 4. And Jeremiah still went in and out among the 
 people, and they had not yet put him into the house of 
 confinement. 5. And the army of Pharaoh had marched 
 forth from Egypt; and the Chaldaeans, who were besieging 
 
 Chapter XXXVII. 
 
 Ver. 1. Coniah, see on xxii. 24. Nebuchadnezzar, see on 
 xxi. 2. Zedekiah was invested by Nebuchadnezzar with the 
 royal dignity, 2 Kings xxiv. 17. Ver. 2 gives the state of 
 constant disobedience as the reason why the prophet's reply to 
 the king's earnest question must be unfavourable. T3, properly, 
 by the hand, the mediating organ, often in the case of prophetic 
 mediation; cf. 1. 1. Ver. 3. Jehucal, mentioned among the 
 princes, xxxviii. 1 ; cf. ver. 4. Zephaniah, see on xxi. 1, head 
 of the priesthood. As in the former case, xxi. 2, the deputa- 
 tion was an influential one. Pray now for us, i.e. for a favour- 
 able answer ; cf. ver. 7, " to inquire of me." Ver. 4. Descriptive 
 sentence. In contrast with the following period Jeremiah was 
 then free. That he no longer needed to conceal himself, is 
 here assumed as self - evident. This was the case under 
 Jehoiakim. — 8^3 as in lii. 3 (for which Keri both times has 
 K^3) = &6s, ver. 15. Ver. 5. The Pharaoh is Hophrah (see on 
 
 278 
 
JEREMIAH XXXVII. 6-13. 277 
 
 Jerusalem, had heard news of this and withdrew from 
 Jerusalem. 6. Then Yahveh's word came to the prophet 
 Jeremiah as follows : 7. Thus says Yahveh, the God of Israel : 
 Thus shall you say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me 
 to inquire of me : Behold, the army of Pharaoh, which 
 marched forth to your help, turns again to Egypt its own 
 land ; 8. and the Chaldseans shall return and fight against this 
 city, and take it and burn it with fire. 9. Thus says Yahveh : 
 Deceive not your souls, saying : The Chaldseans shall really 
 depart from us; for they shall not depart. 10. For although 
 you smote the whole army of the Chaldseans, who fight with 
 you, and only wounded men were left among them, they shall 
 arise, every one in his tent, and consume this city with fire. 
 
 11. And it came to pass, when the army of the Chaldseans 
 had withdrawn from Jerusalem, because of the army of 
 Pharaoh, 12. Jeremiah went forth from Jerusalem to go to 
 the land of Benjamin to take up a portion among (his) 
 kindred. 13. And he came to the Benjamin-gate; but there 
 was there a commander of the watch called Irijah, son of 
 
 xliv. 30), called Uah-ab-ra on the monuments, the fourth ruler 
 of the twenty-sixth dynasty. He advanced across the Egyptian 
 boundary towards the north. On hearing the news of his 
 march (properly, they heard their news), the besiegers quickly 
 abandoned their work and made head against this more power- 
 ful foe. Nothing further is said about the encounter; yet, 
 according to ver. 7, the Egyptians seem to have evaded it. Cf. 
 Ezek. xvii. 15, 17, according to which Zedekiah had asked 
 them for help, rbv, Nvphal, to withdraw, as in ver. 11. 
 Ver. 9. Deceive not your souls = yourselves, by thinking : 
 they will really depart. The Chaldseans were still in the 
 neighbourhood, and their departure was not a final one. 
 Ver. 10. Though only wounded men, i.e. individuals, and these 
 wounded (properly, a stronger word : pierced through, li. 4), 
 remained of the whole hostile army, yet these, each one by him- 
 self, of his own instinct, would rise out of their tents to execute 
 the divine judgment on the city. Ver. 12. pbrb, Hiphil, the 
 n having fallen out by a common syncope (xxvii. 20), to divide, 
 to take up a portion, inheritance, is to be understood according 
 to the ancient expositions, which DB>n suits, of sharing an 
 inheritance. It is a technical term not occurring elsewhere. — 
 Dvn *]im, to be explained according to 2 Kings iv. 13 : in the 
 midst of kindred, see on xvii. 19. Ver. 13. nnpB ?W here 
 
278 JEKEMIAH XXXVII. H-21. 
 
 Shelemiah the son of Hananiah, and he seized Jeremiah, 
 saying: Thou intendest to fall away to the Chaldaeans. 14. 
 Then said Jeremiah : " Falsehood ! I do not intend to fall 
 away to the Chaldaeans." But he hearkened not to him, and 
 Irijah seized Jeremiah and led him to the princes. 15. Then 
 the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and 
 put him into prison in the house of the scribe Jonathan, for 
 they had made it a prison. 16. So Jeremiah came into 
 confinement and into the cells ; and Jeremiah remained there 
 many days. 
 
 17. Then king Zedekiah sent for him, and the king 
 questioned him secretly in his house, and said : Is there any 
 message from Yahveh ? Then said Jeremiah : Yes. And he 
 said : Thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of 
 Babylon. 18. Then said Jeremiah to king Zedekiah: What 
 offence have I done thee, and thy servants, and this people, 
 that you have put me into prison? 19. And where now 
 are your prophets, who prophesied to you the words : " The 
 king of Babylon will not come on you and on this land " ? 
 
 20. And now hearken, I pray thee, my lord and king, let 
 my supplication fall before thy face, that thou bring me not 
 back into the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there. 
 
 21. Then king Zedekiah gave command, and they confined 
 Jeremiah in the court of the guard, and brought him daily a 
 
 only; properly, holder of the watch. — PN bs3, see on xxi. 9. 
 Ver. 15. The princes friendly to Jeremiah, who took his part 
 under Jehoiakim (chs. xxvi., xxxvi.), were no longer present ; 
 without doubt they had been carried into captivity with 
 Jehoiachin (Graf). Those now in office were worse than the king 
 himself. Ver. 15. The scribe's house had been converted into 
 a prison, because it was perhaps specially suited thereto, having 
 underground cells; and in a time of siege such places were 
 needed in order to restrain obstinate or suspicious individuals. 
 Ver. 16. Instead of S3 13 read ttajl, as conversely in Tsa. xxxix. 1 
 5>DS5> *3 is to be read instead of JWl, after 2 Kings xx. 12 
 (Hitzig, Ewald, Graf) ; LXX the same.— rvwn, after analogy of 
 Syriac and Arabic, from a singular iron, cell. Ver. 19. Instead 
 of i"« (properly with suffix = where is it ?), Keri puts the more 
 simple n>N. Ver. 20. *?!», see on xxxvi. 7. Ver. 21. jrui, infin. 
 abs. in the case of a daily-repeated action. This provision 
 
JEREMIAH XXXVIL 279 
 
 loaf of bread from the bakers' street, until all the bread was 
 consumed from the city. So Jeremiah remained in the court 
 of the guard. 
 
 was, of course, implied in the king's order. A loaf of bread for 
 the day. In Syria still the bread is baked in thin, round, plate- 
 shaped loaves, Herzog, ii. 54. The portion given the prisoner 
 was scanty, but still an improvement in the circumstances. 
 Of course it only lasted as long as bread was to be got in the 
 city, which at last was not the case (xxxviii. 9, lii. 6). The 
 passage shows that there was a bakers' street, a bakers' bazaar, 
 in Jerusalem. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 The section chs. xxxvii-xxxix., recounting the fortunes of 
 the prophet during the siege of Jerusalem under Zedekiah, 
 belongs to the more historical part added as a sort of appendix 
 to Jeremiah's book. Ch. xxxvii. first relates his imprison- 
 ment, falling within the pause in the siege caused by the 
 advance of the Egyptian army. a. In this intermediate 
 period, vv. 1-10 give an oracle of the prophet imparted to 
 the king in answer to his inquiry ; b. Close on this followed 
 the arrest of Jeremiah by a military officer, vv. 11—16 ; 
 c. Later, when the Chaldseans had again approached, an inter- 
 view with the king took place, which led to Jeremiah's 
 transference to the " court of the guard," vv. 17—21. 
 
 King Zedekiah sent (xxxvii. 3) a similar embassy as at the 
 beginning of the siege (xxi. 1 ff.) to the prophet while he 
 was yet at liberty. It was the time when the approach of 
 an Egyptian army gave the anxious Jerusalemites a breathing 
 space, causing the Chaldasans hastily to break up the siege 
 and hasten to meet this more dangerous foe. Was this not 
 obvious assistance from the Lord ? So, without doubt, it was 
 explained by the popular prophets, who saw in it a glorious 
 confirmation of their optimistic oracles (cf. ver. 19). The 
 king, too, cherished the hope that even the gloomy Jeremiah 
 would not this time give one of his comfortless answers. He 
 sent some of the most influential men to him and appealed to 
 
280 JEREMIAH XXXVII. 
 
 his priestly heart, longing for prophetic information (ver. 3). 
 But the inexorable, iron prophet, neither to be terrified by 
 threats nor softened by entreaty, again shattered all hope by 
 the oracle that the Egyptians (defeated or discouraged) would 
 return home and the foe come back. It was not political 
 sagacity, but prophetic insight into the inner causes (ver. 2) 
 necessitating the coming judgment (ver. 10), which again 
 made him a prophet of evil. Nor was it moral reflection, 
 but the gift of the real seer, which told him that now and in 
 no other form than the threatened one (conquest by the 
 Chaldseans) judgment would come on the city (vv. 8—10). 
 
 At this time, when free movement was again possible to 
 the inhabitants of the city, Jeremiah desired one day to go to 
 Anathoth, his native town, to arrange his affairs at home, 
 probably to divide an inheritance that had accrued during the 
 siege, when he found himself stopped at the Benjamin-gate, 
 which led in that direction. Despite protestations of innocence, 
 he was arrested by the commander to whom the keeping of 
 the gate was entrusted. The real ground was plainly the 
 bitter hatred cherished by the leaders of the nation, especially 
 the military ones, against the man who was constantly 
 counselling surrender and discouraging many (cf. xxxviii. 1 ff.). 
 In the harsh confinement imposed on him, where he had 
 to pine long with hunger, the prophet would have perished 
 miserably unless there had arisen again in King Zedekiah a 
 longing to hear his words whose truth had been recently 
 impressed on him by the return of the dreaded invaders. 
 The weak prince arranged a secret interview with the prophet 
 in his palace, in order once more to hear from his lips in bare 
 words the fate of the city. But the prophet, unbending in 
 executing the divine command while not insensible to the ill- 
 usage he suffered, used the occasion to remind the kin" that 
 he was only suffering for the truth's sake, as would be seen 
 at last, and begged for more humane treatment. This request 
 was granted him. He received a more tolerable abode in the 
 
JEEEMIAH XXXVIII. 1-6. 281 
 
 " court of the guard," where he remained a longer time (cf. 
 xxxii. 2, xxxiii. 1). 
 
 II. NEW ATTACK ON THE PKOPHET's LIFE, CH. XXXVIII. 
 
 XXXVIII. 1. And Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and 
 Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, 
 and Pashhur the son of Malchiah, heard the words which 
 Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying : 2. Thus says Yahveh : 
 He that remains in the city shall perish by the sword, and by 
 famine, and by pestilence. And he that goes forth to the Chal- 
 dseans shall remain alive, and have his soul for a prey and live. 
 3. Thus says Yahveh : This city shall certainly be delivered into 
 the power of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall 
 take it. 4. Then said the princes to the king : Let this man, 
 we pray thee, be put to death ; for he verily weakens the hands 
 of the men of war who are left in this city, and the hands of all 
 the people, by addressing to them such words ; for this man 
 seeks not the weal of this nation, but its harm. 5. Then 
 said king Zedekiah : Behold, he is in your hand, for the king 
 verily can do nothing beside you. 6. Then they took 
 Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the 
 king's son, which is in the court of the guard, and let 
 
 Chapter XXXVIII. 
 
 Ver. 1. Here four princes specially hostile to Jeremiah are 
 mentioned (xxxvii. 15). Among them Jucal occurs, xxxvii. 3, 
 Pashhur, son of Malchiah, xxi. 1. The words which he spoke 
 (partic.) again and again to all the people with whom he came in 
 contact. In the guard-court he was not cut oft' from intercourse; 
 and what he said there to individuals became known, of course, 
 to every one. Ver. 2 as in xxi. 9. Ver. 3. Cf. xxxvii. 17 et al. 
 Ver. 4. riK nov, see on xxxv. 14. — p by '3, see on xxix. 28. nshd 
 with K as often instead of nsriD, he makes slack the hands of 
 the warriors, who, moreover, are not numerous; deprives them of 
 courage and energy. — b D"6tj6 tm, to seek any one's peace, to 
 seek his good. Ver. 5. For the king is not one able to do any- 
 thing beside you. Dans for 0?m. In these words Zedekiah 
 shows his fear of the importunity of the princes. Ver. 6. 
 13^1, scriptio def. in Hipb.il, as occasionally. — The cistern of 
 
282 JEEEMIAH XXXVIII. 7-11. 
 
 Jeremiah down by ropes ; and there was no water in the pit 
 but mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud. 
 
 7. Then Ebed-melech the Cushite, a eunuch who was in 
 the king's house, heard that they had cast Jeremiah into the 
 pit, whilst the king sat in the Benjamin-gate. 8. And 
 Ebed-melech went forth from the king's house and spoke to 
 the king, saying : 9. My lord and king, these men have done 
 evil in all which they did to Jeremiah the prophet, whom 
 they cast into the pit, so that he is dying in the place of 
 hunger; for bread is exhausted in the city. 10. And the 
 king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, saying: Take 
 hence with thee three* men, and bring up the prophet 
 Jeremiah from the pit before he die. 11. Then Ebed-melech 
 took men with him and went into the king's house to the 
 room under the treasury, and took thence torn clouts and 
 
 Malchiali, article in the construct state, not altogether rare 
 before proper name, Ges. § 110. 26; Eng. § 108. — The king's 
 son, see on xxxvi. 26. Ver. 7. Bbed - melech, an Ethiopian 
 stranger, attendant of the king, as his name states, and a 
 eunuch, as dhd e>*k (elsewhere merely D^D, see on xxix. 2) 
 indicates. Lev. xxii. 24 and Deut. xxiii. 2 raise no difficulty in 
 the case of a slave come from abroad. In a court so thoroughly 
 worldly, where a great harem existed (ver. 22), heathenism 
 would be imitated in this respect also. — Kirn descriptive clause, 
 indicating that he was in the royal castle while the king was 
 absent. The princes no doubt waited till the vacillating king 
 was absent to carry out their violent measures. He sat in the 
 gate of Benjamin (xxxvii. 13), an important post of observation. 
 Ver. 9. no'l, not : and he would have died (even without this) 
 of hunger, which would have considerably palliated the crime, 
 but as a certain effect of the act ; so that he must die when 
 the supply of bread fails, because he cannot move from the 
 place and go after means of subsistence, which will not be 
 brought to him in the general scarcity. It is, of course, implied 
 that the means of living are not quite wanting, although the 
 bread is exhausted (xxxvii. 21). As to the form, cf. Gen. 
 xliv. 5. Ver. 10. Instead of wvhv read ne^B* or twhv, as in 
 2 Sam. xxiii. 13. The king had no superfluous men, and the 
 plural Q'E'JN also shows that originally the reading was different, 
 Ges. § 120 ; Eng. § 118 (Hitzig, Ewald, Graf). Ver. 11. D"ta 
 and Dwba (ver. 12), old clothes or rags, from r6a, to be worn 
 away. nuriD, better Keri without the article, which may have 
 
JEREMIAH XXXVIII. 12-20. 283 
 
 rotten rags, and he let them down by cords to Jeremiah in 
 the pit. 12. Then said Ebed-melech the Cushite to 
 Jeremiah : Put, I pray thee, the torn and rotten rags under 
 both thy shoulders under the cord ; then Jeremiah did so. 
 13. And they drew Jeremiah up by the cords out of the pit, 
 and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. 
 
 14. And king Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah to 
 the third entrance which is in Yahveh's house. And the 
 king said to Jeremiah : I would ask thee about a matter ; 
 conceal nothing from me. 15. Then said Jeremiah to 
 Zedekiah : If I tell thee, wilt thou not surely kill me ? And 
 if I counsel thee, thou wilt not listen to me. 16. Then king 
 Zedekiah secretly swore to Jeremiah, and said : As truly as 
 Yahveh lives, who has made us this soul, I will not kill thee 
 nor give thee into the hand of the men who watch for thy 
 life. 17. Then said Jeremiah to Zedekiah: Thus says 
 Yahveh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel : If thou certainly 
 goest forth to the princes of the king of Babylon, thy soul 
 shall live, and this city shall not be burnt with fire, and thou 
 shalt remain alive along with thy house. 18. But if thou 
 goest not forth to the princes of the king of Babylon, this 
 city shall be delivered into the hand of the Chaldaians, and 
 they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape from 
 their hand. 1 9. Then said king Zedekiah to Jeremiah : I 
 am afraid of the Jews, who have fallen away to the Chaldseans ; 
 I should perchance be delivered into their hands, and they 
 would make a mock of me. 20. Then said Jeremiah : Thou. 
 
 arisen from the next verse, torn rags. — DTPD (from l"OD, to rub), 
 cast-off clouts. He carefully gets this old stuff, because it will 
 form a soft covering for the cords, that the latter may not cut. 
 Ver. 12. b^H, properly, joining, joint ; but here at all events 
 neither knuckle nor elbow, but shoulders, so that D V T I in the 
 wider sense stands for the whole arm. Ver. 14. To the third 
 entrance (art. only with the adj., Ges. § 111. 2a ; Eng. § 109), 
 which is in the temple — a quite unknown locality. I would 
 ask thee about a matter (=a divine revelation, cf. xxxvii. 17). 
 Ver. 17 f. The same counsel as from the first, cf. xxi. 8 f. ; 
 but here given to the king specifically as in xxxiv. 1-7, and 
 put according to the consequences to him of compliance or 
 neglect. Ver. 19. b>N bs:, see on xxi. 9. Ver. 21. [ND, verbal 
 
284 JEREMIAH XXXVIII. 21-25. 
 
 shalt not be delivered up. Hearken now to Yahveh's voice 
 concerning that which I say to thee, that it may be well with 
 thee, and thy soul may live. 21. But if thou refuse to go 
 forth, this is the word which Yahveh showed me : 22. Behold, 
 all the women, who are left in the house of the king of Judah, 
 shall be led forth to the princes of the king of Babylon, and 
 these women shall say : " The men of thy friendship have 
 misled thee and overpowered thee. When thy feet remain 
 fast in the mire, they go away backward." 23. And all thy 
 wives and thy children shall be led forth to the Chaldaeans, 
 and thou shalt not be saved from their hand, but shalt be 
 seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and thou shalt 
 burn this city with fire. 24. Then said Zedekiah to Jere- 
 miah : " Let no one know about these matters, lest thou die. 
 25. And if the princes shall hear that I have spoken with 
 thee, and they come to thee and say to thee : Tell us now 
 what thou saidst to the king, conceal it not from us, and we 
 
 adjective. The word which Yahveh showed me. nsi used of 
 the prophetic reception, whose import as a word uttered by the 
 Lord may be described as something seen, Ezek. xi. 25. 
 Ver. 22. All the women left in the house of the king of 
 Judah (not " will be left ") intimates that the harem had been 
 already reduced by the difficulty of the times and the different 
 conquests of the capital. Nagelsbach identifies these left, in 
 contrast with Tt?J, with those inherited from former kings ; 
 but in any case the latter are included under the former 
 phrase. The satirical song derides the king as one betrayed 
 and brought to ruin by his own friends, and is borrowed pretty 
 literally from Obad. 7. In point of fact, the friends and allies 
 mentioned in xxvii. 3, especially the Edomites, showed malig- 
 nant joy at the fall of Jerusalem, and contributed to its humilia- 
 tion and ill-usage. Cf. xx. 10 with "\dy^ wot. The conclu- 
 sion of the verse may have sprung from a satirical song or 
 current proverb referring to faithless friends. When the one 
 tempted to go first sank in the mire (f3 here only ; cf. HV3), 
 they faithlessly drew back instead of helping him. — To take 
 "l^n (for T^n) as subject to the second verb (Nagelsbach) is out 
 of place. One who sinks in the mire cannot go back. Ver. 23. 
 Accusative as often with passive, which here changes into the 
 participle, because the influence of ver. 22 is still felt. Cf. 
 xxxiv. 2. Thou wilt be seized by his hand, or in his hand. 
 Thou wilt burn, i.e. cause it to be burnt by thy sin. LXX, 
 
JEREMIAH XXXVIII. 2C— 28. 285 
 
 will not kill thee ; and what has the king said to thee ? 26. 
 then thou shalt say to them : I caused my supplication to 
 fall before the king's face not to put me again into the house 
 of Jonathan, lest I die there." 27. Then came all the 
 princes to Jeremiah and questioned him : and he answered 
 them exactly according to these words which the king 
 commanded him ; then they left him alone ; for the matter 
 was not spread abroad. 28. And Jeremiah dwelt in the 
 court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken. 
 
 Syriac, Chaldee, Hitzig, Ewald, Graf read tpfrfi ; easier, but 
 scarcely correct. Ver. 26. I caused my supplication to fall. 
 = prayed most humbly, see on xxxvi. 7. Jeremiah really 
 addressed the request to the king previously, xxxvii. 20. 
 Ver. 28& belongs to ch. xxxix. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xxxviii. New attack on the prophet's life, 
 and its defeat, a. Jeremiah in the hands of the hostile Princes, 
 vv. 1-6; o. His deliverance by Ebed-melech, vv. 7-13; c. 
 Secret Interview with Zedekiah, vv. 14-28. 
 
 Although Jeremiah had once, according to ch. xxxvii., 
 escaped the wrath of the princes, the king making his 
 imprisonment milder, they still remained his deadly enemies. 
 They did not without reason reproach him with depriving the 
 people of spirit and strength to resist by constantly insisting 
 on the uselessness of resistance, and openly counselling passing 
 over to the enemy's camp (cf. xxi. 8 ff.). From the ordinary 
 civil and military standpoint they were in the right, as even 
 modern historians are unable to do the prophet justice in this 
 respect (cf. Maspero, Qeseh. d. Morgenl. VolJcer im Alter, p. 
 495 f.). But it is otherwise when the nature of prophetic 
 revelation is taken into serious account. When revelation 
 set before Jeremiah the irrevocable fate of rebellious Jeru- 
 salem, compelling him also to impress it on his people, he was 
 in the power of a higher lord, and could not remain silent for 
 the sake of momentary outward " unity," but was obliged to 
 
286 JEEEMIAH XXXVIII. 
 
 dissuade from useless courses, although he thereby put his 
 life in the balance, and in addition to inner conflicts exposed 
 himself to endless outward suffering. When attention was 
 called to the demoralizing influence which the words of the 
 imprisoned prophet might exercise from the court of the 
 guard, the princes urged the king to adjudge him worthy of 
 death as a traitor. The weak king did not wish to do this, 
 hut had not the courage to defend the man of God, and gave 
 them full authority to do as they pleased, while himself dis- 
 claiming all responsibility. Even the princes did not wish 
 apparently to stain themselves with the blood of the hated 
 yet dreaded prophet ; they reduced him to impotence all the 
 more cruelly by letting him down into a half-empty, deep 
 cistern, in the mud of which he sank. Thus a lingering death 
 by starvation in a dreadful dungeon seemed to hang over 
 him. 
 
 But God touched the heart of a man from whom the great 
 prophet's deliverance was least to he expected. It was a dark 
 foreigner, Ebed-melech by name, a lower official of the royal 
 court, probably of the harem, who, without doubt more deeply 
 affected by the prophet's teaching than the Israelites, believ- 
 ingly took heart (xxxix. 18) to carry tidings to the king, 
 who was then occupied without at the city wall, of what had 
 taken place in his absence, and to make representations about 
 it. He easily succeeded in turning the fickle king round ; 
 and with the help of some soldiers, whom the king placed at 
 his disposal, he drew Jeremiah up from his horrible prison, 
 carrying all this out with loving care, as told in ver. 1 1 f. 
 What reward the active Moor received for this is related in 
 xxxix. 15—18. 
 
 This incident is followed by a secret interview which the 
 king arranged with Jeremiah. One sees how in the breast of 
 this unhappy prince a right sense of certainty and confidence 
 in the prophet's words was always struggling with deeply- 
 rooted unbelief and disobedience, without permanently gaining 
 
JEREMIAH xxxvur. 287 
 
 the mastery, and without acquiring decisive influence over his 
 resolution. Jeremiah now reminded the king, before giving 
 him the desired prophetic information, how little right one, 
 who had never followed the divine directions, but had rewarded 
 candour with ill-usage, had to demand further information 
 (ver. 15). On the king's assurance upon oath that he would 
 not deliver him again to his enemies, he repeated what he had 
 often described as the fate of the city, this time with urgent 
 personal advice to the king to surrender himself, because he 
 might still find favour, but in the opposite case would cause the 
 destruction of the city (vv. 18, 23). It was not courage but 
 cowardice which kept the king back from obeying the divine 
 word. He confessed that nothing but fear of the derision of 
 his own subjects who had gone over to the enemy's camp 
 deterred him from following their example. The prophet 
 assured him that he would not be given up to the wrath of 
 those men, among whom many opponents of the Icing were 
 perhaps found; on the other hand, greater disgrace awaited 
 him if he resisted longer ; in that case the women of his own 
 harem would sing satirical songs about him as a fool betrayed 
 by his friends, and he would have the destruction of the city 
 on his conscience. The king gave no reply. He felt without 
 doubt that Jeremiah spoke the truth, but could not bring 
 himself to obey his counsel. He satisfied himself with 
 enjoining on the prophet strict silence respecting the inter- 
 view with him, that he might be able to keep his oath 
 (ver. 16). If the artful princes inquired, he was to put them 
 off with saying that the prophet's own fate had been talked 
 of, as was the case at a former conference (xxxvii. 20), 
 and to some extent at the present one. Thus the prophet 
 remained, without further molestation, in the guard-court of 
 the royal castle till the capture of the city. 
 
288 JEREMIAH XXXVIII. 28-XXXIX. 3. 
 
 III. JEREMIAH AT THE FALL OF JERUSALEM, CH. XXXIX. 
 
 XXXVIII. 286. And it came to pass, as soon as Jerusalem 
 was taken — [xxxix. 1, in the ninth year of Zedekiah, king of 
 Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, 
 came with his whole army to Jerusalem and besieged it ; 2. in 
 the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the 
 ninth of the month, the city was broken into.] — 3. that all 
 the princes of the king of Babylon came and sat down in the 
 middle gate : Nergal-Sharezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsechim the 
 chief of the eunuchs, Nergal-Sharezer the chief of the magi, 
 
 Chapter XXXIX. 
 
 Ver. 1 f. Interpolation respecting the siege and its duration, 
 interrupting the narrative. Appendix to xxxviii. 285 follows 
 in ver. 3 ; cf. on the construction, xxxvii. 11. The interpo- 
 lation seems taken from lii. 4 ff., or rather from its source. 
 Ver. 2. nypan, cf. Niphal, lii. 7, broken into, opened violently 
 by the enemy. Ver. 3. Nebuchadnezzar himself, according to 
 ver. 1 (and lii. 4 ; 2 Kings xxv. 1), had presumably opened the 
 siege, but left its prosecution to his generals ; so that he was 
 not present at the capture, but was at Eiblah (ver. 5 f.). His 
 nobles sat to decide on the fate of the city and inhabitants in 
 the gate of the midst, leading probably from the " middle city " 
 (2 Kings xx. 4) to the northern suburb, belonging therefore to 
 the old city-wall, and suitable as a central spot for such an act. 
 The princes here formed themselves into a supreme tribunal. 
 The reference evidently is not to a single sitting, but to a 
 tribunal at work a longer time in the conquered city. Here 
 only four such princes are named, not in ch. lii. and 2 Kings 
 xxv., with genuine Babylonian names, respecting which see 
 Schrader, ii. 109. The first in the inscriptions, Nirgal-sar-usur 
 = Nirgal guard the king ; the second, Samgar-nebu, according 
 to Schrader, "Nebu, be gracious," shafel from magar, to be 
 weighed; the third, Sarsechim, obscure in its second part; 
 the fourth, like the first. Hitzig ingeniously but somewhat 
 arbitrarily reduces these four to three persons, and also makes 
 the Nebushasban of ver. 13 one of the three. What ver. 13 
 suggests in the way of probable conjecture, see there. Two of 
 those named have official titles: the prince of the eunuchs, 
 who formed a numerous class, with many offices, among the 
 Assyrians and Babylonians ; and the chief of the magi, inter- 
 preters of stars and dreams, who played so great a part there. 
 
JEREMIAH XXXIX, 4-3. 289 
 
 and all the other princes of the king of Babylon. [4. Then it 
 came to pass, when Zedekiah, king of Judah, and all the men 
 of war saw them, they fled, and broke out of the city by night 
 by the way of the king's garden by the gate between the 
 walls ; and he went forth to the plain. 5. Then the Chaldaean 
 troops pursued them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of 
 Jericho, and took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar, 
 king of Babylon, to Biblah in the land of Hamath ; and he 
 pronounced judgment on him there. 6. And the king of 
 Babylon slew the children of Zedekiah at Biblah before his 
 eyes, and the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah. 
 7. But he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and had him bound 
 with two iron chains to take him to Babylon. 8. But the 
 house of the king and the house of the common man the 
 Chaldaeans burnt with fire, and the walls of Jerusalem they 
 broke down. 9. But Nebuzaradan, the chief of the guards, 
 took the remainder of the people, those left in the city and 
 the deserters who had gone over to him, and the remainder of 
 
 What questions are raised by the use of these designations, see 
 Schrader, ii. 110. Probably the Babylonian word imga, lofty, 
 a learned title, is to be distinguished from the Iranian magus 
 (Lenormant, Magie der Chald. p. 554), unless the latter and 
 Magisrn are to be derived from Babylon. With the combina- 
 tion, cf. Bab-shak, chief of the staff. Ver. 4. The occasion of 
 the king's flight is more naturally told in lii. 7. As what 
 follows is closely allied to the text there, we may suppose that 
 vv. 4—10 spring thence, or rather are borrowed from the same 
 source as ch. Hi. The interpolator has understood ver. 3 of 
 breaking into the city instead of the subsequent arranging and 
 deciding, and hence has inserted here the account of the luck- 
 less flight of the king and the burning of the city. See on 
 lii. 7 ff. Ver. 11 continues the narrative of Jeremiah's fate, 
 interrupted by the interpolation. Nebuzaradan, properly Nabu- 
 zir-iddina = Nebo grant posterity (Schrader, ii. 51), came, accord- 
 ing to lii. 12, four weeks after the capture of the city. The 
 present passage does not contradict this, directly we suppose 
 that those princes waited for the final commands of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, which this " chief of the guards " had to bring. Among 
 these commands was an order favourable to Jeremiah, which 
 cannot surprise us when we consider that the deserters, who 
 forsook the city chiefly at Jeremiah's advice, may long before 
 have brought news of the prophet to the commander, who had 
 
 T 
 
290 JEREMIAH XXXIX. 10-16. 
 
 the people, the survivors, captive to Babylon. 10. But 
 Nebuzaradan left some of the nation, the poor people, which 
 possessed nothing, that were in the land of Judah, and gave 
 them vineyards and fields on that day.] 11. And Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, king of Babylon, had given command by means of 
 Nebuzaradan, chief of the guard, respecting Jeremiah, saying : 
 
 12. Take him and show attention to him, and do him no 
 harm ; but do thou deal with him as he shall say to thee. 
 
 13. Then Nebuzaradan, chief of the guard, and Nebushasban, 
 chief of the eunuchs, and Nergal-Sharezer, the chief of the 
 magi, and all the nobles of the king of Babylon, sent, 14. and 
 they brought Jeremiah from the guard-court, and delivered 
 him to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take 
 him home ; and he dwelt among the people. 
 
 15. And the word of Yahveh came to Jeremiah, when he 
 was imprisoned in the guard court, saying : 1 6. Go and speak 
 to Ebed-melech the Cushite, saying : Thus says Yahveh of 
 
 had much trouble with Jerusalem, and would be glad to hear 
 the news. Ver. 11. T3, by means of Nebuzaradan this com- 
 mand of the king came to the princes. But since Nebuzaradan 
 is the chief actor, the command is addressed directly to him. 
 Ver. 12. jn, with dagesh conjunct., as Mas. expressly notes, 
 Ges. § 20. 2a. Keri would omit DX, but without reason. The 
 style in this command as to treatment is diffuse, not with- 
 out purpose. Ver. 13. Nebushasban, preserved in the original 
 tongue : Nabu-si-zib-an-ni, " Nebo delivers me " (Schrader, 
 ii. 115), is here head of the eunuchs ; since in ver. 3 another 
 appears with this title, there is perhaps a corruption of the 
 text there, the 1JDD there being a no longer recognisable official 
 title distinguishing the first Nergal-Sh. from the second, while 
 pis' should be read instead of D'ODie*. Nebuzaradan now 
 standing at the head is natural. Ver. 14. Jeremiah being 
 still found in the guard-court, four weeks after the fall of the 
 city, is not precluded by xxxviii. 28. Gedaliah, the new 
 governor, see xl. 6 ff. mn ba — variously explained — applies to 
 a private house in contrast with the prison. The reconciliation 
 of this account with xl. 1 ff. is difficult. The LXX not only 
 omit vv. 4-10 (perhaps as parallel to ch. lii.), but also vv. 11-13. 
 But even then must we suppose, because of ver. 14, that a new 
 imprisonment, arising from a mistake, had occurred after his 
 first release ? Ver. 15 ff. Appendix to Jeremiah's abode in the 
 prison-court. Ver. 16. "OD, see on xix. 15. Ver. 17. "iu<, see 
 
JEREMIAH XXXIX. 17, 18. 291 
 
 hosts, the God of Israel : Behold, I bring my words upon this 
 city for evil and not for good ; and they shall be fulfilled 
 before thy eyes on that day. 17. But I will deliver thee on 
 that day, is Yahveh's oracle ; and thou shalt not be given up 
 into the hand of the people, of whom thou art afraid; 18. but 
 I will cause thee to escape in safety, and thou shalt not fall 
 by the sword, and thou shalt have thy soul for a prey, because 
 thou trustedst in me, is Yahveh's oracle. 
 
 on xxii. 25. The people of whom thou art afraid, i.e. dreaded 
 foes. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents : a. Jeremiah's Belease from the guard - court, 
 xxxviii. 28-xxxix. 14 ; b. Promise to Ebed-melech, vv. 15-18. 
 
 If we separate from this chapter the interpolations (xxxix. 
 1, 2, 4—10), easily recognised and borrowed from ch. Hi. or 
 the source underlying it, there remains a continuation of the 
 narrative of Jeremiah's fortunes on the capture of the city, and 
 an oracle to Ebed-melech given afterwards. The Babylonian 
 princes, who held rule in conquered Jerusalem, received 
 through Nebuzaradan, chief of the royal body-guard, a com- 
 mand from Nebuchadnezzar, whose attention had long been 
 directed to the prophet and his important work, to treat 
 Jeremiah with regard, and allow him to take his own course. 
 Thus he was released from the guard-court and placed at his 
 desire under the oversight of the new governor Gedaliah. 
 Since, however, we find him in xl. 1 a captive on the road to 
 Babylon, and he there first receives his freedom from the lips 
 of Nebuzaradan, we must suppose, unless the two narra- 
 tives are pronounced contradictory, that Jeremiah used his 
 freedom in comforting and exhorting his unhappy captive 
 countrymen, whereupon he himself was confounded with them; 
 a lot which he would scarcely have suffered in the house 
 of Gedaliah. Thus he was included among those carried 
 away until he came to the station, where Nebuzaradan, to 
 whom Jeremiah perhaps appealed, inspected the caravan, and 
 
292 JEEEMIAH XXXIX. 
 
 finally set him at liberty. Ch. xxxix. merely relates how he 
 was set free from the guard-court, ch. xl. how he was spared 
 the march into exile. The link between the two accounts is 
 wanting. 
 
 Vv. 15—18 tell the reward given to the self-sacrificing 
 Ebed-melech for his kindly act (xxxviii. 7 ff.), which was 
 really an act of faith (ver. 18), — given first by the prophet's 
 lips, and next without doubt in reality. This oracle is only 
 now related, although given, of course, before the fall of Jeru- 
 salem, in order that the account of Jeremiah's own fortunes 
 may proceed without interruption. 
 
SECTION XXVII. 
 
 Warning against Settling in Egypt, Chs. xl. 1-xliii. 7. 
 
 XL. 1. The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahveh, 
 after Nebuzaradan, the chief of the guards, had dismissed him 
 from Eamah, when he took him, being bound with chains, 
 among the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were carried 
 away to Babylon. 2. And the chief of the guard took 
 Jeremiah, and said to him : Yahveh, thy God, has spoken this 
 evil against this place. 3. Then Yahveh brought to pass and 
 accomplished as he said, because you sinned against Yahveh 
 and hearkened not to his voice ; and so this word has come 
 upon you. 4. And now, behold, I this day release thee from 
 
 Chapter XL. 
 
 Ver. 1. Tlie word which came to Jeremiah. This heading 
 shows that the following narrative has only secondary import- 
 ance. The principal matter recorded is the divine revelation, 
 which follows first in xlii. 7 ff. But the heading not merely 
 refers to this oracle, but to the revelations which Jeremiah 
 received after his release. It thus resembles the one in i. 1-3, 
 but merely as an appendix; see on i. 1-3. According to 
 Delitzsch, Messianic Prophecies, 1880, p. 79, ch. xl. 1 refers to 
 the revelation now received at Eamah (cf. xxxi. 15), chs. xxx., 
 xxxi. Nebuzaradan, see on xxxix. 11. — Eamah, now Er-Bam, 
 two hours north of Jerusalem (see on xxxi. 15), was the first 
 station where the array of the prisoners was inspected by the 
 commander. mnp3 (cf. the same word, xxxvii. 17), taking him 
 out from among the captives, when he had observed him or heard 
 of his presence. — D , prt<=n , ij)r, chains, here manacles, according to 
 ver. 4, with « prefixed only in these passages. Ver. 2. Jeremiah, 
 b with accusative is usual in the Aramaic and Syriac, and 
 creeps into biblical Hebrew. — Against this place, see on vii. 3. 
 Ver. 3. And so it happened to you = this word came upon you. 
 The article before nan, required by Keri, is not altogether 
 necessary, Ges. § 111. 2a; Eng. § 108. Ver. 4. The perfect is 
 
 293 
 
294 JEREMIAH XL. 5-7. 
 
 the chains which are on thy hand ; if it seem good in thy 
 eyes to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will let mine eye 
 rest upon thee ; but if it please thee not to come with me to 
 Babylon, be it so; behold, the whole land is before thee; 
 where it seems good and right to thee to go, there go. 5. 
 And when he did not yet turn (he said) : Beturn to Gedaliah, 
 son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Baby- 
 lon set over the cities of Judah, and remain with him among 
 the people, or go wherever it seems right to thee to go. And 
 the chief of the guard gave him provision and a present, and 
 dismissed him. 6. Then came Jeremiah to Gedaliah, the son 
 of Ahikam, to Mizpah, and he dwelt with him among the 
 people left in the land. 
 
 7. And all the captains of troops who were in the field 
 heard, they with their men, that the king of Babylon had 
 appointed Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, over the land, and that 
 
 used in an act now going on, which is completed already in 
 thought : I release thee herewith. I will set my eyes on thee, 
 i.e. treat thee with goodwill and consideration, according to the 
 command xxxix. 12. — The whole land is before thee, to choose 
 a dwelling-place at pleasure. — aiB belongs to "p^JQ, ?N depends 
 on "j>. Ver. 5. The first words are difficult, the discourse being 
 interrupted. But the sense plainly is, that Jeremiah at first 
 showed no desire to forsake his captive countrymen until the 
 commander reminded him that a new government was estab- 
 lished in Juda?a in the person of Gedaliah, who was friendly to 
 him. This opened a better prospect for the nation and country, 
 and at the same time disclosed to the unselfish prophet a new 
 and fine sphere of duty. It does not necessarily follow that the 
 text is defective, iimx, ration, portion (cf. lii. 34), properly as 
 much as the traveller needs, which is here quite in place. The 
 present (rixco), properly load which one carries away, seems to 
 have been an additional gift intended to preserve the prophet, 
 who was now quite without means, from want for some time. 
 Ver. 6. Gedaliah had chosen Mizpah for his abode after the 
 destruction of the capital ; to-day Nebi Semwil, about two hours 
 north-west of Jerusalem, on a commanding hill not very far 
 south-west from Bamah. Ver. 7. The troop captains, lying 
 here and there in the land with scattered forces, now gradually 
 return. I^sn, the second time with ns (with) : had left in his 
 keeping, i.e. put under his care, committed to his charge. They 
 were especially defenceless people, women and children, whose 
 
JEREMIAH XL. 8-11. 295 
 
 he had assigned to him men, women, and children, and of the 
 poor of the land, of those who were not carried away to 
 Babylon. 8. And they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, and, 
 indeed, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan 
 the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, and the 
 sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of the 
 Maachathite, they and their men. 9. Then Gedaliah, the son 
 of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, 
 saying : Fear not to serve the Chaldseans ; remain in the land 
 and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. 
 10. And I myself, behold, I remain at Mizpah, to stand before 
 the Chaldaeans, who shall come to us. But do you gather 
 wine and fruit and oil, and put it in your stores, and dwell in 
 your cities, which you possess. 11. And also all the Jews 
 who were in Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, 
 and in all lands, heard that the king of Babylon had left 
 
 husbands and fathers had fallen in battle, or were with the 
 troops in the field, or had even been taken into captivity ; and 
 also poor people, whom the conquerors did not think it worth 
 the trouble to take to Babylon. And especially of the "poverty 
 (2 Kings xxv. 12) of the land = poor people. The )D indicates 
 the class to which those in question belong. Ver. 8. Enumera- 
 tion of these chief people : Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, according 
 to xli. 1 of royal race; Johanan and Jonathan, two sons of 
 Kareah, of whom the second is omitted in the fragmentary 
 narrative 2 Kings xxv. 23 ; Seraiah, son of Tanhumeth ; further, 
 the sons of Ophai (Kethib, LXX) or Ephai (Keri), of Netopha, 
 a town not far from Bethlehem in Judsea, Ezra ii. 22; Neh. 
 vii. 26; finally, Jezaniah (see the fuller form of the name, 
 2 Kings xxv. 23), son of the Maacathite ; the father accord- 
 ingly sprang from Maachah, a district which lay north of 
 the East-Jordan land, at the foot of Hermon ; cf. on xlii. 1. 
 Ver. 9. He sware to them that they had nothing to fear from 
 the Chaldasans. Ver. 10. To stand before the Chaidceans, i.e. to 
 represent the land in their presence. Gedaliah is certain that, 
 if he is surety for the obedience of the land, they will do it no 
 harm, so that the people may give themselves without fear 
 to getting their livelihood. — Of which you shall have taken 
 possession. Ver. 11. The tidings of the new settlement spread 
 far and wide, and attracted the Jews who had fled into neigh- 
 bouring countries. Such a fugitive, sojourning with the Am- 
 monites, was Ishmael ; the other captains came to Mizpah to 
 
296 JEREMIAH XL. 12-XLI. 1. 
 
 Judah a remnant, and had appointed Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, 
 the son of Shaphan, over them. 12. Then all the Jews 
 returned from all places whither they were scattered, and 
 came into the land of Judah to Gedaliah to Mizpah, and they 
 gathered wine and fruit in great abundance. 13. And 
 Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of troops 
 who were in the field, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, 14. and 
 said to him : " Knowest thou then, that Baalis, the king of 
 the Ammonites, has sent Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, to take 
 thy life?" But Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, believed them 
 not. 15. And Johanan, son of Kareah, spoke to Gedaliah 
 secretly at Mizpah, saying : " I will go now and slay Ishmael, 
 son of Nethaniah, without any one knowing it. Why should 
 he take thy life, and all the Jews who have assembled to thee 
 be scattered, and the remnant of Judah perish?" 16. Then 
 said Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Johanan the son of 
 Kareah : Carry not out this saying ; for thou speakest wrongly 
 against Ishmael. 
 
 XLI. 1. And it came to pass in the seventh month that 
 Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishamah, of the 
 royal race and of the king's nobles, came, and with him ten 
 men, to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah ; and they ate 
 
 give warning against him, ver. 13 f. Ver. 14. Ishmael, see on 
 ver. 8. As a scion of the royal house (xli. 1), and adherent of 
 the anti-Chaldaean party, he was full of jealousy and hatred of 
 Gedaliah. Ishmael then devoted himself to carrying out the 
 plot of the Ammonite king, who was bent on destroying the 
 " remnant of Judah " (ver. 15). If Gedaliah fell, the cruel 
 vengeance of the Chaldteans would certainly fall on Judah. — 
 "To smite thee in the soul" = to kill thee. Ver. 16. b>yn 
 (Kethib), not to be changed into Haw (Keri) ; cf. xxxix. 12. 
 
 Chapter XLI. 
 
 Yer. 1. In the seventh month, therefore only three months 
 after the capture of the city (xxxix. 2), two months after its 
 destruction and the institution of Gedaliah as governor (lii. 12). 
 Ishmael, see on xl. 8, 14. Elishamah may possibly be mentioned 
 as father of Nethaniah, and would then perhaps be identical 
 with the secretary named in xxxvi. 12, 20 f. ; more probably 
 he is the royal ancestor to whom the family traced back, called 
 
JEKEMIAH XLI. 2-5. 297 
 
 together there in Mizpah. 2. Then Ishmael, the son of 
 Nethaniah, arose with the ten men who were with him, and 
 they slew Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, 
 with the sword ; and he killed him whom the king of Babylon 
 had appointed over the land ; 3. and all the Jews who were 
 with him, with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldseans who 
 were there, the men of war, Ishmael slew. 4. And it came 
 to pass on the second day after the murder of Gedaliah, while 
 no one yet knew about it, 5. people came from Shechem, from 
 Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men, with shaven beard, and 
 rent clothes, and scars of grief, bearing meat-offerings and 
 
 son of David in 2 Sam. v. 16 ; 1 Chron. iii. 6, xiv. 7. T?»n mi 
 depends on p ; for there is no trace of nobles of any other clan, 
 who would here be scarcely intelligible after the massacre, 
 lii. 10, and the carrying away of all the great people ; his 
 following consisted rather only of ten men. Ver. 2. They 
 slew (plur.), and he killed. Among the accomplices who took 
 part in the combat, the real murderer, who had the courage 
 to slay the governor appointed by the Babylonian monarch, is 
 made conspicuous by the singular. Ver. 3. The Jewish and 
 Babylonian soldiers, doubtless not numerous, who formed 
 Gedaliah's body-guard, were cut down by the daring band, but 
 not the unarmed people (ver. 10) ; this does not preclude the 
 supposition that Ishmael spared such soldiers as surrendered to 
 him in order to strengthen his following. Ver. 4. Properly, on 
 the second day in regard to the massacre, i.e. reckoned from it. 
 Ishmael with his troops took care that nothing was known 
 outside the town. Ver. 5. The tabernacle-feast falling in this 
 month gave occasion for bringing such gifts to the temple ; this 
 was still done by those belonging to Ephraim (cf. 2 Chron. 
 xxxiv. 9 and xxx. 11), but took place now, after the fall of the 
 temple, in sorrowful garb instead of joyous procession. Grotius 
 reminds of Papinian, Instit. § de Serum Bivisione sacrar. : 
 Locus in quo sedes saerse sunt gedificatse etiam diruto sedificio 
 sacer adhuc manet. Eespecting the shaving of the hair and 
 cuttings in the skin, see on xvi. 6 ; here also the rending of 
 the garments is added as a common mourning custom (cf. 
 xxxvi. 24). Instead of Shiloh, LXX have Salem, which would 
 mean the one mentioned Gen. xxxiii. 18, near Shechem. Hitzig, 
 Graf prefer the latter, because it would seem strange for the 
 Shiloh lying considerably to the south between Shechem and 
 Samaria to be named. But, considering the slight critical 
 worth of the LXX, this is not decisive, since no geographical 
 
298 JEREMIAH XLI. 6-9. 
 
 incense, to bring them to the house of Yahveh. 6. Then 
 Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, went forth from Mizpah to 
 meet them, weeping as he went ; and it came to pass when 
 he met them, he said to them. : Come in to Gedaliah the son 
 of Ahikam. 7. And it came to pass when they were come 
 within the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them 
 (and cast them) into the well, he and the men who were with 
 him. 8. But there were ten men among them who said to 
 Ishmael : Kill us not ; for we have buried treasures in the 
 field, wheat and barley, and oil and honey ; then he left off 
 and killed them not among their brethren. 9. But the well 
 into which Ishmael cast all the corpses of the men whom he 
 
 sequence is necessary, in which case, moreover, one would 
 expect to see Samaria first ; but possibly the degree in which 
 these towns shared in the caravan decided the point; that 
 people dwelling near took part in the caravan, see on ver. 8. — 
 Meat-offerings and incense, see on xvii. 26. Sacrifices fell aside 
 of themselves by the destruction of the temple and altars. On 
 the other hand, incense was still burnt at the holy place. 
 Ver. 6. The words weeping always as he went = wept as he went, 
 the LXX, as well as Hitzig and Graf, refer wrongly to the 
 pilgrims. It is rather meant to illustrate Ishmael's base 
 treachery. Instead of the joyous cries with which the first 
 pilgrims were usually greeted, he approached them with 
 mourning, in harmony with their dress and the state of the 
 land and temple, in order to gain their confidence, as if he were 
 a pious, sympathetic friend of the temple. He invited them 
 to eat with Gedaliah, to greet the new governor, and be enter- 
 tained by him. Ver. 7. Inside the city, where escape was 
 impossible, Ishmael's associates having occupied the exits of 
 the narrow streets, they fell on the unarmed crowd and slew 
 them, after which they threw their corpses into the well ; the 
 phraseology is pregnant : they slew them into the well. Ver. 8. 
 CODED, properly, hiding-places, and here underground pits or 
 chambers in the field, where stores of corn, etc., were hidden in 
 times of uncertainty ; hence treasure-chambers, treasures gene- 
 rally. These stores could not have been far from Mizpah, since 
 Ishmael hoped to get hold of them. Thus the caravan did not 
 consist merely of people from the neighbourhood of Shechem. 
 Ver. 9. Ishmael's throwing the corpses into a cistern filled up 
 the measure of his infamy ; for the cistern was thus defiled and 
 rendered useless; his intention was to abandon Mizpah. It 
 was the famous cistern which King Asa had built as a defence 
 
JEREMIAH XLI. 10-15. 299 
 
 slew is the (great well*) which king Asa had made hecause 
 of Baasha, king of Israel ; Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, filled it 
 with the slain. 10. Then Ishmael took the entire remnant 
 of the people which was at Mizpah, the king's daughters and 
 the whole people who were left at Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan, 
 the chief of the guards, had bade remain with Gedaliah the 
 son of Ahikam, — these Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, took cap- 
 tive and prepared to go over to the Ammonites. 1 1. Then 
 Johanan, son of Kareah, and all the princes of the troops 
 who were with him, heard all the evil which Ishmael, son of 
 JSTethaniah, had done. 12. And they took all the men and 
 went to fight with Ishmael, son of Nethaniah. Then they 
 overtook him by the great waters which are at Gibeon. 
 
 13. And it came to pass as soon as all the people which 
 were with Ishmael saw Johanan, son of Kareah, and all the 
 captains of troops who were with him, they were glad. 
 
 14. And all the people whom Ishmael had led captive from 
 Mizpah turned about, and returned and ran to Johanan, son 
 of Kareah. 15. But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped 
 with eight men from Johanan and went to the Ammonites. 
 
 against the Israelitish King Baasha. 1 Kings xv. 22 relates 
 that he built Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah, i.e. completed 
 them as fortresses against the hostile kindred kingdom. Among 
 these defensive works, according to this passage, was the great 
 cistern here referred to. In case of siege, Mizpah especially 
 needed such provision because of its high position. — 'i T3 yields 
 no satisfactory meaning; for alongside or along with Gedaliah 
 does not answer to the meaning of T3 ; and " by means of 
 Gedaliah," i.e. enticing them under his name, is too artificial. 
 It is better to read with LXX (sin) i>na lis (Hitzig, Graf). 
 Ver. 10. Ishmael carried the people, described xl. 7, away from 
 Mizpah with violence like captives ; among these also were the 
 princesses, i.e. daughters of the royal house, who had not like 
 its male members been devoted to death or carried away. 
 Ver. 12. At Gibeon, now El-Jib, where there is still a great 
 rectangular reservoir, formerly fed by a neighbouring spring, 
 and called, 2 Sam. ii. 13, "pool," and here "great waters," the 
 hosts encountered each other. As the place lies but a little 
 north or north-east of Mizpah, Ishmael had only just begun 
 his march. He was going north-east towards Betin, then down 
 by the Jordan. Ver. 14. The people who were being led away 
 
300 JEREMIAH XLI. 16-XLII. 2. 
 
 16. Then Johanan, son of Kareah, and all the leaders of troops 
 who were with him, took the entire remnant of the people, 
 whom Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, had led captive from 
 Mizpah * after he had slain Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, men, 
 skilful men of war, and women and children, and court officials, 
 whom he had brought back from Gibeon. 17. And they 
 went and dwelt in the lodging-place of Chimham, which is 
 beside Bethlehem, to go to Egypt, 18. because of the Chal- 
 dasans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the 
 son of JSTethaniah had slain Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom 
 the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. 
 
 XLII. 1. And all the captains of troops, and Johanan son 
 of Kareab, and Jezaniah * son of Hoshaiah, and all the people 
 from the least to the greatest, came near, 2. and said to 
 Jeremiah the prophet : Let, we pray thee, our supplication 
 fall before thy face and make intercession for us to Yahveh 
 tby God, for this whole remnant, — for we are few of us left 
 
 captive fell off to the approaching commander, the compara- 
 tively few armed associates of Ishmael being insufficient to 
 restrain them. Ver. 16 is halting and obscure. Instead of the 
 first nxo aw, read simply na«', as in ver. 14, after Hitzig, 
 Graf, Nagelsbach. In this case Ishmael is here subject, as the 
 following nan also requires. Men and soldiers were no doubt 
 few among those carried off from Mizpah, but there were all 
 the more among the hosts which Johanan and the others com- 
 manded. Eunuchs were among them, because the remnant of 
 the harem was there. Ver. 17. The lodging -place of Chimham, 
 an unknown place, according to this passage near Bethlehem. 
 The name Dnpa occurs again only in 2 Sam. xix. 38 f. of the son 
 of the faithful Barzillai, whom David took to Jerusalem in 
 reward for the hospitality of his rich father. Kethib (Dnioa or 
 DniDS ?) is obscure. JiViJ also, which must mean lodging-place, 
 does not occur elsewhere. Josephus, Ant. x. 9. 5, read niVtia 
 (cf. Zeph. ii. 6) = in the folds, which is better recommended. 
 
 Chapter XLII. 
 
 Ver. 1. Jezaniah is called in xl. 8 son of the Maachathite, 
 which does not preclude his father's proper name being 
 Hoshaiah. Since, however, he is called Amria in xliii. 2, we 
 should with LXX read the same here. Ver. 2. bsn, see on 
 
JEEEMIAH XLII. 3-10. 301 
 
 of many, as thine eyes see us, — 3. and let Yahveh our God 
 show us the way wherein we should walk, and the thing 
 which we should do. 4. Then said Jeremiah to them : I 
 consent ; behold, I will pray for you to Yahveh your God, 
 according to your words, and it shall come to pass, every 
 word which Yahveh shall answer in regard to you I will 
 declare to you, I will keep back no word from you. 5. But 
 they said to Jeremiah : Let Yahveh be a true, unchangeable 
 witness against us if we do not act exactly according to the 
 word which Yahveh thy God shall send thee for us. 6. 
 Whether it be good or bad, we will hearken to the voice of 
 Yahveh our God, to whom we send thee, that it may be well 
 with us, because we obey the voice of Yahveh our God. 
 
 7. And it came to pass after the lapse of ten days the word 
 of Yahveh came to Jeremiah, 8. and he called Johanan, son 
 of Kareah, and all the captains of troops who were with him, 
 and the whole people from the least to the greatest, 9. and 
 said to them : Thus has Yahveh, the God of Israel, spoken, to 
 whom you sent me, to cause your supplication to fall before 
 his face. 10. If you settle quietly in this land, I will build 
 you up and not pull you down, and will plant you and not 
 pluck you up ; for I repent of the evil which I did you. 
 
 xxxvi. 7. The substance of the prayer which they request of 
 him, is that God will show them the right way, ver. 3. Ver. 4. 
 I have heard = am inclined to comply with your request. We 
 may infer from the next verse that Jeremiah added to Iris 
 promise the admonition that they should obey the divine will. 
 Ver. 6. 3l!3 Cix, sc. U^jn, in our eyes, whether agreeable to us or 
 not. The form ^N for urns, usual in post-biblical Hebrew, 
 occurs in the Bible here only; rejected by the Keri. Ver. 10. 
 316?, not from Die*, since the idea : if you return and settle, could 
 not be expressed simply by the infin. prefixed ; but infin. absol. 
 of 2W, and thus for the sake of uniformity abbreviated from 
 3iB\ Din, etc., see on i. 10. — Dm with b«, see on xxvi. 3. 
 Used here, not as there in reference to something just decided, 
 but something already accomplished. This strong anthropo- 
 pathism is common in the Old Testament to express a change 
 in the divine purpose. Not as if God could repent of anything 
 inconsiderate or unjust, as men do (Num. xxiii. 19); but his 
 decisions are modified according to the attitude of men, aud 
 are therefore made conditionally. In the present case God is 
 
302 JEREMIAH XLII. 11-19, 
 
 11. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are 
 afraid ; be not afraid of him, is Yahveh's oracle, for I am 
 with you to give you salvation and deliverance out of his 
 hand; 12. and I will inspire mercy for you, so that he will 
 have compassion on you and bring you back to your own 
 land. 13. But if you say: We will not remain in this land, 
 so that you obey not the voice of Yahveh your God, 14. say- 
 ing: Nay, but let us go into the land of Egypt, where we 
 shall see no war, and hear no sound of horns, and hunger not 
 for bread, and we will dwell there — 15. now then, hear there- 
 fore the word of Yahveh, ye remnant of Judah : thus says 
 Yahveh of hosts, the God of Israel : If you really set your 
 face toward Egypt, and go to sojourn there, 16. the sword of 
 which you are afraid shall overtake you there in the land of 
 Egypt, and the hunger of which you are afraid shall follow 
 at your heels there in Egypt, and you shall die there. 
 17. And all the men who set their face to Egypt, to sojourn 
 there, shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, 
 and shall have no one remaining and escaping from the 
 calamity which I bring upon them. 18. For thus says 
 Yahveh of hosts, the God of Israel : Like as my wrath and my 
 fury was poured out upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so 
 shall my wrath be poured out upon you if you go to Egypt, 
 and you shall be a curse, and a horror, and an imprecation, and 
 a reviling ; and you shall see this place no more. 1 9. Yahveh 
 
 ready to make good the evil done to the people ; not that He 
 has not acted justly, but His love which moves Him to bless, 
 and had been forced to give way to strict justice, now stirs 
 again, after justice is satisfied, and seeks to heal the wounds 
 inflicted, which, of course, it can only do if it find a people 
 inclined to obedience. Ver. 11. The style in this oracle is 
 thoroughly like Jeremiah, ver. 9 ff. Cf. here i. 8, 19, xv. 20. 
 Ver. 12. jru, here not to show, but create sympathy in another, 
 the Babylonian. Instead of rrern many needlessly ytrtm, he 
 will cause you to dwell. They have turned their back on their 
 native land. The Chaldsean will cause them to return thither 
 in peace. Ver. 16. nrvni, the introductory verb is here and in 
 ver. 17, by a sort of attraction, governed by the subj. of the 
 main sentence, instead of the usual nvn. Ver. 18. "\T\:, cf. vii. 20. 
 —You shall be for a curse, cf. xxiv. 9, xxv. 18, xxix. 18. 
 
JEREMIAH XLII. 20-XEHI. 2. 303 
 
 has said concerning you, ye remnant of Judah : Go not to 
 Egypt. Know certainly that I have this day testified to you. 
 20. For you have deceived yourselves in sending me to 
 Yahveh your God, saying : " Pray for us to Yahveh/our God ; 
 and according to all that Yahveh our God shall say, declare 
 to us, and we will do it." 21. And now I have declared to 
 you this day, but you have not obeyed the voice of Yahveh 
 your God in regard to all with which he sent me to you. 
 22. And now know certainly, that you shall die by the sword, 
 and famine, and pestilence in the place where you desire to 
 be strangers. 
 
 XLIII. 1. And it came to pass when Jeremiah had finished 
 saying to the people all the words of Yahveh their God, with 
 which Yahveh their God had sent him to them, (even) all 
 these words, 2. that Azariah son of Hoshaiah spake, and 
 Johanan son of Kareah, and all the presumptuous men, saying 
 to Jeremiah : Thou speakest falsehood, Yahveh our God has not 
 sent thee with the message : " You shall not go to Egypt to 
 
 Ver. 19. Tyn, properly to repeat, hence to testify repeatedly, 
 solemnly, emphatically. Ver. 20. DJVjmn of course to be read ; 
 a similar transposition in ii. 25. You have misled, deceived 
 your souls in procuring an oracle of the Lord and vowing 
 obedience to it beforehand, so that you will incur great guilt 
 and fall a prey to judgment unless you obey. The conclusion 
 of the discourse shows that Jeremiah is already aware that 
 they are in no mood to obey. The discourse is not to be 
 regarded as proceeding without interruption; ver. 21 plainly 
 implies that they have already declared themselves after receiv- 
 
 ing the oracle. 
 
 Chapter XLIII. 
 
 Ver. 1. All these words, i.e. those recorded in ch. xlii. Ver. 2. 
 Azariah (see on xlii. 1), who was perhaps already mentioned in 
 xlii. 1, here comes first, perhaps because he was the ringleader 
 against Jeremiah. All the presumptuous people, not the whole 
 people ; but the people who relied on their own strength and 
 insight, and were hostilely disposed to the prophetic message, 
 assented to the calumnious charges of their leaders. D'nDK, not 
 predicate of the last subject, but, because the distant limitation 
 " to Jeremiah " has still to follow, used as a resumption of "iDK'l 
 (Hitzig). They reproach Jeremiah as he often did the false 
 
304 JEREMIAH XLIII. 3-7. 
 
 sojourn there." 3. But Baruch, the son of Neriah, stirs thee up 
 against us, that he may deliver us into the hand of the Chal- 
 daeans to kill us and carry us captive to Babylon. 4. And 
 Johanan, son of Kareah, and all the captains of troops, and 
 the whole people, hearkened not to the voice of Yahveh to 
 remain in the land of Judah. 5. Then Johanan, son of 
 Kareah, and all the captains of troops, took the entire remnant 
 of Judah, which had returned from all the nations whither 
 they were scattered, to dwell in the land of Judah, 6. the 
 men, the women, and the children, and the king's daughters, 
 and all the souls whom Nebuzaradan, the chief of the guards, 
 had left with Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, 
 along with the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch the son of 
 Neriah, 7. and they came to the land of Egypt, for they 
 hearkened not to the voice of Yahveh, and came to Tahpanhes. 
 
 prophets; cf. xiv. 14 and often. Ver. 3. Why they credit 
 Baruch with stirring up Jeremiah to utter oracles to their hurt, 
 we do not know. But it seems as if, from a certain easily 
 understood shame, they would not load the sacred person 
 of Jeremiah with the worst reproach, and hence were glad to 
 find in the prophet's trusty companion a scapegoat on whom to 
 lay the heaviest blame. — IT'DH, cf. xxxviii. 22. Ver. 5 f. Of the 
 remnant of Judah the first mentioned are the fugitives named 
 in xl. 11 f., because these formed the principal and perhaps also 
 the most capable part of the caravan ; next they are described 
 by sex and age (ver. 6), and, since the enumeration has led 
 naturally to Gedaliah's colony, finally K'SJn ^2 of the colony is 
 included; and again Jeremiah and Baruch are referred to in 
 person. The language and context imply that these two, to 
 whom plainly the disobedience to God's word (ver. 7) could not 
 be imputed, only joined the march under compulsion. If the 
 leaders did not directly use violence, they plainly issued a 
 compulsory order. Ver. 7. Tahpanhes, see on ii. 16. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents. Warning against Settling in Egypt, xl. 1- 
 xliii. 7. a. Introduction, ch. xl. 1 : a. Eelease of the 
 Prophet, xl. 1-6; /3. Gedaliah, the Governor, vv. 7-12; 
 7. Murder of Gedaliah, xl. 13-xli. 3 ; S. Other murderous 
 
JEREMIAH XL. 1-XLIII. 7. 305 
 
 Deeds, xli. 4—9 ; e. Bescue of Ishinael's Prisoners, vv. 1 0-1 5 ; 
 £. Purpose to go to Egypt, vv. 1 6-1 8. b. The Warning, xlii., 
 xliii. 1-7: a. Inquiry through the Prophet, xlii. 1—6; 
 /3. Dissuasive Eeply, vv. 7—22 ; 7. Disobedience of the 
 People, xliii. 1—7. 
 
 a. Chs. xl., xli. As the heading xl. 1 indicates, the 
 author's purpose is to report further oracles uttered by 
 Jeremiah. But meanwhile the situation has so completely 
 changed, that, in order to the understanding of the further 
 oracles, he has not merely to sketch, as hitherto, the occur- 
 rences directly relating to Jeremiah's person, but also the 
 events befalling the remnant of the people. How came 
 Jeremiah to warn against going down to Egypt, and then at 
 once unwillingly to take part in it ? In order to trace the 
 connection, the composer of the book, probably Baruch, who 
 here, everywhere perhaps, not merely writes after dictation, 
 but also freely adds historical details, has first to relate 
 Gedaliah's murder, which put a sudden end to the revival of 
 a modest Jewish community in Canaan; and he does this 
 more at large than is done in the parallel account, 2 Kings 
 xxv. 22 ff. 
 
 Eespecting the relation of xl. 1 ff. to xxxix. 11 ff., see 
 p. 291. Nebuzaradan, who had been enjoined by the king 
 to treat the prophet Jeremiah considerately (xxxix. 11 f.), 
 observed the prophet when he reviewed the line of captives 
 on the march to Babylon at the first halting-place (Eamah). 
 He at once officially released him, at the same time rendering 
 full homage to the divine voice which had spoken to him 
 through the prophet, and had been gloriously justified by the 
 result, which homage is here reproduced in Jeremiah's style. 
 He leaves it to the prophet whether he will freely accompany 
 him to Babylon or take up his abode in some acceptable spot 
 in his own country. The prophet hesitated. As he had 
 hitherto remained faithfully at the centre of his land and 
 people, he asks himself whether that centre is not now to be 
 
 U 
 
306 JEEEMIAH XL. 1-XLIII. 7. 
 
 found in Babylon. But the mention of Gedaliah by the 
 Babylonian commander reminds him that a civil community 
 is about to arise again in his own land ; and he is in no 
 doubt that it is God's will that he should pursue his calling 
 there. Thus he came to Mizpah. 
 
 XL. 7-1 2. As matter of fact, Gedaliah showed himself the 
 man able, if any one was, in such confused and difficult cir- 
 cumstances, to gather together the remnant of the people, and 
 preserve the land from anarchy as well as from further ill- 
 usage by foreign conquerors or ill-disposed neighbours. As 
 he possessed the confidence of the Babylonians in a high 
 degree, so also his authority was acknowledged by the crowds 
 of Jewish soldiers who had escaped the enemy's army, and 
 were now returning, and by their leaders, so that the settle- 
 ment subject to Gedaliah no longer consisted as at first of 
 defenceless people. Such scattered ones returned also from 
 the neighbouring lands of the Moabites, Ammonites, etc., and 
 were advised by the wise Gedaliah, who was only too little 
 careful of his personal safety, calmly to settle down and 
 gather the fruits of the harvest, which would otherwise go 
 to ruin. 
 
 XL. 13-XLI. 3. It was a sad fate that this Gedaliah, the 
 last support to which the hopes of the poor Jews clung, was 
 to perish. This came about through an infamous plot against 
 his life set afoot by one of the captains who had fled to the 
 Ammonites, and settled in the court there. This Ishmael, 
 sprung from the Jewish royal family, was the agent therein 
 at the instance of the king of the Ammonites (xl. 14), who 
 hoped in this way to strike a deadly blow at the Jews, who 
 were always hateful to the Ammonites, and perhaps to obtain 
 a portion of their territory. Ishmael himself was easily 
 stirred up to such a crime, filled as he was with jealousy 
 and hate of Gedaliah, who had been put in his position by 
 the enemies of the land, — altogether a common, coarse, cruel 
 character. In vain his companions, who knew him well 
 
JEREMIAH XL. 1-XLIII. 7. 307 
 
 warned the simple governor, who in his nohle magnanimity 
 could not believe in such wickedness. While entertaining 
 the conspirator with ten companions at his table, he was cut 
 down along with his few Chaldaean and Jewish guards, — an 
 event for which the Jews even after the exile continued to 
 express their sorrow by fasting in the seventh month, as they 
 fasted in the fifth for the destruction of Jerusalem (Zech. 
 vii. 5, viii. 19). 
 
 XLI. 4-9. How base and unprincipled the murderer was, 
 was proved the day after by a new massacre perpetrated on 
 eighty unarmed pilgrims who were passing by Mizpah to the 
 holy place at Jerusalem, bringing presents according to the 
 custom of the feast of Tabernacles. They went along in 
 deep sorrow for the fall of Jerusalem and the overthrow of 
 the temple, instead of with songs of praise. Although 
 dwelling in the kingdom of Ephraim, they were faithful to 
 the holy place. Ishmael ran to meet them a great distance, 
 simulating deep sympathy with their grief, and invited 
 them to stay with Gedaliah, the new ruler of the land. 
 Scarcely, however, had they come within the city, than they 
 found themselves surrounded by a band of murderers. They 
 were slain ; and their corpses defiled the great costly cistern 
 at Mizpah, into which the murderer cast them. The motive 
 for this villainous attack could not be desire to revenge the 
 sanguinary doom inflicted on the royal family by the Baby- 
 lonian conqueror (Hi. 10), or still less fanatical aversion to 
 the Ephraimites or Samaritans ; but, as Nagelsbach rightly 
 thinks, common avarice and thirst for booty which he wished 
 to satisfy before vacating the country. This is clear from 
 his sparing the few who could yield him no further gain 
 (xli. 8). The violent removal of all the inhabitants of the 
 city, especially of the relics of the royal harem, also had to 
 do with his sordid passion for gain. 
 
 XLI. 10-15. It is evident that Ishmael after his shameful 
 conduct must have contemplated speedy departure in order 
 
308 JEREMIAH XL. 1-XLIII. 7. 
 
 to escape revenge on the part of the other Jews, and, later, 
 of the Chaldseans. But as he had to take with him a large 
 and cumbersome train, his march was delayed so long, that 
 not far from Mizpah, in the neighbourhood of Gideon, he 
 was overtaken by troops who had hastened in crowds on the 
 terrible news. His unwilling following at once joined the 
 deliverers. Ishmael escaped with a few of his people to the 
 country of the Ammonites. 
 
 XLI. 16-18. Johanan, who figures, xl. 13 ff., at the head 
 of the commanders, now took over the chief command. Panic 
 had naturally taken hold of all. There was good reason 
 for fearing that the Chaldaeans would take terrible revenge 
 on those whom they might find in the land for the slaughter 
 of their representative and his garrison. So the wisest course 
 seemed to be to forsake the land entirely, and to flee to dis- 
 tant Egypt, outside the range of the Chaldeean power. They 
 accordingly journeyed southwards, and encamped a while near 
 Bethlehem. Their numbers grew there by additions from 
 different parts of the land. For the purpose was not merely 
 to secure the safety of individuals, but to transplant the 
 remnant of the Judsean race to Egypt. 
 
 b. Chs. xlii., xliii. 1—7. Having arrived at this decisive 
 epoch, the leaders wished to assure themselves of the divine 
 assent. They therefore inquired of Jeremiah the Lord's will. 
 The prophet here again appears in the camp at Bethlehem. 
 Had he been carried away by Ishmael, or was he absent from 
 Mizpah at the time of the attack, and had he just now again 
 joined the people ? The former view is- preferable according 
 to xl. 6, and in view of the minute account of these occur- 
 rences. This inquiry also shows how greatly the prophet's 
 influence had risen in consequence of what had taken place. 
 The heads of the community humbly begged Jeremiah, with 
 a solemn promise to obey the Lord's direction, to seek from 
 the Lord a declaration of His will, appealing to the prophet's 
 sympathy with the sadly shrunken nation (cf. xv. 11). Their 
 
JEREMIAH XL. 1-XLIII. 7. 309 
 
 promise was well meant ; but therein they deceived, not God 
 indeed, but themselves ; according to ver. 20, they were guilty 
 of treachery against their own souls, persuading themselves 
 that they were prepared to obey ; whereas they had not the 
 inner strength to forego the bias of their own heart and the 
 calculation of their own understanding, if God's word re- 
 quired this. They thus incurred the guilt of sinning against 
 God's express will, declared at their own wish, in the face 
 of their previous vow — an admonition to the most serious 
 self-examination, without which no one should venture to 
 inquire about the divine will. 
 
 XLII. 7—22. It was ten days before Jeremiah received 
 an answer from the Lord — a long time for the impatient, 
 trembling people, which the prophet had no power to abridge ; 
 they were to learn from this God's independence of human 
 calculations. And after ten days the answer came in very 
 definite terms, but in a sense the opposite of the general 
 expectation. They were to give up their intention to go to 
 Egypt, and to remain calmly and fearlessly in the land ; 
 their God would see after their preservation, vv. 10—12. If, 
 on the other hand, they wilfully insisted on their own plan, 
 the destruction which they thought to escape by flight would 
 overtake them in Egypt, ver. 1 3 ff. This promise of divine 
 protection is given with a certainty, such as was only possible 
 under present circumstances by actual divine inspiration 
 without blasphemous arrogance. The following threat also 
 is uttered with great emphasis, and detailed at length, be- 
 cause Jeremiah knew already to what their hearts leaned. 
 The conclusion (vv. 19-22) shows also that the hearers 
 had already in unmistakeable ways made known their resolve 
 to defy the Lord's message. Thus nothing remained to the 
 prophet but solemnly to testify that he had warned them. 
 
 XLIII. 1-7. In order to palliate their open rebellion 
 against God's message, the disputants now reproached Jeremiah 
 with having prophesied falsely, and listened to human sug- 
 
3lO JEREMIAH XL. 1-XLIII. 7. 
 
 gestions instead of to God's voice, — a convenient but foolish 
 and blasphemous pretext. It is evident that they would 
 gladly have had their own plan approved and hallowed by 
 divine authority, but were so little influenced by true fear 
 and faith, that they would rather reproach the confessedly 
 faithful prophet than bow to God's behest. Their attitude 
 of opposition to prophecy and its organ is analogous to that 
 of King Zedekiah. It is in keeping with their divided 
 feeling that they take the prophet with them against his 
 will. They had not the courage to condemn him as a false 
 prophet, especially as many in the crowd were convinced of 
 his divine mission. Still they were unwilling to part with 
 the unwelcome witness to their disobedience, since they felt 
 too much what a palladium they had in his person. They 
 take him with them to enhance the importance of the new 
 Egyptian colony. 
 
SECTION XXVIII. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar in Egypt, Ch. xlih. 8-13. 
 
 XLIII. 8. And the word of Yahveh came to Jeremiah at 
 Tahpanhes, as follows : 9. Take great stones in thy hand, and 
 hide them in the mortar in the stone-pavement which is at 
 the entrance of Pharaoh's house at Tahpanhes, before the eyes 
 of the men of Judah. 10. And say to them: Thus says 
 Yahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I bring 
 Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and he 
 shall set up his throne on these stones, which I have hidden, 
 and he shall spread his royal carpet thereon. 11. And he 
 shall come and smite the land of Egypt ; what is appointed 
 to death, to death, and what to captivity, to captivity, and 
 what to the sword, to the sword. 12. And I kindle fire in 
 the houses of the gods of Egypt ; and he shall burn them and 
 
 Chapter XLIII. 8-13. 
 
 Ver. 9. p?0, otherwise tiles, might here mean brick-kiln. 
 More probably, as in post-biblical Hebrew (see the Lexicons of 
 Buxtorf and Levi, and cf. the Arabic), it is the pavement made 
 of bricks, or the square set with them. The palace itself, or the 
 square in front of it, had perhaps just been under repair, so that 
 the addition of the stones was possible without notice. These 
 are not to be thought of as rising above the ground. The. 
 language seems even to imply that they were not observable 
 above the mortar. The meaning simply is (ver. 10), that 
 Pharaoh's throne will stand on this same place, so that these 
 stones will bear him. Ver. 10. Nebuchadnezzar, see on xxi. 2. 
 My servant, see on xxv. 9. Which I hid or buried, the Lord 
 Himself did it by His organ, the prophet. "WiB?>, Keri 
 "V}BB>, according to the etymon a splendid ornament; in the 
 context, a splendid carpet spread on the stones ; according to 
 others, a grand tent stretched out. Ver. 11. iixa, Kethib, he 
 comes into it. "With the form, cf. xv. 2. Ver. 12. The first 
 
 311 
 
312 JEREMIAH XLIII. 13. 
 
 carry them away, and wrap round (him) the land of Egypt 
 like as a shepherd wraps round (him) his cloak ; and he shall 
 depart in peace. 13. And he shall break in pieces the 
 obelisks of Beth Shemesh, which is in the land of Egypt, and 
 burn the houses of the gods of Egypt with fire. 
 
 person interchanges with the third ; God the Author with the 
 instrument. niD)>, envelope, the figure is plain ; the applica- 
 tion. : he will take possession of the land as easily and com- 
 pletely as a shepherd in rough weather puts on his large cloak 
 (LXX peculiarly understand picking off vermin). So invested 
 with the glory of the land, he will go away intact. Ver. 13. 
 Beth Shemesh (cf. on Isa. xix. 18), characterized as Egyptian 
 in distinction from the other one in Palestine, is On = Helio- 
 polis, the famous city in Lower Egypt noted for its sun-temple 
 and great obelisks in front of the temple. Among the obelisks, 
 denoted by the prophet by novo, were " the needles of Cleo- 
 patra," one of which is found at Alexandria, the other on the 
 Thames. In the place itself one ancient obelisk still stands 
 erect. The stately temples of Egypt generally will feel the 
 conqueror's wrath. 
 
 As concerns the fulfilment of this prediction of a conquest 
 and laying waste of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, spoken of also 
 by Ezekiel, modern historians and critics have for the most 
 part denied it ; but to witnesses of a doubtful kind (especially 
 Josephus, Antiq. x. 9. 7) monumental ones have recently been 
 added, which confirm such a campaign of the Babylonian 
 monarch : 1. an Egyptian inscription (in Lepsius, 2Eg. Zeitschr. 
 xvi. 1878, p. 2 ff.) of a high officer of Pharaoh Hophrah speaks 
 of an irruption of " Syrians, northern nations, Asiatics " into 
 Upper Egypt, where they penetrated to Syene (Elephantine), 
 damaged the temple of Hnum, but were prevented going beyond 
 the cataracts by Pharaoh. Since this is still future in Ezek. 
 xxix. 17 ff. (573-2), while Hophrah reigned until 572-1, this 
 irruption must have taken place about 572. It is therefore 
 perverse to deny a campaign of this kind because of the silence 
 of Herodotus and Diodorus, to whom the Egyptians perhaps 
 said nothing on the subject. 2. Still more direct, because 
 composed by Nebuchadnezzar himself, is a Babylonian inscrip- 
 tion (in Lepsius, Zeitschr. 1878, p. 87 ff. ; 1879, p. 45 ff), where 
 this ruler says that he came to Egypt in his thirty-seventh 
 year (568 ?), conquered the king (Ama)-su=Amasis and carried 
 off rich booty. This campaign seems to fall some years later. 
 Accordingly the Babylonians may even have made two 
 victorious campaigns in Egypt. 
 
JEKEMIAH XLIII. 8-13. 313 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents : First Oracle in Egypt. 
 
 This oracle was intended to bring home to those who 
 hoped in Egypt to escape the tumult and hardships of war 
 (xlii. 14), how grievously they were mistaken. Jeremiah 
 perhaps addressed it to them at the beginning of the period 
 when his companions had settled in Tahpanhes in Lower 
 Egypt, adding to it an exceedingly expressive symbolical 
 action. In the square in front of the entrance to the royal 
 palace, the prophet at God's bidding buried certain stones in 
 the mortar before witnesses whom he chose among his 
 countrymen, thereby designating the place where the dreaded 
 Nebuchadnezzar, from whom the Jews had just fled, would 
 set up his throne as conqueror. The accompanying oracle 
 declared, that the Babylonian would not simply conquer some 
 border cities, but visit the land of Egypt, now slumbering in 
 security, with fire and sword, destroy the glorious temples and 
 obelisks which filled the Jews with silent amazement, and 
 after inflicting such damage on the mighty kingdom, march 
 away unhurt. The fulfilment of such an oracle under the 
 actual circumstances probably appeared as incredible as it was 
 to modern scholars until recently. Its fulfilment is to-day 
 again testified by stones dug from the earth, although not the 
 stones which were then intended to assure to the Jews the 
 fulfilment of the divine message. 
 
SECTION XXIX 
 
 Last Testimony against the Idolatry of the Jews in 
 Egypt, Ch. xliv. 
 
 XLIV. 1. The word which came to Jeremiah concerning all 
 the Jews dwelling in the land of Egypt, dwelling at Migdol, and 
 at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the land of Pathros, saying : 
 2. Thus says Yahveh of hosts, the God of Israel : You have 
 seen all the evil which 1 brought upon Jerusalem and upon 
 all the cities of Judah ; and behold, they are a desolation this 
 day, and there are no inhabitants therein, 3. because of their 
 evil which they committed to provoke me in going to serve 
 with incense-offering foreign gods, which they had not known, 
 they themselves, you, and your fathers ; 4. and I sent to you 
 all my servants the prophets, early and diligently I sent 
 them, to say : Do not now this abominable thing which I 
 hate. 5. But they hearkened not, nor did they incline their 
 
 Chapter XLIV. 
 
 Ver. 1. The heading (cf. xl. 1) intimates the independence of 
 the oracle, which also as to time falls considerably later than 
 ch. xliii. The places where the more important Jewish colonies 
 had settled are mentioned, namely, Migdol, as in xlvi. 14, a 
 border town in the north-east of Egypt, in the neighbourhood 
 of the Nile canal flowing past Pelusium, not far from the 
 Mediterranean, is often named in the monuments (Makthal), 
 to-day Tell-es-Semut, according to Ebers. On the other hand, 
 the one mentioned Ex. xiv. 2 is to be sought farther south. 
 Tahpanhes and Noph, see on ii. 16. Pathros (cf. ver. 15) is 
 Upper Egypt, as is clear from Isa. xi. 11 and the monuments, 
 according to which Thebes was the chief city in Pa-to-ris = 
 Sun-country. Ver. 3. "iDp, see on i. 16. DDK inserted here or 
 put in the place of riDn, because those present represent the 
 existing generation ; hence also the language is still further 
 addressed to them. Ver. 4. Cf. vii. 25 and often. D"3tt>n, here 
 
 814 
 
JEREMIAH XLIV. 6-12. 315 
 
 ear, that they should return from their wickedness and no 
 longer offer incense to foreign gods. 6. Then my fury and 
 my wrath was poured out and ate up the cities of Judah and 
 the streets of Jerusalem, that they became a desolation and a 
 wilderness as it is this day. 7. And now thus says Yahveh, 
 the God of hosts, the God of Israel : Wherefore do you com- 
 mit so great evil against your own souls to root you out man 
 and woman, boy and suckling from the midst of Judah, so 
 that you leave you no remnant surviving, 8. provoking me to 
 wrath by the works of your hands, offering incense to foreign 
 gods in the land of Egypt, whither you went to sojourn there, 
 that you may make an end of yourselves, and that you may 
 become an imprecation and a reviling among all the nations 
 of the earth ? 9. Have you forgotten the wickednesses of your 
 fathers, and the wickednesses of the kings of Judah, and the 
 wickednesses of his wives, and your wickednesses and the 
 wickednesses of your wives, which they committed in the 
 land of Judah and iu the streets of Jerusalem ? 10. They 
 repented not to this day, and feared not, nor did they walk in 
 my law and my precepts, which I set before you and your 
 fathers. 11. Therefore thus says Yahveh of hosts, the God 
 of Israel : Behold, I turn my face to you for evil, and to root 
 out the whole of Judah. 12. And I take the remnant of 
 Judah, who have set their face to the land of Egypt to 
 
 scrvptio plena. This horrible thing is idolatry. Ver. 6. Cf. 
 xlii. 18. ntn DYO, see on xi. 5. Ver. 7. Against your own souls, 
 as in xxvi. 19, spoken of a deadly sin. "Ver. 8. The works of 
 your hands, as in vii. 13, your action, not exactly artificial 
 images as in i. 16. According to Masoretes, to be written ' l i3. 
 Ver. 9. His wives, not to be changed into " his princes " (LXX 
 after ver. 17), as the royal wives after Solomon's days were 
 specially to blame for the introduction of idolatry. The suffix 
 in VBO refers to the individual king. Among the people also 
 the women are specially referred to; they were addicted to 
 certain heathen cults, and showed this by their conduct in the 
 Egyptian colony, vv. 15, 20, 25. Ver. 10. Third person, the 
 prophet turning away in disgust from the whole generation 
 which all God's judgments failed to render submissive ; second 
 person again at the end. Ver. 11. To root out the whole of 
 , Judah, i.e. its remnant in Egypt, as more fully explained in 
 
316 JEREMIAH XL1V. 13-17. 
 
 sojourn there ; and they shall all be consumed ; they shall 
 fall in the land of Egypt ; by the sword and by famine they 
 shall be consumed ; from the least to the greatest they shall 
 die by the sword and by famine, and shall become a curse, a 
 horror and an imprecation and a reviling. 13. And I visit 
 those who dwell in the land of Egypt like as I visited 
 Jerusalem with the sword, with famine and pestilence. 
 14. And the remnant of Judah, who have come to sojourn 
 there in the land of Egypt, shall have none escaping and 
 surviving, so that they may return into the land of Judah, 
 whither they cherish the desire to return and dwell there, 
 for they shall not return save (one or two) fugitives. 
 
 15. Then all the men who knew that their wives offered 
 incense to foreign gods, and all the women who stood there 
 in a large assembly, and the whole people who dwelt in the 
 land of Egypt (and) in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying : 
 16. As concerns the word which thou hast spoken to us in 
 the name of Yahveh, we will not hearken to thee. 17. On 
 the contrary, we will carry out every word which has gone 
 forth out of our mouth, to offer incense to the queen of 
 
 ver. 12. Ver. 14. 31B>$>1 alludes to the " escaping and surviv- 
 ing," who might return, kb>j, see on xxii. 27. The end of the 
 verse, admitting the possibility of a few individuals returning, 
 put more positively in ver. 14, shows that the proverbial troa i6 
 T"iE>l is not to be taken literally. Such cases warn against a 
 pedantic demand for a literal fulfilment. Ver. 15 shows that 
 Jeremiah delivered this discourse before a large assembly, to 
 which the Egyptian exiles were added. What festive occasion 
 had gathered them together is not known. But it is clear from 
 Sl3 bnp that the women took a large part in it. A feast to the 
 queen of heaven is not meant, else the words would be out of 
 place : the men who knew, etc. Yet the purpose of the wives 
 may have been to join homage to the queen of heaven with 
 the feast. In the land of Egypt, in Pathros, i.e. in Lower and 
 Upper Egypt, asyndetic conjunction, unless 1 has fallen out. 
 Ver. 17. The queen of heaven (respecting whom see on vii. 18) 
 was, accordingly, a goddess, to whom definite petitions were 
 presented, and offerings vowed on fulfilment of the desires 
 expressed. Since she was the goddess of fertility in women, it 
 is easily conceivable to what the wishes and vows of wives 
 referred. " Which went out of our mouth," frequent phrase 
 
JEREMIAH XLIV. 18-22. 317 
 
 heaven and to pour out libations to her, like as we have done, 
 and our fathers, our kings, and our princes in the cities of 
 Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem ; then we were satisfied 
 with bread, and it was very well with us, and we saw no 
 evil. 18. But from the time that we ceased to offer incense 
 to the queen of heaven and to pour out libations to her, we 
 were in lack of everything, and were conquered by sword and 
 famine. 1 9. And if we offer incense to the queen of heaven, 
 and make ready to pour out libations to her, is it without our 
 husbands that we bake cakes for her to portray her, and to 
 pour drink-offerings to her 1 
 
 20. Then spake Jeremiah to all the people, to the men and 
 the women and all the people, who answered him, saying : 
 
 21. The incense-burning, which you practised in the cities of 
 Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your 
 kings and your princes and the people of the land, truly did 
 not Yahveh remember these things, and it came into his mind ? 
 
 22. And Yahveh was no longer able to bear it because of the 
 wickedness of your works, because of the abominations which 
 you committed ; so then your land became a waste and a 
 wilderness and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day ! 
 
 in utterance of vows, Num. xxx. 3, 13 ; Deut. xxxiii. 24 ; Judg. 
 xi. 36. By offering incense, the presenting of meat-offerings, 
 cakes, of course with addition of incense, is understood. Gifts 
 of wine, oil, etc., were joined therewith. Then were we in good 
 condition, i.e. it stood well with us. Ver. 18. tK=at that time; 
 a relative clause joins on to this. 13DD for wian, Ges. § 67. 5a ; 
 Eng. § 66. Ver. 19. The women whom the prophet accused 
 here come forward to speak; they threw the blame from 
 themselves on the men, who could have hindered them, but 
 according to vii. 18 gave ready assistance in their pre- 
 parations. As to the moon-shaped cakes which the Hellenes 
 also had as sacred symbols and called <sihr,vu.i or cr^ara 
 eikyivns, see on vii. 18. Among the Greeks they were round, 
 representing the full moon ; yet there may be a reference to 
 horn-shaped confectionery. ruvj>n!>, with suff. fern, (on which 
 account Mas. notes the weak n as irregular), signifies : in order 
 to portray her (the goddess), to model; cf. 3XJ>, fingere, 2ty 
 (xxii. 28), vols fictile. Yer. 21. itapn, noun-form from Piel, like 
 D>B>, Deut. xxxii. 35. Ver. 22. PKD, see on ii. 15. DVro, see on 
 
318 JEREMIAH XLIV. 23-30. 
 
 23. Because of this, that you offered incense, and that you 
 sinned against Yahveh, and hearkened not to Yahveh's voice, 
 and did not walk in his law and his statutes and in his 
 testimonies ! For this reason has this evil befallen you, as it 
 is this day ! 
 
 24. Then said Jeremiah to all the people and all the 
 women : Hear Yahveh's word, all Judah that is in the land 
 of Egypt. 25. Thus speaks Yahveh of hosts, the God of 
 Israel, saying: You and your wives, you have spoken with 
 your mouth and fulfilled it with your hands, saying : Let us 
 now verily perform our vows which we have vowed, to offer 
 incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour drink-offerings to 
 her : You shall verily keep your vows and perform your 
 promises. 26. For this reason hear the word of Yahveh, all 
 Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt : Behold, I have 
 sworn by my great name, says Yahveh : Never more shall my 
 name be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah, saying : 
 " As truly as the Lord Yahveh lives " in the whole land of 
 Egypt. 27. Behold, I watch over you for evil and not for 
 good ; and all the men of Judah, who are in the land of 
 Egypt, shall be consumed by the sword and famine, until 
 they vanish away. 28. And those who escape from the 
 sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of 
 Judah, men who can be counted ; and all the remnant of 
 Judah, who came to the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall 
 know whose word shall stand, whether mine or theirs. 
 
 29. And this shall be the sign to you, is Yahveh's oracle, that 
 I will visit you in this place, that you may know that my 
 
 xi. 5. Ver. 23. n&np for nK-ij?, Ges. § 74. a. 1; Eng. § 73. 
 Ver. 25. As the wives come first among the speakers and 
 actors, masc. and fern, interchange. ruD'pn for ruippn glances 
 at the Dip in ver. 28 f. They steadily carry out what they say, 
 but the Lord also will do the same, and in the end His word 
 will stand, not theirs. Ver. 26. None of the Jews dwelling in 
 Egypt shall swear by the living Yahveh, because none shall be 
 there. Ver. 27. npB>, see on i. 11 ; cf. xxxi. 28, xxi. 10. Ver. 
 28. Men who can be counted, i.e. few of them, as in Gen. xxxiv. 
 
 30. The idea of the iQ is more fully explained and analysed 
 by DnDl ''JDD ; instead of " both of us," it is said " of me and 
 of you." So min is often used in Arabic. Ver. 30. Pharaoh 
 
JEREMIAH XLIV. 319 
 
 ■words concerning you shall stand firm for evil. 30. Thus 
 says Yahveh: Behold, I deliver Pharaoh Hophrah, ting of 
 Egypt, into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of 
 those who seek after his life, like as I gave up Zedekiah, 
 king of Judah, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of 
 Babylon, his adversary and deadly foe. 
 
 Hophrah, see on xxxvii. 5, called by the Greeks Apries, ruled, 
 according to Herodotus, ii. 161 ff., more happily than the kings 
 •who had preceded him since his great-grandfather Psamme- 
 tichus ; but an unlucky campaign against Cyrene led to his 
 dethronement by Amasis, who was compelled to surrender him 
 to that enraged people, who then murdered him. Jeremiah's 
 oracle may refer to this unhappy end (about 570), since it is 
 not expressly said, as in xlvi. 26, that Pharaoh would fall into 
 Nebuchadnezzar's hands. That the account of Herodotus, 
 based on Manetho, is here defective, and Hophrah had also to 
 suffer from Nebuchadnezzar, see on xliii. 8-13. The doubts of 
 Hitzig and Graf in regard to xliv. 29 f. are without foundation. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xliv. Last Testimony against the Idolatry 
 of the Jews in Egypt : a. Dissuasive from Foreign "Worship, 
 vv. 1-14; I. Opposition of the Jews, especially of their 
 Wives, vv. 15—19 ; c. their Conviction and Condemnation, 
 vv. 20-28 ; d. Sign of the Judgment, ver. 29 f. 
 
 This testimony is the last one we have from Jeremiah. It 
 belongs essentially to a later time than ch. xliii. The Jews, 
 meanwhile, have settled in different places of the land, 
 extending principally over Upper Egypt (Pathros), to which 
 fear of the approaching Chaldeeans perhaps contributed. 
 On the other hand, the incident is earlier than the end of 
 Pharaoh Hophrah (ver. 30), and therefore about 570. The 
 prophet was then at the advanced age of from seventy to 
 eighty years. He delivered this discourse before an assembly 
 of Jews gathered on some festal occasion from every part of 
 Egypt (ver. 15). The scene and occasion of the assembly are 
 not stated. But it is clear from the incident that the Jewish 
 
320 JEREMIAH XLIV. 
 
 community in Egypt held together, and intended, as far as 
 possible, to continue its national worship on foreign soil, nay, 
 probably regarded itself as the lineal representative of the 
 seed of Abraham. And it is just as clear from Jeremiah's 
 words and the opposition they met with, that even after all 
 the severe experiences of the past, the people could not break 
 away from idolatrous customs, but still continued them in the 
 Egyptian colony. Thus the aged Jeremiah was forced at last 
 to raise his voice against the same pernicious errors, against 
 which the first testimony of the youth was a warning, and 
 against which he had all his life fought a losing battle. He 
 was unable even now — in distinction from the other exilian 
 prophets — to speak in tones of cheerful promise, but was 
 obliged again to hold up before the incorrigible nation of the 
 Jews in Egypt the gravity of the judgment awaiting it. 
 
 In vv. 1-14 he points to the desolated home-land as the 
 most eloquent witness to the divine retribution which has 
 fallen on the worshippers of strange deities. In presence of 
 this fact, it is insane wickedness to persevere in practices 
 which have so openly drawn down the Lord's displeasure on 
 land and people. The consequence of such conduct will be 
 that the exiles who have saved nothing but their life will 
 bring about the extermination of their race (vv. 7, 12 ff.). 
 By way of warning, the finger of the prophet points in 
 particular to the ruin brought on the whole nation by the 
 women with their special leanings to heathen superstition 
 and sensuous worship (ver. 9). For it is they who are again 
 by their action provoking the Lord's anger. 
 
 Vv. 15-19. But the high regard in which the venerable 
 prophet must have stood did not prevent the assembled 
 community offering him public contradiction. If in Jerusalem 
 it was rather the priests and princes with their false prophets 
 who designedly and obstinately opposed him, just as in ch. 
 xliii. the leaders of the nation did, whose plans were interfered 
 with by his message ; so, on the other hand, here he has the 
 
JEREMIAH XLIV. 321 
 
 community itself against him, whose popular customs he 
 attacked. Even the women did not hesitate publicly to raise 
 objections against the word of the Lord ; nay, they contended 
 most zealously for the heathen practices to which they had 
 become wedded. A special point in dispute was the worship 
 of the queen of heaven common in many homes, as we know 
 already from vii. 17 f. To her wives vowed offerings, no 
 doubt in order to secure offspring, safe delivery, and the like ; 
 to her they ascribed the bestowal of prosperity and success. 
 To such a degree did this sensuous goddess replace in their 
 thoughts the strict, holy God of Moses and the prophets, that 
 they regarded the former wellbeing of the nation as her 
 work, and traced the misfortunes of the country to the neglect 
 of her worship, which since Josiah's days had at least been 
 limited, thus making a virtue of their evil propensities, as if 
 it were their duty to keep their pledged word to this fictitious 
 goddess. "With more right they might plead that they were 
 not alone responsible for their conduct (ver. 19). The men 
 knew of it (ver. 15) and shut their eyes, instead of remember- 
 ing their responsibility, and banishing such wickedness from 
 their homes, if, indeed, they did not renounce their dignity 
 with their better knowledge, and become partners with their 
 wives in their foolish course, as Jeremiah described in vii. 8. 
 
 Vv. 20—28. The deceitful conclusion of ver. 17, which 
 shows so well how the worst visitation fails to open the eyes, 
 if the heart refuses to learn and repent, is not left by Jeremiah 
 without a potent witness on the other side. He solemnly 
 repeats once more what he has testified unceasingly for several 
 decades, that nothing but disobedience to God's first commands 
 has let loose the Lord's wrath against His people (vv. 20—23). 
 He then turns to the crowd of apostates before him, and 
 announces to it a doom of extermination as punishment for 
 its obstinate persistence in its evil purpose ; no Jew shall 
 remain in Egypt to take Yahveh's name on his lips and 
 profane it. At most, a few shall escape, and even these shall 
 
 x 
 
322 JEREMIAH XLIV. 
 
 seek refuge in Judah (vv. 24-28). A difficulty arises here, 
 in the circumstance that although the centre of Jewish 
 national life remained as previously in Judah and Jerusalem, 
 yet an exceedingly numerous Jewish colony always maintained 
 itself in Egypt. It is well known, for example, how important 
 was this colony at the time of Alexander the Great, who 
 conceded to it a considerable part of his newly-founded city 
 of Alexandria. There it grew and flourished until the time 
 of Christ and afterwards, although at times engaged in severe 
 conflict with heathens and Christians. Thus the statement of 
 Jeremiah, so exceedingly definite and precise, seems not to 
 have been fulfilled. "We think, with Kagelsbach, that the 
 explanation of the continuance of this Jewish population is 
 to be sought in a salutary crisis, by which the heathen 
 tendency of this colony, as among the exiles of Babylon, was 
 overcome, and that this crisis is to be especially traced to the 
 influence of our prophet's testimony, so that xviii. 7 f. found 
 its application here. " Must not the powerful message of the 
 old, honoured Jeremiah in ch. xliv., must not the literal 
 fulfilment of the prophecy uttered by him in regard to the 
 king (xliv. 29 f.), have made an overpowering impression on 
 their hearts ? " (Nagelsbach). 
 
 In ver. 29 f. a warning sign is given, by which the Jews 
 may know how earnest the Lord is in His threats against 
 them, a sign soon fulfilled. Pharaoh Hophrah, reigning so 
 happily and powerfully, will perish just as miserably as the 
 unhappy King Zedekiah. This oracle is specially illustrated 
 by what Herodotus (ii. 169) relates of this king: "His idea 
 was, that not even any of the gods could bring his kingdom to 
 an end ; so certain was he of his throne." Just there we read 
 (ii. 161 ff.) of his sad end through the rebellion of Amasis, 
 and the abandonment of the deposed ruler to the enraged 
 people, so that ver. 30 was literally fulfilled. 
 
SECTION XXX. 
 
 Comforting Oracle to Baruch, Ch. xlv. 
 
 XLV. 1. The word which the prophet Jeremiah spake to 
 Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these discourses in 
 a book from the mouth of Jeremiah in the fourth year of 
 Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying : 2. Thus 
 said Yahveh respecting thee, Baruch : 3. Thou sayest : 
 " Woe is me, Yahveh adds grief to my pain, I am weary of 
 my groaning, and I find no rest." 4. Thus shalt thou say to 
 him : Thus says Yahveh : Behold, that which I built I myself 
 pull down, and that which I planted I myself pluck up, and 
 it concerns the whole earth ; 5. And wouldst thou seek 
 great things for thyself ? Seek them not : for, behold, I bring 
 calamity upon all flesh, is Yahveh's oracle ; but I give thee 
 thy soul for a booty in all places whither thou shalt go. 
 
 Chapter XLV. 
 
 Ver. 1. Cf. xxxvi. 1 ff. " These oracles" shows that the oracle 
 to Baruch was added to the original edition, not indeed to the 
 first one, but rather to the second, xxxvi. 28. Ver. 3. The 
 more he was forced to write, the more his grief was intensified. 
 To this bitter feeling of sorrow, falling on him because of the 
 mournful contents of the divine oracles, he gave expression. 
 Ver. 4 f. gives the answer thereto. Ver. 4. Properly : and 
 indeed it is the whole earth which I so treat, better than " the 
 whole land " on account of the " all flesh " in ver. 5, cf. xxv. 
 15 ff. tiki, accusative, gives the preceding verbs a more 
 definite object. Ver. 5. Cf. in xxxix' 18 the promise to Ebed- 
 melech. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 This message of personal comfort to Baruch belongs to the 
 fourth year of Jehoiakim, when Baruch was first chosen as 
 
 323 
 
324 JEREMIAH XLV. 
 
 Jeremiah's helper, and entrusted with the recording of the 
 prophet's oracles (xxxvi. 1 f.). If Jeremiah himself had his 
 moments of deep despondency on receiving the divine threaten- 
 ings, it cannot seem strange that his weaker disciple was 
 overwhelmed with pain and grief at the mere writing of the 
 book of doom. The comfort which Jeremiah gave him, 
 according to ver. 4, was from the Lord ; for this reason 
 Baruch added it to the prophetic book. It is first of all (as 
 in xii. 5) a rebuke of impatience and shrinking from pain. 
 At a time when God is visiting the whole earth judicially, it 
 is not for the individual to lay claim to great and high things, 
 i.e. happiness and joy. And then the same promise is given 
 to him as to the trusty Ebed-melech, xxxix. 18 : he will not 
 perish in the present affliction and impending catastrophe, 
 but everywhere enjoy divine deliverance, — one of the numerous 
 oracles in which Jeremiah pledges God's word for the fate of 
 an individual. 
 
SECTION XXXI. 
 
 Jeremiah's Oeacles eespecting the Heathen, Chs. xlvi.-li. 
 
 XL VI. 1. That which came to the prophet Jeremiah as 
 Yahveh's word respecting the heathen nations. 
 
 I. TWO OEACLES EESPECTING EGYPT. 
 
 2. To Egypt, respecting the army of Pharaoh - Necho, 
 king of Egypt, which was on the river Euphrates at Car- 
 chemish, which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, smote in 
 the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of 
 Judah. 
 
 ClIAPTEE XLVI. 
 
 Ver. 1. Form as in xiv. 1. This heading applies to the entire 
 section respecting the heathen, ch. xlvi.-li. Yer. 2. To Egypt, 
 concerning Egypt (see respecting this h on xxiii. 9), is a special 
 heading to ch. xlvi. The following more precise definition of the 
 subject and occasion refers only to the oracle, vv. 3-12. The 
 oracle related to the army of Pbaraoh-Necho lying on the 
 Euphrates, which was afterwards, as the prophet here foretells 
 to him, defeated at Carchemish by Nebuchadnezzar (who is here 
 called, not quite accurately, king of Babylon, which was not the 
 case at the moment). The date, written of course later, points 
 to the fulfilment as in xlix. 28. Carchemish (Isa. x. 9) is not the 
 Circesium of the Greeks and Romans lying at the fall of the 
 Chaboras into the Euphrates, but Gargamis of the inscriptions, 
 to be sought much farther north-west, and indeed north of the 
 river Sajur, probably at the ruin Jerabis, somewhat south of 
 Birejik. It was the capital of the Chatti country, and lay on 
 the right bank of the Euphrates (Schrader, ii. 74 ; Delitzsch, 
 Paradies, p. 265 ff.). The Egyptian army, as it seems, delayed 
 longer there, perhaps engaged with the siege of the city, when 
 the Babylonians approached for the decisive battle. At all 
 events the battle was fought near the main passage over the 
 
 325 
 
326 JEREMIAH XLTI. 3-10. 
 
 3. Prepare ye buckler and shield, and draw near to battle ! 
 
 4. Harness the horses and mount the chargers, and stand forth 
 with helmets ! Trim the spears, put on the coats of mail ! 
 
 5. Wherefore do I see : they are confounded, they go away 
 backwards 'I And their heroes are cut down and flee apace, 
 they turn not back, terror around ! is Yahveh's oracle. 6. Let 
 not the swift flee away, nor the champion escape ! Towards 
 the north, beside the river Euphrates they stumbled and are 
 fallen! 7. Who is this that comes up like the Nile, his 
 waters roll like the rivers ? 8. Egypt came up like the Nile, 
 and the waters tossed like the rivers ; and it said : I will go 
 up, cover the land, destroy the city, and them that dwell 
 therein. 9. Go up, ye horses, and rage, ye chariots ! And 
 let the warrors, Ethiopians and Libyans, armed with shields, 
 go forth, and the Lydians who bear and stretch the bow ! 
 10. But that day is a day of vengeance to the Lord, 
 Yahveh of hosts, to avenge himself on his foes. And the 
 
 Euphrates in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, 605 B.C. Ver. 3. 
 Alongside ruv, the long shield, covering the entire person, is 
 |JD, the small " targe," Slavonic word for the small buckles 
 carried by horsemen. Ver. 4. D'tjnsn, according to the parallel- 
 ism not vocative, "ye horsemen," but the riding - horses in 
 distinction from the chariot-horses, as often, av'nn, to advance 
 to battle ; p"iD, to rub, trim, and sharpen. This also is part of 
 the final preparations before the battle. Ver. 5. The 'n DXJ 
 shows that vv. 3-12 is by no means a song of victory after the 
 battle ; but a vision before the crisis, at least before the news 
 came to Judah. — 'a TUD in Jeremiah's style, as in vi. 25, 
 xx. 3, 10. Ver. 6. ruiBX, see on i. 13. Ver. 7. After the first 
 brief glance at the crisis the prophet again looks at the mighty 
 array of the Egyptians, who deluge the land like their own 
 river, in order at a fixed spot to fall into the Lord's hands. 
 Ver. 8. K»VJ, see on v. 22. mux, Ges. § 68. a. 1. Ver. 9. rbv, 
 to mount, rear, used of horses eager for battle. 9?n, Hithpoel, 
 used here as in Nab., ii. 5 of furious driving ; differently, Jer. 
 xxv. 16, li. 7. Cush— Ethiopians, Put— Libyans (LXX, Vulg.), 
 are named as auxiliaries of Egypt, the former to the south, the 
 latter to the west of Egypt ; finally, Lydians, who are not to be 
 confounded with the Semitic-Asiatic people of this name (Gen. 
 x. 22) ; on the contrary, they are Hamitic Africans (Gen. x. 13). 
 Still these have not yet been certainly identified. Ver. 10. 
 That day of the impending encounter of the armies. Also the 
 
JEREMIAH XLVI. U-1S. 327 
 
 sword shall devour and be filled, and drunk with their blood. 
 Tor the Lord, Yahveh of hosts, has a slaughter-feast in the 
 land of the north, on the river Euphrates. 11. Go up to 
 Gilead and fetch balsam, thou virgin daughter of Egypt. In 
 vain thou heapest up medicines, healing for thee there is none. 
 12. The nations have heard thy shame, and the earth is filled 
 with thy lamentation : For hero has stumbled on hero, both 
 are fallen together ! 
 
 13. The word which Yahveh spoke to Jeremiah the pro- 
 phet, that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, should come to 
 smite the land of Egypt. 
 
 14. Make ye known in Egypt, and publish at Migdol, and 
 publish at Noph, and at Tahpanhes ! Say ye : Take thy 
 stand and be firm ; for the sword has devoured those round 
 about thee. 15. Wherefore is thy chief strength broken? 
 
 perfect rraxi, a prophetic one, requires throughout a reference to 
 the future. A battle-feast = sacrificial feast ; cf. Isa. xxxiv. 6 ; 
 Zeph. i. 7. Ver. 11, see on viii. 22 and xxx. 13. — ro r6im, see 
 on vi. 14, xiv. 17.— Train, see on ii. 20. Ver. 12. inniv, see 
 on xiv. 2. — One warrior fell through another, stumbling over 
 one another in their panic, disgracefully enough. Ver. 13. 
 Nebuchadnezzar, see on xxi. 2. Ver. 14. Make ye known, i.e. 
 the following summons to prepare for battle, as the enemy 
 approaches. Migdol, the border town, comes first, see on xliv. 1 ; 
 Noph and Tahpanhes, see on ii. 16. — avnn, see on ver. 4. 
 lb pni, get thee firmness, i.e. take up a firm, strong position for 
 the fight. The sword has consumed thy surroundings or neigh- 
 bours ; the northern and north-eastern peoples are meant, like 
 the Philistines, Jews, etc. Ver. 15. Wherefore, as in ver. 5, 
 introduces something which the gaze of the seer just now 
 discerns. — f|riD, properly to sweep away, wash away, then turn 
 round, overthrow, "pus are here the anna, as ver. 16 shows, 
 the strong heroes ; elsewhere in Jeremiah the steeds (see on 
 viii. 16), in poetical language usually oxen. LXX, h& r! itpvyet 
 anrh eoj 6 'Aw; ; o /J-CKSyos 6 ixXsxros gov ova 'ifieinv, suggests the 
 Apis-ox at Memphis, which Yahveh overturned despite its 
 strength. The sing, icy and lSin with suffix suits this well ; 
 the plur. Ti ,3 S might be explained as that of the god's name. 
 Most moderns subscribe to this exposition, which is recom- 
 mended intrinsically. But the context does not favour it ; the 
 LXX adopted it perhaps through the rhythm of Apis and 
 Abbir, but had considerably to expand the text in order to 
 
328 JEREMIAH XLTI. 16-20. 
 
 It stood not firm; for Yahveh overthrew it. 16. He caused 
 many to stumble ; nay, one fell on the other, so that they 
 said : " Up, let us return to our people and to the land where 
 we were born, from the harassing sword!" 17. Call the 
 name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, "Destruction," "He that 
 neglected (his) opportunity." 18. As truly as I live, says 
 the King, whose name is Yahveh of hosts : Verily, like Tabor 
 among the mountains, and like Carmel on the sea, he shall 
 come! 19. Provide thee necessaries for journeying, thou 
 inhabi tress, daughter of Egypt ! Eor Noph shall become a 
 desolation, and be laid waste without inhabitant. 20. A 
 beautiful heifer is Egypt, a gadfly comes from the north, yea 
 
 clearness, and also to modify ver. 16. As to Toy, cf. ver. 21 ; as 
 to the change of number, ver. 23. Ver. 16. One fell over 
 another in the flight (ver. 12), so that despair takes them home. 
 They are not native soldiers, but foreign mercenaries ; after the 
 days of Psammetichus, Egypt chiefly used such troops, cf. ver. 9. 
 — TW, properly to harass, oppress, hence to use violence, here 
 an attribute of the sword, as in 1. 16 and xxv. 38. Ver. 17. 
 Instead of " they cry there (where ?) : Pharaoh is destruction," 
 etc., better after LXX, DB> wij? (J. D. Michaelis, Hitzig, Ewald, 
 Graf) ; cf. xx. 3 and the following )Dp. JlNC, turmoil, but also 
 overthrow, destruction. lie let the opportunity pass by, either : 
 neglected the space given for taking precautions and effecting 
 reconciliation with the foe, or: the gracious time given for 
 reconciliation with God. The latter is preferable. Here there 
 is probably a play on an Egyptian word not perceptible in |1NE>. 
 Tayn may be a paronomasia on Hophrah. Ver. 18. The 
 speaker is the Icing, who alone with full right bears the kingly 
 title. — 'S used in an asseverating introduction of direct speech. 
 Tabor is distinguished among the mountains by majestic height; 
 in the same way Carmel towers proudly and grandly above the 
 sea. So among princes is he who comes as conqueror of Egypt, 
 — the king of Babylon, not mentioned by name here, but well 
 known. Ver. 19. Journeying vessels, journeying provisions (as 
 in Ezek. xii. 3), the scanty provision which captive exiles are 
 able to carry with them : staff, bundle, etc. Thou inhdbitress, 
 form as in ver. 11 ; mB« is prefixed in order to address the 
 inhabitants more definitely, since even the personified land 
 might be called daughter of Egypt, its inhabitants being of 
 course included, nron, see on ii. 15. Ver. 20. rPB - nB% fern, 
 adj., in many MSS. better written as one word, is formed from 
 
JEREMIAH XLVI. 21-25. 329 
 
 it comes! 21. Also her mercenaries in her midst are like 
 stalled calves : truly even they have turned altogether in 
 flight, they stood not firm ; for their day of calamity has come 
 upon them, the time of their visitation. 22. She rustles like 
 the serpent which is fleeing away ; for they come in strength, 
 and with axes they have come to her like fellers. 23. They 
 fell her forest, is Yahveh's oracle ; for it is immeasurable ; for 
 they are more numerous than grasshoppers, and cannot be 
 counted. 24. The daughter of Egypt is put to shame, given 
 up into the hand of the people of the north. 25. Yahveh of 
 hosts, the God of Israel, has said : Behold, I hold a reckoning 
 ■with Amon of No, and with Pharaoh, and Egypt, and its gods, 
 and its kings, and with Pharaoh, and those who trust in him, 
 
 the verbal reduplicative form Ketaltal (Ps. xlv. 2), either 
 diminutive pulcherula or as climax, in any case ironical, TOijf 
 is the young frisky cow. f\p, from the verb y~}P, to nip, pro- 
 bably the gadfly. Ka repeated with menacing emphasis. 
 Ver. 21. In a similar figure the mercenaries settled in the land 
 (to be distinguished from those in vv. 9, 16) are compared to 
 fed calves, which flourished at the cost of the land. Since the 
 time of Psammetichus, Ionian and Carian troops had been 
 settled in Lower Egypt (Herod, ii. 152 ff.) ; they do not seem to 
 have been under obligation to serve outside the country. 
 Ver. 22. Its (Egypt's) voice, murmur, resembles that of the 
 serpent gliding along with arrowy swiftness, not : goes like the 
 (hissing) of the serpent, as "]hn is not elsewhere used of £>lp. 
 Babbling Egypt goes away thoroughly disheartened. The same 
 figure occurs in the fellers who cut down the forest, and so 
 cause the serpent to take hasty flight. Axes were used as 
 weapons by the Scythians, Persians, and other peoples repre- 
 sented in the train of the Babylonian army. Ver. 23. They fell 
 the forest of Egypt, tumble into ruin everything fair and great, 
 everything that adorns the land and makes it habitable. 
 npiT vb is to be referred to the incalculably numerous foe, not 
 to the denseness of the forest ; cf. 1 Kings vii. 47. Locusts, 
 an apt emblem of the destroyers invading in countless numbers, 
 Judg. vi. 5. Ver. 24. nt>"3n, see on ii. 26. Ver. 25. Amon of 
 A'o is the chief god of Upper Egypt, especially of the capital 
 No, also called No Amon (Ezek. xxx. 15 ; Nah. iii. 8), in the 
 inscriptions Ni (Schrader, ii. 149; Brugsch, Gesch. ^%. 
 373, 719) = Thebes. Pharaoh, mentioned a second time as the 
 object of confidence, alludes to the fact that the king was 
 
330 JEREMIAH XLVI. 26-28. 
 
 26. and give them up into the hand of their deadly foes, and" 
 into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and into 
 the hand of his servants ; but afterwards she shall dwell as 
 in former days, is Yahveh's oracle. 
 
 27. But fear thou not, my servant Jacob, and despair not, 
 Israel ; for, behold, I deliver thee from afar, and thy seed from 
 the land of their captivity, and Jacob returns and lives calmly 
 and securely, because no one makes afraid. 28. Therefore fear 
 thou not, my servant Jacob, is Yahveh's oracle, for I am with 
 thee ; for I will make an end of all the nations whither I have 
 driven thee; but I will not make an end of thee, but will chastise 
 thee in equity, and will by no means leave thee unpunished. 
 
 worshipped as a divine incarnation, and was thus the object of 
 idolatrous confidence. On account of his falsely - assumed 
 greatness he stands the first time beside Amon. Ver. 26. At 
 the close the prospect of a quiet future is held up before Egypt ; 
 therefore it shall not perish. Cf. Ezek. xxix. 13 ff. Ver. 27 f. 
 In part a quite literal and in part a freer repetition of xxx. 10f. 
 Jeremiah is fond of such repetitions. That the present one is 
 out of place, and therefore spurious, is not to be asserted. 
 When even Egypt the hereditary foe receives at last a gracious 
 message, the prophet was naturally reminded of the Lord's 
 unique relation to His servant Jacob, securing him a far more 
 certain and glorious future ; all the more so when Judah was 
 sorely oppressed and humbled, whilst Egypt seemed secure. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 The last part of the book contains the oracles respecting 
 foreign nations, which in Isaiah and Ezekiel also form one group. 
 Such a collection of oracles respecting the heathen was found, 
 according to ch. xxxvi. 2, at the close of the book first written 
 in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim. Most of Jeremiah's 
 oracles of this class, which follow here, seem to belong to that 
 year, and follow up the prophecy of ch. xxv. as further 
 expositions. But older and later oracles may also have been 
 incorporated with the group, of which, in fact, we have evi- 
 dence. The order is governed by the matter. First comes 
 the most important of the kingdoms on which the Babylonians 
 
JEKEMIAH XLVI. 331 
 
 inflicted judgment, the great power of Egypt, to which two 
 oracles are devoted, the first of which (xlvi. 1-1 2) falls in the 
 moment before the battle of Carchemish; the second (vv. 
 13—28) later, when the Babylonian army had penetrated to 
 Syria and Palestine, and is probably to be put in the time of 
 the last siege of Jerusalem. 
 
 a. Vv. 1-12. Announcement of the defeat of Egypt on 
 the Euphrates. It was a critical moment when the Egyptian 
 army of Pharaoh-lSrecho, who had already some years before 
 subjugated Syria up to the Euphrates, encountered the army 
 of the son of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, on the border 
 river, which he was just preparing to cross. The prince had 
 hastened at his old father's command to make head against 
 the Egyptians. Whilst all eyes at Jerusalem were directed 
 thither with eager expectation, this " word of the Lord " came 
 to Jeremiah, enabling him " to see " a complete defeat of the 
 Egyptians. The subject is treated in more poetical colours 
 and dramatic style than elsewhere in Jeremiah and in his 
 foreign oracles generally. He calls on the Egyptian host to 
 arm itself, and makes it march past us with its different 
 nations and weapons. But already in the first brief strophe 
 (vv. 3—6) he sees this army that had advanced in confidence 
 of victory hurrying away in wild flight on the bank of the 
 Euphrates. In vv. 7—12 the drama is repeated, the several 
 scenes standing out still more distinctly. The masses of 
 Egyptians, rolling along in their devastating march, are com- 
 pared by the seer to the rising and overflowing of the Nile, 
 their native stream. He again calls on them to display all 
 their activity and speed in order to fall into the hands of 
 the Lord, Yahveh (ver. 10), who on that approaching day 
 will take vengeance on His foes. The same Pharaoh-Necho 
 a few years before with the same army had ruthlessly smitten 
 Judah, and killed the noble King Josiah. Eor this the retri- 
 bution is now to come. The conflict proceeding between 
 foreign nations is nothing but a judgment-act ordained by 
 
332 JEREMIAH XLVI. 
 
 Yahveh, like a sacred sacrificial feast in His own honour. 
 But the blow will be fatal to Egypt's supremacy over the 
 nations (ver. 11 f.). 
 
 b. The Second Oracle (vv. 13-28) has for its contents a 
 new disclosure given in the heading: that the Babylonian 
 king will seek the Egyptians in their own land, defeat them 
 there, and lay waste their land without finding serious resist- 
 ance. As to the fulfilment, see on xliii. 8—12. The situation 
 here is more advanced. According to ver. 14, the Babylonian 
 army has already devastated the districts touching Egypt on 
 the north and north-east. The most probable period is the 
 last part of Zedekiah's reign, when Jerusalem was already 
 invested, and the prophet had to comfort it (cf. ver. 27 f.). 
 Then the king reigning in Egypt is Pharaoh Hophrah. The seer 
 first calls on Lower Egypt to prepare for vigorous defensive 
 war ; then he sees its army, consisting mainly of contingents 
 of neighbouring vassals (ver. 9), completely beaten and 
 scattered to their homes (ver. 15 f.). In contrast with the 
 phantom King Pharaoh, who wastes his power and neglects 
 his season of grace by folly and arrogance (ver. 17), appears 
 the true King, Yahveh of hosts, who brings into the country 
 a ruler far surpassing his enemies in power and greatness 
 (ver. 18), one who will banish the Egyptians. The effeminate 
 nation, revelling in its beautiful land, is compared to a stately 
 young heifer, the beast of Isis, which represents fertility also 
 in Gen. xli. 18 ff., whose smooth skin and delicate blood 
 attract the gad-fly — the Babylonian army (ver. 20), before 
 which the effeminate bands of inland mercenaries will be 
 unable to stand (ver. 21). Then will boastful Egypt rise out 
 of the dust like the serpent, when the blows of the fellers 
 apprise it of the fall of the forest, in which it had its lurking- 
 place (ver. 22 f.). The fall of the splendid structures of the 
 country is a reckoning of the true God with the god of Egypt, 
 — Amon who claims to be father of the gods, as well as with 
 the human god on the throne, Pharaoh, who is bold enough 
 
JEREMIAH XLVII. 1-4. 333 
 
 to lay claim to divine honour (ver. 25 I). Yet Egypt will 
 not perish on Nebuchadnezzar's invasion, but will revive and 
 see calmer days. But Judah, whose God is the Yahveh who 
 judges foreign powers as the true King of all, has no need to 
 fear, but may be full of comfort. For He Himself has pledged 
 His word, that He will not destroy it, but only chasten it in 
 measure (ver. 27 f.). 
 
 II. ORACLE RESPECTING THE LAND OF THE PHILISTINES, CH. XLVII. 
 
 XLVII. 1. That which came to Jeremiah as a word of 
 Yahveh concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh smote Gaza. 
 2. Thus says Yahveh : Behold, waters rise up from the north 
 and become an overflowing river, and overflow the land and 
 that which is therein, the city and them that dwell therein ; 
 and the men shall cry out, and all the inhabitants of the land 
 howl. 3. At the thundering tread of the hoofs of his strong 
 ones, at the rush of his chariots, at the rumbling of his wheels, 
 fathers pay no regard to their children ; so slack are their 
 hands, 4. because of the day that comes to lay waste all the 
 
 Chapter XLVII. 
 
 Ver. 1. Form of heading as in xiv. 1, xlvi. 1. — The clause, 
 "before Pharaoh smote Gaza," cannot mean that by this event 
 the whole oracle was fulfilled, since Gaza only figures in it 
 among other cities, and the vengeful foe comes from the north. 
 Rather this clause explains why Gaza also appears among the 
 threatened cities. Even before the Chaldsean invasion, but 
 later than the threatening message, it was utterly destroyed by 
 Pharaoh. The reference is to the famous conquest of the city 
 by Pharaoh-Necho after the battle of Megiddo, related by 
 Herod, ii. 159, where Gaza is meant by the Syrian city Kdduroc. 
 Necho had come by sea to the bay of Accoh, and thence pene- 
 trated to Megiddo ; by the capture of Gaza he secured a road 
 to Egypt. It is improbable, on the other hand, that he did 
 this after his defeat at Carchemish. The oracle is therefore 
 somewhat earlier than this battle. Ver. 2. Nebuchadnezzar is 
 not yet named, as usual before the battle of Carchemish.— a"bv, 
 cf. xlvi. 7. pK, here and often in Jeremiah land or earth, 
 without any intentional distinction between the two. Ver. 3. 
 W3K, see on viii. 16. Ver. 4.Yitj6, Ges. § 45. 2.— n?J>, in 
 
334 JEREMIAH XLVII. 5-7, 
 
 Philistines, to destroy for Tyre and Sidon the last one able 
 to help ; for Yahveh will lay waste the Philistines, the rem- 
 nant of the isle of Caphtor. 5. Baldness comes upon Gaza, 
 Ascalon is brought to nothing, the remnant of their lowland : 
 how long wilt thou wound thyself? 6. Alas, sword of 
 Yahveh, how long wilt thou not be quiet ? Eeturn to thy 
 scabbard, be quiet and be still! 7. How canst thou be quiet, 
 when Yahveh has given thee charge against Ascalon and 
 against the sea-coast ? Thither has he ordered it. 
 
 apposition to Tits', the last who could be regarded as helper, 
 ally. Remnant of the isle of Caphtor the Philistines are called, 
 because they came over from this island = Crete ; according to 
 others, Caphtor is the coast of the Egyptian Delta, which "N 
 might also signify (see on xxv. 22). Ver. 5. Baldness, as in the 
 case of mourners, to which also the cutting refers, see on xvi. 6. 
 — Instead of Dp»V, their lowland, LXX read CpJV, remnant of 
 the giants, which would suit well, especially if the seer had 
 Gath in view, on whose name he plays in 'ITUnn (Hitzig). Cf. 
 1 Sam. xvii. 4; 2 Sam. xxi. 16 ff. But this emendation is 
 by no means necessary, and in xlix. 4 the LXX are decidedly 
 wrong in their reading ; even in 1 Chron. xii. 15, cf. viii. 13, 
 the matter is doubtful. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xlvii. Oracle against the Philistines. 
 
 As in xxv. 20, so here the neighbouring Philistines follow 
 at once on Egypt. An oracle is added, which Jeremiah 
 uttered respecting them somewhat earlier between the first 
 and the fourth year of Jehoiakim. They also are threatened 
 with the foe from the north, who, though he is not named, is 
 well known to the hearers from Jeremiah's discourses. One is 
 so deafened and distracted with the great uproar of the chariots 
 advancing from that quarter, that the fathers cannot hear the 
 imploring cry of their children (ver. 3). And with the strong 
 cities of the Philistines falls also the last hope of the allied 
 Phoenicians, whose chief cities, Tyre and Sidon, will likewise 
 be besieged. The proud Philistine cities crouch like weeping 
 women on the ground and cry out for mercy, ver. 6. But the 
 
JEREMIAH XLVIII. 1-6. 335 
 
 sword of the Lord, as the prophet knows, cannot cease to rage 
 until it has finished the sanguinary work committed to it. 
 
 III. ORACLES RESPECTING MOAB, CH. XLVIII. 
 
 XLVIII. 1. To Moab. Thus says Yahveh of hosts, the God of 
 Israel : Alas for Nebo, for she is laid waste ! Kiriathaim is put 
 to shame, is taken ! The high fort is put to shame and broken ! 
 2. Moab's fame is at an end, at Heshbon evil is devised against 
 her : Up, let us destroy her, that she be no more a people ! 
 Thou also, Madmen, art worn out ; the sword hastens after 
 thee. 3. A cry sounds from Horonaim : Devastation and great 
 overthrow ! 4. Moab is broken to pieces, her little ones 
 cause a cry to be heard ; 5. for men go up the ascent of 
 Luhith with weeping, — with weeping, because on the descent 
 of Horonaim the anguished cry of destruction is heard. 6. 
 Flee ye, save your life, and be like a juniper-plant in the 
 
 Chapter XLVIII. 
 
 Ver. 1. To Moab, heading as in xlvi. 2 and usually in this 
 group. Nebo, city in Moab, see Isa. xv. 2. Kiriathaim, accord- 
 ing to Eusebius, Onom., ten Eoman miles west of Medeba, which 
 points to the ruin Krejat (a little south-east of Mkaur = 
 Machserus). — The high fort, either simply appellative, or better, 
 a surname of Kir Moab (=Kir Heres), the proud capital of 
 Moab, Isa. xv. 1. Ver. 2. There are word-plays on Heshbon 
 and Madmen, as often in Isaiah and Micah. Heshbon, an 
 Ammonite town according to xlix. 3, formerly Moabite (Isa. 
 xv. 4, xvi. 8, 9). The population was perhaps made up of both 
 races. Thence the northern conqueror breaks into the Moabite 
 country. — Madmen (dung-heap), name of a place in Moab, not 
 occurring elsewhere. Wn might be Kal ; better, Niphal. 
 Ver. 3. Horonaim, see on Isa. xv. 5. — "Dtp, see on iv. 6. 
 Ver. 4. Moab, not the town Ar Moab (Graf), but the land as 
 mother of the small towns and people, which can offer no 
 resistance. Instead of rrniyv (written as in xiv. 3), many pre- 
 fer to read mjns, towards Zoar (cf. ver. 34 ; Isa. xv. 5), after 
 LXX ; but it is not necessary. Ver. o, freely after Isa, xv. 5. 
 The fugitives go, weeping continually, up the steep Luhith 
 (Kethib, Luhoth), fleeing southward (Zoar). — *"iX, difficult 
 (hence omitted by LXX), properly, agonies of the cry of 
 sorrow = anguished cry of sorrow for the destruction. Ver. 6. 
 
s 
 
 336 JEREMIAH XLVIII. 7-12. 
 
 desert. 7. For because thou trustedst in thy handiwork and 
 thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken, and Chemosh shall go 
 forth to captivity, his priests and his princes together. 8. And 
 the waster shall come to every city, and none of the cities shall 
 escape, and the valley perishes and the plain is made desolate, 
 as Yahveh has said. 9. Give wings to Moab ; for she shall 
 go forth with a rush, and her cities shall be desolate, that 
 there shall be no inhabitants therein. 10. Cursed be he who 
 does the work of Yahveh negligently, and cursed be he who 
 keeps back his sword from blood ! 
 
 11. Moab has been undisturbed from his youth, and he 
 sat still on his lees, and was not poured from vessel to vessel, 
 and went not into captivity ; therefore his taste remained, and 
 his perfume changed not. 12. For this reason, behold, days 
 
 Juniper-tree, see on xvii. 6. A wretched existence is all they 
 can further enjoy, deprived of all means of help. Ver. 7. On 
 account of carnal trust in its own work and savings, Moab, like 
 Israel (ver. 13) and other nations, will fall a prey to the 
 conqueror. — TWO, that which thou producest and manufac- 
 tures^ cf. ver. 36, ne>5>. Chemosh, Hebrew KIDS (from which 
 Kethib is miswritten), the national god of the Moabites, known 
 to us from the pillar of King Mesha. Instead of irr, Keri 
 Tirn, as elsewhere always in Jeremiah. Ver. 8. Alongside the 
 towns, in high situations as a rule, appear valley and plain to 
 describe the whole Moabite land, "HPtf, as in xxxii. 22, refers 
 to former dicta of the prophets, first of Isaiah, who, however, 
 himself had forerunners like Amos. Ver. 9. y'i, here only 
 wings, as in Targum, Ps. cxxxix. 9 (cf. fins, Lev. xi. 9) : observe 
 the paronomasia with the following K¥J, to fly away, and t?i\ 
 to go out. Moab, hitherto quietly brooding in its nest, will 
 reluctantly learn to fly; cf. Isa. xvi. 2. Ver. 10. As to the 
 curse, cf. Judg. v. 23. Moab's destruction is the Lord's work. 
 Woe to him who does it carelessly or leniently. Ver. 11. 
 Moab had remained undisturbed in its dwelling-places from 
 the time it first conquered them in its youthful strength, Deut. 
 ii. 9 f. Hence its self-confidence and godless arrogance, Isa. 
 xvi. 6. This is clothed in the figure of the wine, the noblest 
 product of the land (Isa. xvi. 8 f., and Jer. under ver. 32) ; this 
 had never been poured out or drawn, and hence preserved its 
 original taste and flavour unweakened ; in the present case, of 
 course, no commendation. It hardened itself in its "odlessness, 
 -)?J for "rioj, from "PiD, Ges. § 72. a. 8 ; Eng. § 71. Ver 12' 
 
JEREMIAH XLVIII. 13-20. 337 
 
 come, is Yahveh's oracle, that I send him lifters who shall lift 
 him, and empty his vessels and break in pieces his jars. 13. 
 And Moab is ashamed of Chemosh, like as the house of Israel 
 was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence. 14. How say you : 
 "We are heroes and men skilled in war " ? 15. Moab suffers 
 violence and her cities go up (in smoke), and the choice of his 
 youth go down to the slaughter, is the oracle of the King ; 
 Yahveh of hosts is his name. 16. The destruction of Moab 
 is near to happen, and his calamity hastens fast. 17. Bewail 
 him, all his neighbours, and all ye who know his name ! Say : 
 "How is the strong sceptre broken in pieces, the staff of 
 dignity ! " 1 8. Descend from (thy) glory, and sit down in 
 the thirsty (place), inhabitress, daughter of Dibon ; for the 
 waster of Moab is come up upon thee, he has destroyed thy 
 fortresses. 19. Stand in the way and look out, inhabitress of 
 Aroer ; ask him that flees and her that escapes ; say : " What 
 has come to pass?" 20. Moab is put to shame, for she is 
 
 nyx, Kal and Piel, to bend, a vessel for pouring out. Luther : 
 " Schroter, die sie auschroten sollen," vat-men, who shall draw 
 them out. These workmen, whom God sends to the Moabite 
 wine-store, make short work. Because the wine is spoilt by lying 
 too long, they let it run out, and break the earthen jars. The 
 whole image would be the more vivid when Moab's pottery- 
 making was flourishing, which is indicated in many ways (not 
 to speak of the modern imitations of pseudo-Moab !) ; cf. xiii. 
 12, 14. Ver. 13. Bethel with its animal figure was the chief 
 sanctuary of the northern kingdom, Amos iii. 14, vii. 13. — 
 DriD3D with seghol before the tone for pathach. Ver. 15. 
 iw, to go up, namely, in flames and smoke, Judg. xx. 40. 
 Antithesis 1TV, the young warriors are to go down to the plain, 
 where the battle — a slaughter for them — takes place ; TV used 
 even absolutely in this sense, Isa. xxxiv. 7 : to go down to the 
 shambles. The king, as in xlvi. 18. Ver. 17. Sceptre of 
 power; the emblem stands for the royal power itself; cf. Fs. 
 ex. 2; Ezek. xix. 11, 12, 14. Ver. 18. Keri 'Oipi, only right 
 reading, cf. Isa. xlvii. 1. The population of Dibon, seated in 
 honour, is to sit down in a waste, thirsty land (nȴ, properly 
 thirst, must = NCTC)- Dibon, an hour north of the Arnon, see 
 Isa. xv. 2. M raw, see on xlvi. 19. Ver. 19. The news of 
 what has happened penetrates with the fugitives farther south 
 to Aroer (now Arair), not far from Arnon; cf. Isa. xvii. 2. 
 ram:, Niphal, " what has taken place ? " Ver. 20. 'ty?n, Kethib 
 
 Y 
 
338 JEBEMIAH XL VIII. 21-28. 
 
 broken. Howl thou, and cry ! Tell ye it at Arnon, that 
 Moab suffers violence, 21. and judgment has come on the 
 land of the plain, upon Holon and Jahzah and Mephaath, 22. 
 and upon Dibon and upon Kebo, and upon Beth Diblathaim, 
 23. and upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth Gamul and upon 
 Beth Meon, 24. and upon Kerioth and upon Bozrah, and 
 upon all the cities of the land of Moab, those far off and those 
 near. 25. The horn of Moab is cut off and his arm broken, is 
 Yahveh's oracle. 26. Make ye him drunken, for he has 
 acted proudly against Yahveh, and so Moab shall fall into 
 his vomit, and he shall also become a derision. 27. Or was 
 not Israel then a laughing-stock to thee ? Or was he caught 
 among thieves, so that as often as thou spokest of him, thou 
 didst shake the head? 28. Forsake the cities and dwell 
 in the rock, ye inhabitants of Moab, and be like the dove, 
 
 fern. sing, in reference to Moab. Ver. 21. Holon, here only, 
 one of the towns of the plain like Jahzah (see Isa. xv. 4) and 
 Mophaath or Mephaath (Josh. xxi. 37). Nebo, as in ver. 1 ; 
 Dibon, as in ver. 18 ; Beth Diblathaim, here only and Num. 
 xxxiii. 46 : site unknown. Ver. 23. Kiriathaim, as in ver. 1. 
 Beth Gamul, here only : site unknown. Beth Meon = Baal 
 Meon or Beth Baal Meon, Num. xxii. 38, Josh. xiii. 17, now 
 Main, not far south-west of Medeba. Ver. 24. Kerioth must 
 also be a proper name (differently ver. 41), but different from 
 Kiriathaim ; probably identical with Ar Moab, which does not 
 occur here. Bozrah = "i¥3, Deut. iv. 43, Josh. xx. 8, cf. 
 xxi. 36, not to be confounded with the Edomite Bozrah or the 
 town Bostra flourishing afterwards in Hauran ; the Moabite 
 Bozrah is not certainly known. Ver. 26. Make ye him 
 drunken, namely, with the wine of Cod's wrath, xiii. 13, 
 xxv. 15. — pSD, to crash, here to fall with a noise. Ver. 27. 
 As to the repetition of interrogative particle n after the inter- 
 rogative DNl (or), cf. Gen. xvii. 17 ; here with dagesh dirimens. 
 Or, has he not then merited this punishment by his wicked 
 derisive ways ? Or, was Israel then caught among thieves, that 
 thou mightest have a right, so respectable = to look down on 
 him with pity 1 A positive sense cannot be proved from ii. 26. 
 Before God certainly Israel stood condemned, but not before 
 Moab, or in comparison with it. T)3, Hithpoel like Kal : to 
 shake the head in token of disapproving regret. "HD with 
 noun as with infinitive, xxxi. 20. Ver. 28. The wild pigeon 
 often builds a nest in Palestine on cliffs over abysses; here 
 
JEREMIAH XL VIII. 29-34. 339 
 
 which makes its nest over the yawning gulf. 29. We have 
 heard of the pride of Moab, — he is very haughty, — his loftiness, 
 and his pride, and his arrogance, and the lifting up of his 
 heart. 30. I know, is Yahveh's oracle, his fury and the 
 unseemliness of his boasting ; they have done unseemliness. 
 31. On this account I will howl for Moab, and cry out for all 
 Moab ; for the prey of Kir Heres they sigh. 32. As I weep for 
 Jazer, I weep for thee, thou vine of Sibmah, because thy tendrils 
 went over from sea to sea, they reached to Jazer, the waster has 
 fallen on thy fruit-harvest and vintage. 33. And joy is swept 
 away, and singing from the fruitful hill and from the land of 
 Moab ; and I cause the wine to disappear from the vats ; they 
 shall not tread with rejoicing ; the rejoicing is no rejoicing ! 
 34. From the cry of Heshbon unto Elealeh, unto Jahaz they 
 raise their voice, from Zoar unto Horonaim, the cow of three 
 
 properly, " beyond the opening of the abyss," the ravine 
 being supposed to separate it from the pursuer. Ver. 29 after 
 Isa. xvi. 6. Here begins a close imitation of that oracle. 
 Ver. 30. p nb (see on viii. 6) is, against the accents, to be 
 joined with V*u, his babblings (not babblers), Isa. xvi. 6. 
 Ver. 31 after Isa. xvi. 7. The first person refers to the prophet, 
 who has sympathy even for the Moabites and its lovely land. 
 See after Isa. xvi. Kir Heres, see on ver. 1 = Kir Hareseth 
 (Isaiah) = Kir Moab, now Kerak. Isaiah (xvi. 7) in more 
 original style has WWtit? (instead of Win) respecting the grape- 
 cakes of Kir. b^H, Ges. § 70a; Eng. § 69. Ver. 32 freely 
 after Isa. xvi. 8 f. 'oao, taken by many comparatively : more 
 than Jazer weeps. Kather after the original passage, partitive : 
 the way in which J. weeps, or better : as I weep for Jazer. 
 Sibmah, famed for its vines, and Jazer were both not far from 
 Heshbon, see Isa. xvi. 8. As the whole neighbourhood is rich 
 in vineyards, Sibmah is represented as one vine, whose branches 
 travel far. As nothing is known of a sea of Jazer, and only 
 pools are found there, the second D' is perhaps to be erased as 
 having come into the text by oversight (Hitzig, Graf). D' is 
 then the Dead Sea, on whose shore the vines of Moab stretch. 
 If, on the other hand, the text is correct, Jeremiah limits the 
 meaning of D 11 to the two pools Sibmah and Jazer. Ver. 33 after 
 Isa. xvi. 10. The conclusion has a somewhat different form: 
 they tread not the winepress : shout (calling) ; the shout heard 
 (see on xxv. 30) is not a real, joyous one, but a horrid summons 
 to war. Ver. 34 after Isa. xv. 4-6. Elealeh, see there ; Jahaz = 
 
340 JEREMIAH XLVIII. 35-42. 
 
 years ; for even the waters of Nimrim shall become a desolation. 
 35. And in Moab, is Yahveh's oracle, I make an end of him 
 that climbs the sacrificial height and offers incense to his god. 
 36. Therefore my heart mourns for Moab like flutes, and 
 my heart mourns for the people of Kir Heres like flutes, 
 because that which was left, which they had gotten, is 
 perished. 37. For every head is baldness, and every beard 
 shorn ; on all hands are scars, and on all loins sackcloth. 
 38. On all the roofs of Moab and in all her streets every- 
 thing is mourning ; for I have broken Moab to pieces like a 
 vessel which is not beloved, is Yahveh's oracle. 39. How is 
 she broken to pieces — howl ye ! How has Moab turned the 
 back — be ashamed of thyself ! And Moab is become a laugh- 
 ing-stock and a horror to all his neighbours. 40. For thus 
 says Yahveh : Behold, like an eagle it flies and spreads its 
 wings against Moab ! 41. The fortresses are conquered and 
 the towers taken ; and the heart of the heroes of Moab 
 became on that day like the heart of a woman in pangs. 
 42. And Moab is blotted out, so that it is no more a nation, 
 
 Jahzah, ver. 21. Horonaim has here the surname: three years' 
 heifer like Zoar, Isa. xv. 5. The waters of Nimrira, see Isa. 
 xv. 6. Ver. 35. Cf. Isa. xvi. 12. rbyc, Hiphil in the sense of 
 Kal. Ver. 36 freely after Isa. xvi. 11, xv. 7. Instead of the 
 guitar, whose tones at the gentlest touch Isaiah applied to the 
 sympathetic tones of his heart-strings at Moab's misfortune, 
 Jeremiah uses the shriller flute usual at funerals, adding the 
 other mourning customs (ver. 37) found also in Isa. xv. 2, see 
 on Jer. xvi. 6. — nt!>y miT p bll, difficult words; according to 
 Isa. xv. 7, p b'J, to be understood like p bv 'o, Jer. xxix. 28. 
 The relative clause is joined to the const, state, Ges. § 123. a. 2 ; 
 Eng. § 121. Kimchi, Gramm., would read rnn\ Ver. 37 (Isa. 
 xv. 2), see on xvi. 6. Ver. 38. A vessel that is not liked, 
 properly, in which one has no pleasure ; cf. xxii. 28 ; cf. also 
 Isa. xv. 3. Ver. 39. Cf. ver. 20 ; but here lb^M and CU are best 
 taken as imperatives. Ver. 40 omitted by LXX, because they 
 saw in it a repetition of xlix. 22. The proper subject is not 
 mentioned, as in xxv. 38. The same figure is used of Nebu- 
 chadnezzar, Ezek. xvii. 3; Cyrus, Isa. xlvi. 11. Ver. 41. nvnpn, 
 according to the parallel member not proper name as in 
 ver. 24 (without article), but appellative ; the predicate to it in 
 the fern, sing., Ges. § 146. 3 ; Eng. § 143. — mso as in xlix. 22, 
 
JEREMIAH XLVIII. 43-47. 341 
 
 because it acted proudly against Yahveh. 43. Terror and 
 pit and snare upon thee, inhabitant of Moab ! is Yahveh's 
 oracle. 44. He that flees from the terror shall fall into the 
 pit, and he that comes up out of the pit shall be taken in the 
 snare. For I bring upon her, upon Moab, the year of ' their 
 visitation, is Yahveh's oracle. 45. In the shadow of Heshbon 
 stand fugitives without strength. For fire has gone forth 
 from Heshbon and flame from Sihon's house, and consumed the 
 temple (of the head) of Moab and the crown (of the head) of 
 the sons of tumult. 46. "Woe to thee, Moab! the people of 
 Chemosh is destroyed ; for thy sons are carried away into 
 prison, and thy daughters into captivity. 47. But I cause 
 the captivity of Moab to return at the end of the days, is 
 Yahveh's oracle. Thus far the judgment respecting Moab. 
 
 partic. fem. Hiphil of Tix, intrinsically transitive ; fallen into 
 distress in the pangs of childbirth ; according to others, to press 
 forth, namely, the child, with pangs. Ver. 43 f. almost literally 
 like Isa. xxiv. 17 f. ; as to meaning, cf. also Amos v. 19. 
 Ver. 44. The Keri Dan is the only correct reading (Isa. xxiv. 
 18). Ver. 45 f. With the exception of the first words taken 
 from old Mosaic oracles, especially from Num. xxi. 27 ff., an 
 old song of triumph, sung at the capture of Heshbon, the city 
 of the powerful Amorite king Sihon ; on it the same judgment 
 fell through Israel (Yahveh's judgment) as fell on the Moabites, 
 despite their god Chemosh, through Heshbon. The latter again 
 takes place now : destruction goes forth from Heshbon on 
 Moab, ver. 2. The beginning is certainly obscure, since 
 fugitives from Moab would not escape to the north (Heshbon), 
 whence the foe is coming. We must think of the partly 
 Moabitish inhabitants in the neighbourhood of that city ; they 
 hoped to be safe in the city from the conquerors, but remain 
 under the shadow of the walls helpless, because thence already 
 the foe is breaking out like a devouring fire. p2D (Num. 
 xxi. 28, mpD) is strange; J. D. Michaelis and Ewald read 
 rrao, which is better ; otherwise we must render it : from the 
 territory of Sihon. Ver. 45. The end from Balaam's oracle 
 respecting Moab, Num. xxiv. 17, with some variation. Instead 
 of "ipnp read Iplp ; with this agrees nxD instead of Tisa (sides) ; 
 cf. on ix. 25 ; |1NB>, easier than DK* in the original passage, taken 
 from Amos ii. 2. The Moabites are called sons of tumult, as 
 neighbours always restless and ready to attack. Ver. 46 after 
 Num. xxi. 29. 
 
342 JEREMIAH XLVIII. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of cb. xlviii. Old and new oracles respecting 
 Moab. 
 
 In xxv. 21, Edoin, Moab, Amnion follow on the Philistines ; 
 here similarly Moab, Amnion, Edom. The oracles respecting 
 Moab come first, perhaps as the most elaborate. Jeremiah 
 uttered them in the main about the fourth year of Jehoiakim. 
 Respecting the Moabites, see Isa. xvi. Already in Isaiah's 
 days they had called forth the prophet's rebuke by their 
 hostile pride and haughtiness. Perhaps afterwards they had 
 suffered heavy judgments, but no improvement had ensued. 
 2 Kings xxiv. 2 shows that on Jehoiakim's unhappy rising 
 against Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar availed himself of the ven- 
 geance of the Moabites, who were always ready for war against 
 Judah. The rebuke of this nation by our prophet seems to 
 belong substantially to this period. Afterwards under Zedekiah 
 (Jer. xxvii. 3), Moab's attitude was more friendly tban is 
 implied in xlviii. 27. For the rest, this discourse (ch. xlviii.) 
 was not struck off at one heat, but is rather to be called a 
 small collection of Jeremiah's Moabitish oracles, which rested 
 to some extent on former divine utterances respecting that 
 nation; especially is vv. 29-38 a reproduction of Isa. xv., xvi. 
 (cf. on Isa. xvi. 13), and the close of the chapter, ver. 45 f£, 
 repeats old Mosaic oracles, Num. xxi. 28, xxiv. 17. Here 
 and there are allusions to other prophetic utterances about 
 Moab, Amos ii. 1—3; Zeph. ii. 8—11. But the whole is 
 also marked by turns of phrase peculiar to Jeremiah ; and 
 the mode of using and repeating old oracles corresponds to 
 Jeremiah's peculiarities, especially in his prophecies against 
 heathen nations. The genuineness of the section is therefore 
 not to be questioned. Movers and Hitzig tried to mark off a 
 series of interpolations, but without conspicuous success (see 
 Graf). 
 
 The entire discourse is in a lyrical and indeed elegiac strain 
 
JEREMIAH XL VIII. 343 
 
 (ver. 36), an elegy upon Moab. The prophet follows, with 
 his seer's gaze, from place to place a foe bursting violently 
 into the laud of the Moabites, beating down all resistance with 
 ease, and in particular forcing the strong cities and proud 
 forts. Without doubt the " northern " foe is meant, the 
 Chaldreans, although they and their king are nowhere named. 
 They break from the north (Heshbon) into the land. Every- 
 thing howls and mourns for the ruin of the strong places and 
 the desolation of the whole land ; everything flees southward. 
 The reason why Moab is so visited is especially its arrogant 
 talk against Yahveh (cf. vv. 2, 11, 27, 29 f.). Its calamity 
 is the Lord's judgment (vv. 10, 15, 21), which goes forth 
 against the nation and its god (ver. 13). Boastfulness is 
 Moab's characteristic. Especially does it glory in its strong 
 seats and accumulated treasures, because it had never suffered 
 the deep humility of captivity which had already often fallen on 
 Israel. It is thus like wine that had never been drawn off 
 the lees (ver. 11 f.), and had therefore retained its peculiar 
 taste and flavour : its heathen arrogance is unbroken ; in its 
 pride it fancies itself incomparably superior to much-tried 
 Israel ! Its punishment is a ruthless doom of extirpation. 
 As God's honour is in question, ver. 10 warns against false 
 mildness and leniency, as in the old song of Deborah 
 (Judg. v. 23). There will be no escaping for those pursued 
 by the Lord Himself (ver. 43 f.). Death, plunder, captivity 
 are the lot of the nation that had eluded retribution too long. 
 Yet even this discourse ends, like the one respecting Egypt 
 (xlvi. 26), with a glance at the restoration of Moab, ver. 47, 
 which is to be viewed in connection with the final conversion 
 of the heathen to the God of Israel (iii. 1 7). 
 
 As concerns the fulfilment of this threatening, with which 
 the brief one in Ezek. xxv. 8-11 is to be compared, Josephus 
 (Ant. x. 9. 7) relates that in the fifth year after Jerusalem's 
 destruction, Nebuchadnezzar subdued the Ammonites and 
 Moabites, a statement not to be questioned in the main. 
 
34:4 JEREMIAH XLIX. 1-3. 
 
 The conquest may have taken place on the occasion of a later 
 campaign of Nebuchadnezzar against Egypt (see on xliii. 13), 
 in which case certainly the chronological statement of Josephus 
 can scarcely hold good. 
 
 IV. ORACLE RESPECTING THE AMMONITES, XLIX. 1-6. 
 
 XLIX. 1. To the sons of Ammon. Thus says Yahveh : Has 
 then Israel no sons, or has he no heir ? "Wherefore does Malcam 
 inherit Gad, and his people dwell in its cities ? 2. Therefore 
 behold, days come, is Yahveh's oracle, that I cause tumult of 
 war to be heard against Eabbah of the Ammonites, so that it 
 will become a desolate hill, and her daughters shall be burnt 
 with fire, and Israel shall be heir to his heirs, says Yahveh. 
 3. Howl, Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste ! Cry out, ye 
 daughters of Eabbah, gird you with sackcloth, lament, and go 
 to and fro in the folds. For Malcam goes into captivity, his 
 
 Chapter XLIX. 1-6. 
 
 Ver. 1. Heading as in xlviii. 1. Question of surprise such 
 as Jeremiah is fond of. — D3?D, as in ver. 3, Zeph. i. 5, we are 
 not justified in changing into Dbta, after LXX, as both forms 
 may occur. The Ammonites, whose national god is so called, 
 were first driven from their seats between Arnon and Jabbok 
 by the Amorites ; next, they were replaced by the victorious 
 Israelites, especially Gad and Eeuben. But after the deporta- 
 tion by Tiglath-pileser (Pul), the Ammonites, who had been 
 driven eastward, took possession of this territory (2 Kings 
 xv. 29 ; 1 Chron. v. 26). Ver. 2. Eabbah of the Ammonites, 
 their capital (Deut. iii. 11 and often), seated on a tributary of 
 the Jabbok, afterwards Philadelphia; its daughters are the 
 small towns. m\ Kal, to burn, as in li. 58. — En 11 , cf. the right 
 of inheritance, xxxii. 8. Ver. 3. Heshbon, see on xlviii. 2. — 
 Ai cannot be the one near Bethel, but must have been an 
 Ammonite city north of Heshbon, although nothing else is 
 known of it. Graf would read "ip, the city = Eabbah (?). 
 Daughters of Eabbah, to be understood as in ver. 2. They shall 
 wander about (as to form, see Ges. § 54. 2a; Eng. § 53) in the 
 fences provided for the flocks around the cities, because they can 
 no longer dwell within the fortified walls, which the enemy has 
 
JEREMIAH XLIX. 4-6. 345 
 
 priests and his princes together. 4. Why boastest thou in thy 
 valleys, that thy valley overflows, thou perverse daughter, who 
 trustest in thy treasures : " Who can come to me ? " 5. Be- 
 hold, I bring terror upon thee, is the oracle of the Lord, 
 Yahveh of hosts, from all thy surroundings ; and you shall be 
 scattered, every one before him ; and no one shall gather the 
 fugitives. 6. But afterwards I will bring back the captivity 
 of the sons of Ammon, is Yahveh's oracle. 
 
 burnt ; cf. xlviii. 7. Ver. 4. Why boastest thou in the valleys, 
 namely, in their luxurious fertility ? 3T (cf. Ex. iii. 8, 7, and 
 often), either substantive = overflowing, or predicate, namely, 
 that thy valley overflows. The latter is preferable. Ver. 5. 
 The enemies will come from all sides, so that every one has 
 them behind him, and so every one is hunted straight forward 
 out of the land. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xlix. 1-6. Eebuke of the Ammonites. 
 Alongside the Moabites appear here (as in ix. 24, xxv. 21, 
 xxvii. 2 ff.) the kindred Ammonites, who are similarly 
 threatened, but in briefer terms. The oracle may belong to 
 the same period, about the fourth year of Jehoiakim. What 
 this nation is reproached with is its encroachment on the 
 seats of the tribes of Israel east of the Jordan, and also fleshly 
 trust in its beautiful, well-protected land and its accumulated 
 riches. On the other hand, there is no trace of the wicked 
 treacheries perpetrated against the remnant of Judah after 
 Jerusalem's fall by the Ammonite king who professed to be 
 Zedekiah's friend and ally (xl. 14). For their sins the 
 Ammonites are threatened with the desolation of the land 
 and the leading away of the inhabitants into captivity. Their 
 god Malcam ( = Moloch) will come to shame, like Chemosh, 
 the god of the Moabites. Is then Ammon really a " back- 
 sliding daughter" of the true God (ver. 4) ? At last redemption 
 dawns on Ammon. As to the fulfilment of the threatening, 
 see after ch. xlviii. 
 
346 JEREMIAH XLIX. 7-10. 
 
 V. ORACLE RESPECTING EDOM, XLIX. 7-22. 
 
 XLIX. 7. To Edom. Thus says Yahveh of hosts : Is then 
 wisdom no longer in Teman ? has counsel vanished from the 
 prudent ? is their wisdom spilt ? 8. Flee ye, turn away, bury 
 yourselves deep, ye inhabitants of Dedan ; for I bring Esau's 
 calamity on him on the day that I visit him. 9. When 
 grape-gatherers come upon thee, they will leave no gleaning ; 
 when thieves (come) at night-time, they will destroy until 
 they have enough. 10. For I lay Esau bare, discover his 
 hiding - places, so that he can no longer remain concealed. 
 Violence is done to his seed, and his brethren, and his neigh- 
 
 Chapter XLIX. 7-22. 
 
 Ver. 7. Oivb, see on xlvi. 2. The oracle respecting Edom often 
 coincides literally with Obadiah's respecting that people. Cf. 
 xlix. 7 with Obad. 8, xlix. 15 with Obad. 2, xlix. 16 with Obad. 3. 
 As Caspari has proved in detail (Ber Proph. Obadja, 1842), 
 Obadiah is the original which Jeremiah used, as he used other 
 oracles in many of his foreign prophecies. Whether he had 
 the whole canonical Obadiah before him, or whether the latter 
 was enlarged by later additions, is of no importance here. — The 
 inhabitants of Edom, especially those of Teman, an Edoniite 
 province, were famed for their wisdom (cf. Job ii. 11). This 
 wisdom does not help them to escape from the judgment. It 
 seems to vanish when the latter approaches. Quern perdere 
 vidt deus, dementat. — D^3D, partic. of p3 ; cf. ruwri Obad. 8. — 
 nn"iD3, poured on the ground, cf. xix. 7. The trading people of 
 Sedan, near Edom (xxv. 23), whose caravans were accustomed 
 to pass through the country of the Edomites, must hasten away 
 and hide themselves. usn, imper. Hoph. (rare, Ges. § 46. 1), 
 elsewhere Hiphil (ver. 24, xlvi. 21). — Bury yourselves right deep, 
 properly, go down into the depth to dwell, used of seeking the 
 most unapproachable hiding-place. Ver. 9, much more graphic 
 in Obad. 5. Jeremiah has turned the questions of surprise in 
 the seer into simple statements respecting the future. Whether 
 one regards the enemies as grape-gatherers or thieves, they will 
 do their work thoroughly. D 11 ! does not denote here a moderate 
 measure, as in Obadiah, but describes insatiableness without 
 limit. Ver. 10 freely, after Obad. 6. In their rocky nests the 
 marauding Edomites had stored up many treasures ; cf. Diod. 
 Sic. xix. 94, 95. — mro, in any case for torn, is difficult as per- 
 fect ; perhaps run: (infin.) is to be read. Besides the Edomites 
 
JEKEMIAH XLIX. 11-16. 347 
 
 bours, and he himself passes away. 11. Leave thy orphans; 
 I preserve their life ; and let thy widows trust in me ! 
 12. For thus says Yahveh : Behold, they who deserved not 
 to drink this cup shall certainly drink it, and shalt thou go 
 quite unpunished ? Thou shalt not remain unpunished, but 
 shalt certainly drink. 13. For by myself I have sworn, is 
 Yahveh's oracle, that Bozrah shall become a solitude, a 
 reviling, a wilderness, and a curse, and all its cities perpetual 
 wastes. 
 
 14. I have heard tidings from Yahveh, and a messenger is 
 sent among the nations : Gather ye together and advance 
 against her, and arise for the battle ! 15. For, behold, I have 
 made thee small among the nations, despised among men. 
 16. Terror for thee! The presumption of thine heart has 
 bewitched thee, thou who dwellest in the rock - clefts, that 
 boldest the crown of the hill ! Though thou buildest thy 
 nest high as the eagle, thence will I force thee down, is 
 
 proper, their brethren and neighbours also are threatened, like 
 the kindred Amalekites (Gen. xxxvi. 12), Horites (Gen. xxxvi. 
 20 if.), Simeonites (1 Chron. iv. 42), and the neighbouring 
 tribes, Dedan (ver. 8), Tema, Buz (xxv. 23). Ver. 11. Edom is 
 addressed ; he can no longer care for his widows and orphans, 
 but must commit them to the merciful God. Ver. 12. Cf. 
 xxv. 29. — Who did not deserve, properly, whose right it was 
 not, who had not the judgment pertaining to them by right 
 (see on xxvi. 11). Ver. 13. nnb = rmrb, xxv. 18, xliv. 22. 
 Bozrah (Gen. xxxvi. 33 ; Isa. xxxiv. 6, Ixiii. 1 ; Amos i. 12), 
 once capital of the Edomites, to-day the village El-Buzeireh in 
 the district of Jebal ; all its towns are the smaller ones about. 
 Ver. 14, at the beginning of the oracle in Obadiah ; is there 
 more original in form. God commands the nations, as the 
 prophet hears, against Edom. Ver. 16. m£an, here only = 
 nwta The suffix expresses genitive of object. The fear of 
 thee has bewitched thee, i.e. the regard thou enjoyest is too 
 feeble ; moreover, the verb, as masc, belongs to the following- 
 subject. Hence it is better taken as exclamation, cf. Isa. 
 xxix. 16. The fate of the arrogant nation excites terror. 
 Nagelsbach: Thy abomination seduced thee, cf. nxtao; but 
 the appositional subject, " the pride of thy heart," would not 
 agree with this. Nor is any such deity of Edom known.— 
 Edom thought itself impregnable in its rocky abodes. As the 
 
348 JEREMIAH XLIX. 17-22. 
 
 Yahveh's oracle. 1 7. And Edom shall become a desolation ; 
 whoever passes by it shall be amazed, and hiss for all its 
 wounds. 18. As after the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrha 
 and their neighbours, says Yahveh, no one shall dwell there, 
 and no child of man sojourn there. 19. Behold, like a lion 
 it rises up from the overgrowth of Jordan for an indestructible 
 pasture ; for in a moment I will chase him away from it, and 
 who is chosen ? Him will I appoint over it. For who is 
 like me, and who will challenge me ? And who now is a 
 shepherd to stand before me? 20. Therefore hear ye the 
 purpose of Yahveh, which he formed respecting Edom, and his 
 thoughts which he thought in regard to the inhabitants of 
 Teman : Verily they are dragged away, the little ones of the 
 flock ; verily their pasture shall be astonished at them. 
 21. The earth trembles at their thundering fall ; the cry of 
 grief — its sound is heard on the Eed Sea. 22. Behold, like 
 an eagle it rises up and flies near, and spreads its wings over 
 
 ruins of its capital Sela (Petra) show still, the people dwelt of 
 old in dwellings furnished by caves, artificially excavated in 
 part. Jerome on Obad. 5 : " omnis australis regio Idumaeorum 
 in specubus habitatiunculas habet." Ver. 17. " And hiss," see 
 on xviii. 16. Ver. 18. As after the overthrow of Sodom, of. 
 Deut. xxix. 22 ; fuller form, Jer. 1. 40. — Their neighbours, 
 Admah and Zeboim, Deut. xxix. 22 ; Hos. xi. 8. Ver. 19. The 
 enemy proper is not named, only described figuratively as in 
 xxv. 38, xlviii. 40. — Overgrowth of Jordan, see on xii. 5. The 
 indestructible pasture, serving the people as a settled home, 
 must be forsaken at a stroke. — njJMiN expresses an adverbial 
 idea of time, and is to be understood as in Prov. xii. 19, 
 njWiN *iy, usque dum nictem = oculis vibrem (A. Schultens), 
 where 1J& stands in antithesis, like ilVK here ; see Orelli, 
 Synonyma der Zeit, p. 27 f. In a moment I chase him (Edom) 
 from it (the settled, always inhabited pasture). Over this 
 home, to which Edom thought it had an inviolable right, God 
 in sovereign freedom sets whom He chooses. "Who will 
 challenge me, properly, summon to give account (Job ix. 19)? 
 And where is a shepherd (keeping up the figure of a pasture), 
 a ruler, to stand in my way ? Ver. 20. The little ones of the 
 flock, i.e. the defenceless people. Opposite in xxv. 34. Their 
 own land is dumb with terror at them. DDE>, Hiphil, as 
 usually Kal. Ver. 21&. Construction, Ges. § 145. 2 ; Eng. § 142. 
 Ver. 22 like xlviii. 40 f. — JBozrah, see on ver. 13. 
 
JEREMIAH XLIX. 7-22. 349 
 
 Bozrah ; and the heart of the heroes of Edoni on that day 
 becomes like the heart of. a woman in her pangs. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xlix. 7-22. Eebuke of the Edomites. 
 
 This neighbouring people to Israel, by a peculiar destiny, 
 had almost always stood in a hostile relation to it. As long 
 as the Edomites were subject to Israel-Judah (from David's 
 days), they used every opportunity to rise against its supre- 
 macy; so under Joram (2 Kings viii. 20) and under Ahaz 
 (2 Kings xvi. 6 ; 2 Chron. xxviii. 17). And when they 
 became permanently independent, they remained hostile in 
 disposition, despite Jer. xxvii. 3, as was especially seen at 
 Jerusalem's fall. This nation, therefore, receives from the 
 prophet a specially severe condemnation, such as was due to 
 it (ver. 12). According to his custom, Jeremiah repeats a 
 judicial sentence which Obadiah had long ago passed on 
 Edom on an occasion when the latter had acted with marked 
 treachery; cf. also Joel iii. 19 ; Amos i. 11. If in Obadiah 
 the order of the sayings and their shape are more original 
 and striking, in Jeremiah, on the other hand, the day of 
 retribution has come nearer, and the avenging foe, who will 
 requite the guile of Edom, is already in sight. Jeremiah's 
 oracle precedes the overthrow of Jerusalem, when Edom filled 
 up the measure of its sins (Lam. iv. 22 ; Ezek. xxxv. 5, 10, 
 xxxvi. 5 ; Ps. cxxxvii. 7) ; it belongs to the time of Jehoiakim, 
 perhaps the fourth year of this king (xxv. 21), and shows 
 many points of contact with the other oracles of this epoch. 
 What Edom is told is as follows. The famous wisdom which 
 flourished among these neighbours of God's people, and of 
 which the Book of Job is a glorious monument, will not save 
 them, and just as little their strong, seemingly inaccessible 
 seats on Mount Seir : their nests will be taken, their treasures 
 amassed by plunder will be carried off; the nation, that had 
 
350 JEREMIAH XLIX. 23-25. 
 
 never been driven from its pasture, the advancing lion will 
 drive off in a moment from its native meadow. 
 
 The fulfilment of this prophecy appears in Mai. i. 3, which 
 passage implies a partial laying waste of the country of the 
 Edomites by the Chaldteans (in the period after Jerusalem's 
 overthrow), and also announces a repetition of this judgment 
 (ver. 4), such as was executed in fact by the Maccabees, and 
 at last by the Bomans. 
 
 VI. ORACLE RESPECTING DAMASCUS, XLIX. 23-27. 
 
 XLIX. 23. To Damascus. Hamath is ashamed, and Arpad ; 
 for they have heard evil tidings ; they are beside themselves, 
 agitated like* the sea; it cannot be quiet. 24. Damascus is 
 without strength, is turned in flight, and terror has seized it; 
 anguish and pangs have taken hold of it like a travailing 
 woman. 25. How is the city of renown not forsaken, the 
 
 Chapter XLIX. 23-27. 
 
 Ver. 23. In the heading (see on xlvi. 2) only Damascus is 
 named, the most important town of all Aram (Syria) ; really 
 the capital of a more limited kingdom, the " Damascene Aram," 
 2 Sam. viii. 6, from which the "land of Hamath" is distin- 
 guished (xxxix. 5). This Hamath on the Orontes, called also 
 Hamath Eabbah (Amos vi. 2), a very important city mentioned 
 often in the inscriptions, called Epiphania in the Macedonian 
 period, now again Hamah, is the extreme northern point to 
 which the Israelitish supremacy extended, 1 Kings viii. 65 ; 
 2 Kings xiv. 25 (Num. xiii. 21, xxxiv. 8, etc.). — Arpad (Isa. 
 x. 9), to-day an uninhabited ruin, Tell Erfad, three hours north 
 of Aleppo; once powerful, as appears from its frequent mention 
 in the inscriptions. — Instead of DU, yielding no satisfactory 
 meaning, read, after Isa, lvii. 20, D»s, and join 12D3 to the 
 following, hiv applies to the seer. In consequence of the bad 
 news they are melted, i.e. beside themselves with anxiety, like 
 the sea which finds no rest. Ver. 24. npnnn, mappik has fallen 
 away because of the putting back of the tone, ljdi terror 
 panic, here only ; perhaps used here intentionally as a Syrian 
 word ; cf. nm, Hos. xiii. 1. Ver. 25. xb does not stand else- 
 where in this sense with TN, properly = how is it not forsaken, 
 
JEREMIAH XLIX. 28-28. 351 
 
 fortress of my delight ! 26. Therefore its youths shall fall 
 in her streets, and all the men of war are blotted out on that 
 day, is the oracle of Yahveh of hosts. 27. And I kindle a 
 fire in the wall of Damascus, that it may consume the palaces 
 of Ben-hadad. 
 
 i.e. in what respect has this lot not befallen it ? = it is forsaken 
 in every respect. Keri, incorrectly, r6nn, vfenn ? Ver. 26 like 
 1. 30. Ver. 27 after Amos i. 4, 14. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xlix. 23-27. Oracle respecting Damascus 
 and Syria generally. 
 
 There follows here an oracle respecting northern Aram and 
 its cities, which are not noticed in the general survey, ch. xxv., 
 and yet will suffer under the Babylonian judgment. Syria 
 had been an Assyrian province, and was next subjugated by 
 Pharaoh-Necho after the battle of Megiddo. The flourishing 
 cities of this land, first of Damascus, the delight of the East, 
 will be greatly disturbed and damaged in the course of the 
 coming war. Their wealth and strength will only serve to 
 attract the new invader. The old oracle of Amos i. 3 f. will 
 be anew fulfilled. The passage in our prophet seems to 
 belong to the time of the battle of Carchemish. 
 
 VII. ORACLE RESPECTING THE ARABIANS, CH. XLIX. 28-33. 
 
 XLIX. 28. To Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which 
 Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, smote. Thus says Yahveh : 
 Eise ye, march against Kedar and lay waste the lands of the east. 
 
 Chapter XLIX. 28-33. 
 
 Ver. 28. Form of heading as in xlvi. 2.— Kedar, see on ii. 10. 
 — The kingdoms of Hazor. None of the cities of this name in 
 Palestine can be meant here. No Arabian city or district of 
 this name is known. It may be a collective name like Kedar, 
 the sons of the east, those with clipped hair, and may refer to 
 
352 JEREMIAH XLIX. 29-33. 
 
 29. Their tents and their flocks they shall take away; their 
 curtains and all their vessels and their camels they shall 
 carry off with them ; and one shall cry respecting them : 
 Terror around! 30. Flee ye, escape quickly, hide you deep, 
 ye inhabitants of Hazor, is Yahveh's oracle ; for Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, king of Babylon, has formed a purpose concerning 
 you, and devised a plan concerning you. 31. Rise ye, march 
 against a cheerful people, that dwells securely, is Yahveh's 
 oracle, which has neither doors nor bars, dwelling apart. 
 32. And their camels shall be for a prey, and the multitude 
 of their cattle for a booty, and I winnow them to every wind, 
 those shaven on the temple ; and from every side I bring 
 their calamity upon them, is Yahveh's oracle. 33. And so 
 Hazor shall become a dwelling of jackals, a solitude for ever ; 
 no one shall dwell there, nor shall any child of man sojourn 
 therein. 
 
 settled, not wandering Arabs, dwelling in strong D'nxn (Isa. 
 xlii. 11), farmsteads, not in cities, as to-day in Syria the settled 
 Arabs are called El-hadariye. "iixn in this case = land of 
 Bedouin villages, but more probably it is really a particular 
 Arabian district. The several tribes lived there under their 
 sheikh, a " king " in miniature. — The clause : which Nebuchad- 
 nezzar (Kethib, with 1 by mistake, from iisn) smote, points, like 
 xlvi. 2, to the fulfilment that followed the oracle. — VFW, Ges. 
 § 20c and § 67. a. 10 ; Eng. § 66. mp "03, general designation 
 of the Arabs (Judg. vi. 3), whose territory began east of the 
 Jordan (Gen. xxix. 1). Ver. 29. Curtains, see on iv. 20. 
 Ver. 30. Hide you, see on ver. 8. Ver. 31. This refers to the 
 tribes who rear cattle and live remote from the trade of the 
 great nations. Dwelling in mere farmsteads or hamlets, they 
 have no doors and bolts to keep out foreign invaders. Ver. 32. 
 Those with shorn temple, see on ix. 25. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of ch. xlix. 28-33. Menace to the Arabian 
 tribes. 
 
 Not only will Nebuchadnezzar's march inflict great loss 
 on splendid kingdoms, but even harmless peoples, living 
 carelessly away from the high-road and little observed, such 
 
JEREMIAH XLIX. 28-33. 353 
 
 as the nomadic and the settled Arabian tribes, will not 
 escape the conqueror's notice and attacks. Already in xxv. 
 20, 23, 24, such communities were glanced at, and they 
 here recur in part under the same designations ; cf. also Isa. 
 xxi. 13-17. The tents of these nomads, and the insignificant 
 Bedouin villages without doors and bars, present a strange 
 contrast to the great cities of Syria with their magnificent 
 palaces (vv. 23-27) ; and yet even the former contain 
 precious goods, tempting the foreigner's greed. The riches 
 of one tribe lie in flocks, of another in the produce of 
 the caravan trade. Both will be taken from them; and 
 for one as for the other banishment from their home, 
 where their hamlets are levelled with the ground, is a hard 
 fate. 
 
 The fulfilment of this oracle, as well as of the threatenings 
 contained in ch. xxv., is confirmed by xlix. 28, and attested 
 also in other quarters. " Like his predecessors, the Asssyrian 
 kings, Nebuchadnezzar was allured by the fabulous, widely- 
 famed wealth which the distant lands of Yemen were said 
 to rejoice in ; and the treasures amassed by trade in this 
 emporium of the eastern world excited his avarice. Leaving 
 on one side the populations scattered on the highlands of 
 Nejd, he made for Heja and the districts crossed by the 
 great caravan-route. In Arabian traditions it is related that, 
 after having defeated and dispersed, near the town of Dhat- 
 irk, the Jorhom Joktanides, who tried to block his way to 
 Kaabah, he reached the northern boundary of Yemen. The 
 exhaustion of his army prevented his farther advance; he 
 returned and took back with him many captives and two entire 
 tribes, the Hadhoura (cf. "uxn) and Ouabar, whom he settled 
 in Chaldsea. This was more a great marauding expedition 
 than a regular warlike undertaking, and brought him only 
 considerable booty, and as regards name a quickly-vanishing 
 supremacy. The Arabians remembered the conqueror who 
 had so severely harassed them, and made of Bochtnassar a 
 
 z 
 
354 JEREMIAH XLIX. 34-39. 
 
 mythical hero, to whom a thousand reminiscences of a heroic 
 and fabulous kind attached themselves," Maspero. 
 
 VIII. ORACLE RESPECTING ELAM, CH. XLIX. 34-39. 
 
 XLIX. 34. That which came to the prophet Jeremiah as a 
 word of Yahveh concerning Elam in the beginning of the reign 
 of Zedekiah, king of Judah, saying: 35. Thus says Yahveh 
 of hosts : Behold, I will break in pieces the bow of Elam, their 
 principal strength. 36. And I bring upon Elam four winds 
 from the four ends of the heaven, and winnow them to all 
 these winds; and there shall be no nation whither the 
 scattered ones of Elam shall not come. 37. And I crush 
 Elam before their foes and their pursuers, and bring ruin 
 upon them, the flame of mine anger, is Yahveh's oracle, and 
 send the sword after them until I have consumed them. 
 38. And I set up my throne in Elam, and cause king and 
 princes to vanish thence, is Yahveh's oracle. 39. But it 
 shall come to pass at the end of the days that I will bring 
 again the captivity of Elam, is Yahveh's oracle. 
 
 Chapter XLIX. 34-39. 
 
 Ver. 34. Elam, see on xxv. 25. This specific oracle respect- 
 ing Elam, according to the heading, is about seven years later 
 than most belonging to the foreign group. Movers, Hitzig, 
 Nagelsbach indeed contest the genuineness of the heading, 
 which figures in LXX as a subscription ; it is supposed to have 
 strayed from its original place at the beginning of ch. xxvii., 
 and in consequence of this to have been joined to the present 
 oracle. But this supposition is too improbable to claim un- 
 questioning acceptance. Ver. 35. Breaking the how in pieces, 
 applied to the destruction of warlike power, as in Hos. i. 5. 
 Here the bow is so used, because the troops of the country 
 were specially trained to it (Isa. xxii. 6). The bow is explained 
 in the words : the foremost, chief of their strength. Ver. 36. 
 Kethib thy, mistake for D^y. Ver. 37. Tinnm, peculiar forma- 
 tion from hachtath-ti (Ges. § 67. a. 11 ; Eng. § 66) for 'ninnn 
 Ver. 38. I set up my throne, i.e. prepare to judge and rule 
 in the land, devoting the whole previous government to 
 destruction. 
 
JEREMIAH L. 1, 2. 355 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of xlix. 34-39. Oracle respecting Elam. 
 
 This kingdom, lying east of the Lower Tigris, north of 
 the Persian Gulf, south of Media and Assyria, with the 
 capital Susa, was suhject to the Assyrian kings, and had 
 been forced to assist in Sennacherib's campaign against 
 Jerusalem (Isa. xxii. 6). On the dissolution of the Assyrian 
 empire it again became largely independent, as appears from 
 ver. 38. Judgment is announced to it, without intimation 
 what earthly power (Nebuchadnezzar or who ?) would execute 
 it. Yah veh Himself will there sit as judge (ver. 38); but 
 even to this nation Yahveh will at last give deliverance. 
 On what occasion Jeremiah specially threatened that far- 
 distant nation, whereas those lying beside it in xxv. 25 receive 
 no special oracles (at least none remain to us), cannot now 
 be known with certainty. But it is possible that Elamite 
 auxiliaries took part in the capture of Jerusalem and the 
 carrying away of Jehoiachin, and displayed special hostility. 
 The Elamites are mentioned already in Isa. xi. 11 as hold- 
 ing the Israelites in exile. Eespecting Nebuchadnezzar's 
 attitude to them nothing definite is known ; later they formed 
 a part of the Persian monarchy. 
 
 IX. ORACLES RESPECTING BABYLON, CHS. L., LI. 
 
 L. 1. The word which Yahveh spoke concerning Babylon, 
 concerning the land of the Chaldaeans, by Jeremiah the 
 prophet : 2. Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and 
 set up a sign ! Publish, and conceal not ! Say ye : Babylon 
 is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dashed to the 
 
 Chapter L. 
 
 Ver. 1. Tn, see on xxxvii. 2. Ver. 2. Sign, signals to 
 announce important, alarming news. Bel (li. 44 ; Isa. xlvi. 1), 
 in Assyrian Bil (Canaanite Baal), the chief god of the Baby- 
 lonians according to the testimony both of the Bible and the 
 
356 JEREMIAH L. 3-6. 
 
 ground ! Her images are put to shame, her idols dashed to 
 the ground ! 3. Tor a nation comes up against her from the 
 north, which will lay waste her land, so that no one shall 
 again dwell therein; from man to beast — they are fled, 
 gone away ! 4. In those days and at that time, is Yahveh's 
 oracle, the sons of Israel shall come, they and the sons of 
 Judah together ; they shall go on weeping and seek Yahveh 
 their God. 5. They shall ask after Zion, setting their face 
 the way hither : " Come and let us join ourselves to Yahveh 
 in an eternal covenant which shall not be forgotten." 
 6. They were lost sheep, my people ; their shepherds caused 
 them to err on tempting mountains ; from mountain to hill 
 
 Greeks, belonging also according to the Babylonian accounts to 
 the supreme divine triad, had a gigantic temple at Babylon, 
 described by Herod, i. 181-183 ; Diod. ii. 9. Merodach, in the 
 inscriptions Marduk, was the specific tutelary deity of the city 
 of Babylon ; rose to the head of the system of gods after Baby- 
 lon became a capital with wide-stretching dominion ; has also 
 the surname Bel. Among the planets Merodach answers to 
 Jupiter, abbi, Lev. xxvi. 30, Deut. xxix. 16, here only in 
 Jeremiah, often in Ezekiel, properly perhaps logs, stumps, 
 contemptuous name for images (according to others, stercorei). 
 Ver. 3. As once the avenger who was to visit Jerusalem was 
 long described indefinitely by Jeremiah as a foe from the north, 
 so now the avenger coming on Babylon is described; so in 
 vv. 9, 41 ; on the other hand, li. 11 ; cf. the definite mention 
 of the foe in ver. 27. Cf. iv. 25. Ver. 4. Cf. iii. 18, 21, xxxi. 
 8. Go on, go farther and farther weeping, Ges. § 131. 35/ 
 Eng. § 128. Yer. 5. W, here with accusative, to ask, inquire 
 after something, cf. xxxi. 21. lilai, scarcely imper., as also 
 ■RUpJ, Joel iii. 11 ; rather transition to the third person (cf. 
 ver. 8) : and let them join themselves . . . in a perpetual 
 covenant (accusative, Ges. § 138. a. 3 ; Eng. § 135. Cf. xxxi. 
 31 ff., xxxiii. 14 ff.), which falls not into oblivion, and so is 
 indestructible (cf. xx. 11, xxiii. 40). Ver. 6. Cf. x. 21, xxiii. 
 1 ff. ; 13N, originally used of a sheep separated from the flock 
 and lost. D'oniE*, Kethib, to be read with Nagelsbach, Xeil, in 
 the sense which the verb has in Isa. xlvii. 10, not D»23le>; the 
 Keri to be rendered : the mountains have led them astray, or 
 they have been led astray to the mountains — less in place. 
 There may be an allusion to the worship of the heights, and 
 also to the backsliding to the proud earthly powers, which were 
 
JEREMIAH L. 7-13. 357 
 
 they went; they forgot their camping-place. 7. All they 
 who found them consumed them, and their oppressors said : 
 We do no wrong, because they have sinned against Yahveh, 
 the habitation of righteousness and the hope of their fathers, 
 Yahveh. 8. Flee ye from the midst of Babylon, and depart 
 from the land of the Chaldeans, and be like he-goats before 
 the flock. 9. For behold, I set on and lead up against 
 Babylon a multitude of great nations from the land of the 
 north, who array themselves against her ; from thence she is 
 taken ; their arrows are like a fortunate hero, who returns 
 not without gain. 1 0. Thus Chaldasa becomes a prey ; all 
 who plunder her shall be satisfied, is Yahveh's oracle. 
 11. Yea, rejoice, yea exult, thou plunderer of my inherit- 
 ance, yea frolic like a heifer treading out corn, and neigh 
 like strong horses. 1 2. Your mother is sorely put to shame, 
 she that bare you will be ashamed ; behold, the last of the 
 nations ! Wilderness, drought, and desert ! 1 3. Because of 
 Yahveh's fury it shall not be inhabited, aud shall become 
 
 alluring but inhospitable mountains, where the flock perished, 
 wandering from one height to another. Camping-place, cf. 
 Ps. xxiii. 2. Ver. 7. Cf. ii. 3. Because the nation had forgotten 
 its god, the heathen powers regarded it as good prey, which 
 might be consumed with impunity. iCN nnn, cf. xxix. 19. 
 Pasture of righteousness, Jerusalem is called in xxxi. 23 ; here 
 the Lord Himself is so called as the true home of His people, 
 from which they derived safety and success. He is also called 
 the hope of their fathers, xiv. 8, xvii. 13. Ver. 8. Kethib 1X5? 
 is preferable, cf. with ver. 5. As the he-goats pushed to the 
 front on the opening of the fold, so those addressed (the captive 
 Judsans) are to be the first to flee ; the others will follow the 
 example, ver. 16. Ver. 9. QB>D, from there it is taken by these 
 nations. His (the enemy's) arrows, which miss not the mark 
 aimed at, are compared to a warrior who does not return from 
 an attack disappointed. Ver. 11. Properly, for thou makest 
 thyself rejoice— do thou rejoice (Kethib sing, to be preferred) ; 
 the fatal apodosis follows in ver. 12. Threshing is more play 
 than toil to a frisky heifer, Hos. x. 11. Wi for run Neighing 
 is a sign of excessive wantonness in horses, see on viii. 16. 
 Ver. 12. The persons addressed are the individual Chaldseans, 
 of whose mother, the nation, it shall be said : Behold the last 
 of the nations ! (cf. the opposite rVWi), and so far as it is 
 country, fatherland: wilderness, etc. Ver. 13. 3W1, see on 
 
358 JEREMIAH L. 14-20. 
 
 an utter desolation ; every one that passes by Babylon shall 
 be astonished, and hiss for all her plagues. 14. Set your- 
 selves against Babylon round about, all ye archers ! Shoot 
 at her, spare not arrows, for she has sinned against Yahveh. 
 1 5. Exult over her round about ; she has offered her hand, 
 her pillars are fallen, her walls broken down; for this is 
 Yahveh's vengeance. Eevenge yourselves on her ! Like as 
 she did, do to her ! 16. Extirpate the husbandman from 
 Babylon, and him that handles the sickle at harvest-time! 
 They turn before the violent sword, every one to his people ; 
 and they flee every one to his land. 17. A scattered sheep 
 is Israel, lions have chased it away ; first the king of Assyria 
 devoured it, and now at the last Nebuchadnezzar, king of 
 Babylon, has gnawed its bones. 18. Therefore thus says 
 Yahveh of hosts, the God of Israel : Behold, I visit the king 
 of Babylon and his land, as I visited the king of Assyria ; 
 19. and I bring Israel home to his pasture, that it may feed 
 on Carmel and in Bashan ; and on Mount Ephraim and in 
 Gilead his soul shall be satisfied. 20. In those days and 
 at that time, is Yahveh's oracle, one shall inquire after 
 the guilt of Israel, and it no longer exists, and the sins of 
 
 xvii. 6 ; cf. xlix. 17. Ver. 14. Spare not the arrows = be not 
 sparing of them. Ver. 15.* The exulting is not the war-cry, 
 but the cry of triumph, as appears from what follows ; she has 
 given her hand, as in vowing, here in surrender (cf. Lam. v. 6 ; 
 2 Chron. xxx. 8), applies here perhaps not to real joining of 
 hands on capitulation, but to the hoisting of the flag of 
 surrender. — jTrfttw or n , n s lB'K, Kethib (nTi'B'K, Keri), from na-K, 
 here only ; according to the Arabic asijat, support, pillars, the 
 fortified towers especially are suggested (LXX intaXtyc,, turrets). 
 Ver. 16. Within the far-extending walls of Babylon there were 
 cultivated fields, Diod. Sic. ii. 9 ; Curt. v. 4 ; Pliny, Hist. Nat. 
 xviii. 17 ; still the menace is not limited to them, but applies 
 to the entire vicinity of the city and the country of Babylon. 
 The many strangers will forsake it, Isa. xiii. 14. n:vn mn, as 
 in xxv. 38, xlvi. 16. Ver. 17. D¥J>, denom. from DVJ?. Ver. 19. 
 "rnntyi, elsewhere Hiphil, xxiii. 3, and often, njn, with accusa- 
 tive of the pasture, as in Ezek. xxxiv. 14, 18, 19. The 
 richly-wooded Carmel in the west of the country and the 
 luxuriously green Bashan in the east stand first as the finest 
 pasture-grounds. Ver. 20. )1]> ns, accusative, as often with 
 
JEREMIAH L. 21-26. 359 
 
 Judah cannot be found. For I will forgive those whom I 
 leave over. 
 
 21. Upon the land of twofold rebellion — go up upon it! 
 And against the inhabitants of vengeance — kill and publish 
 the ban after them, is Yahveh's oracle, and accomplish all 
 that I have commanded thee. 22. A cry of war in the 
 land and great overthrow ! 23. How is the hammer of the 
 whole earth beaten and broken in pieces ! How is Babylon 
 become a horrible waste among the nations ! 24. I have 
 set a snare for thee, and thou also art taken, Babylon, and 
 thou sawest it not; thou art caught and also seized; for 
 thou didst begin war with Yahveh. 25. Yahveh has opened 
 his armoury and brought forth the weapons of his fury ; for 
 it is a work which the Lord, Yahveh of hosts, has in the 
 land of the Chaldseans. 26. Come ye upon her from every 
 quarter, open her granaries, pour her out like sheaves and 
 put her under the ban ; no remnant shall be left her. 
 
 passive, Ges. § 143. la ; Eng. § 140 ; cf. xxxi. 34. rwtWDn, 
 with ■> like n"b. Ver. 21. DTTiD ; the singular ma does not 
 occur ; on the other hand, , "ip more frequently in this sense and 
 in Ezekiel as a surname of rebellious Israel, Ezek. ii. 5, 7, and 
 often. The dual was suggested by names of countries like 
 Aram Naharaim, Mizraim, but expresses intensity (cf. Judg. 
 xv. 16 ; Ps. lxviii. 18), without two rebellions of Babylon being 
 necessarily supposed. The allusion is to rebellious defiance of 
 the Lord, cf. ver. 24. The summons is addressed to the 
 avenger described in ver. 3. lips, likewise symbolical name of 
 Chaldsea-Babylon. — Tin, here denom. from Tin ; so in ver. 27 ; 
 2 Kings iii. 23 ; the meaning to kill frequent in Syriac. — Ban, 
 pronounce the exterminating ban (cnn), by which every living 
 thing is doomed to death, and even the property is destroyed ; 
 cf. ver. 26. Ver. 22. "at?, see on iv. 6. Ver. 23. The hammer, 
 breaking in pieces the whole earth, is now itself shattered. 
 Ver. 24. rru, Hithpael, properly, to let oneself be stirred up, 
 hence to engage in conflict with any one. Ver. 25. Weapons 
 of his fury, cf. Isa. xiii. 5. — nat6», cf. xlviii. 10. Ver. 26. 
 YPO (similarly li. 31) from the extreme end, i.e. the farthest 
 corners, all, even the last, without exception. Open their 
 granaries; the word (from MX, here only) signifies properly 
 feeding-stall. The rich stores of the city are to be opened by 
 violence, everything heaped up like sheaves and then destroyed, 
 
360 JEKEMIAH L. 27-35. 
 
 27. Kill all her bullocks, they shall go down to the slaughter. 
 Alas for them ! For their day is come, the time of their 
 visitation! 28. Hark! Fugitives and escapers from the 
 land of Babylon, to publish in Zion the vengeance of Yahveh 
 our God, vengeance for his temple ! 29. Summon archers 
 against Babylon! All ye that stretch the bow, encamp 
 against her round about ! Let there be no escaping ! Ee- 
 compense her according to her work ; altogether as she has 
 done, do to her, for she is insolent against Yahveh, against 
 the Holy One of Israel. 30. Therefore shall her youths 
 fall in her streets, and all her men of war be blotted out 
 on that day, is Yahveh's oracle. 31. Behold, I will (come) 
 to thee, thou Insolence, is the oracle of the Lord, Yahveh 
 of hosts ; for thy day is come, the time when I visit thee. 
 32. And the insolence totters and falls, no one raises her up ; 
 and I kindle fire in her cities that it may consume all her 
 surroundings. 
 
 33. Thus says Yahveh of hosts : The children of Israel 
 and the children of Judah are oppressed together, and all they 
 that led them captive held them fast, they refused to release 
 them. 34. Their deliverer is strong, Yahveh of hosts His 
 name. Bight earnestly He will maintain their cause to give 
 the earth rest and to disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon. 
 35. Sword upon the Chaldseans ! is Yahveh's oracle, and 
 upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and 
 
 burnt as accursed property. Ver. 27. 3"in, see on ver. 21. The 
 lullocks, according to the figurative style of Isa. xxxiv. 6, 7, the 
 nobles towering above the people (Nagelsbach), or here better, 
 the martial youth, cf. xlviii. 15. Ver. 28. Bevenge for His 
 temple, as in li. 11. Its destruction, not merely plunder (Graf), 
 is implied ; but this was certain to Jeremiah long before. 
 Ver. 29. Summon, as in li. 27, properly, make them hear, 
 namely, the summons ; cf. 1 Kings xv. 22. — Win, not multos 
 (so the ancient translations), but as in Job xvi. 13, archers, 
 from am (Gen. xlix. 23) = rm. — Keri needlessly supplies 
 p6 from ver. 26. Ver. 30 like xlix. 26. Ver. 31. Insolence, 
 new appellation of Babylon. Ver. 32. LXX read h r$ dpupu 
 aurfc, after xxi. 14, mjra Ver. 34 from Prov. xxiii. 11. ynn 
 (for ysv}, Ges. § 53. a. 2 ; Eng. § 52), as in Jer. xxxi. 2, in 
 antithesis to the following verb similar in sound, with which 
 
JEREMIAH L. 36-43. 361 
 
 upon her wise men. 36. Sword upon the boasters, so that 
 they appear fools ! Sword upon her heroes, so that they 
 despair ! 3 7. Sword upon his horses, and upon his chariots, 
 and upon all the mixed people that dwell among them, so 
 that they become women ! Sword upon her treasures, so 
 that they are plundered ! 38. Drought upon her waters, so 
 that they dry up ! For it is a land of graven images, and with 
 forms of terror they practise madness. 39. Therefore martens 
 with jackals shall dwell there, and young ostriches sojourn in 
 her ; and it shall be no more inhabited for ever, and shall not 
 be dwelt in from generation to generation. 40. Like as God 
 overturned Sodom and Gomorrha and her neighbours, is 
 Yahveh's oracle, no one shall dwell there, and no child of man 
 sojourn in her. 41. Behold, a nation comes from the north, 
 and a great nation and many kings shall be stirred up from 
 the corners of the earth. 42. They carry bow and spear, 
 they are cruel and have no pity ; their thunder roars like the 
 sea, and they ride upon horses, armed like a man for battle — 
 against thee, daughter of Babylon. 43. When the king of 
 
 cf. Isa. xiv. 16. Ver. 36. The boasters are Babylon's false pro- 
 phets, astrologers, interpreters of signs, Isa. xliv. 25, who were 
 made fools by the unfortunate issue, i.e. proved fools. Ver. 
 37. Mixed people (see on xxv. 20) are the foreigners employed 
 as mercenaries. The sword gives access to Babylon's immense 
 treasures. Ver. 38. rin passes here, where mention is made of 
 the waters which were Babylon's chief bulwark, into yp, 
 certainly not merely at the pleasure of the Masoretes. aya, 
 terrifying shapes, grimaces. They were incited by such idols 
 to wild, mad conduct— an allusion not merely to worship, but 
 also to their other conduct so displeasing to God. To us it is a 
 question whether it would not be better to read tynw after 
 Ps. xcvii. Ver. 39. D"V, desert-dwellers, elsewhere also of 
 men, here as usually of beasts, and alongside D^K (howlers, 
 jackals ; cf. Arabic ibn-awa, son of howling) a particular species 
 of beast, which is questionable. Gesenius: horned-owl; 
 Delitzsch after Kimchi here : marten, aen, see on xvn. 6. 
 Cf. the similar passages, Isa. xiii. 20-22, xxxiv. 14. Ver. 40 
 like xlix. 18, cf. Isa. xiii. 19. Ver. 41. Cf. vv 3 9, vi. 22. 
 Ver. 42. Apart from a different object of attack like vi. 16. 
 Ver. 43. Also a repetition of vi. 24, so that in form vi. 22-24 
 recur in vv. 41-43. So vv. 44-46 repeat xlix. 19-21 with 
 
362 JEREMIAH L. 44-LI. 2. 
 
 Babylon hears tidings of them, his hands become slack ; 
 anguish seizes him, writhings like a woman in travail. 44. 
 Behold, like a lion it rises up from the overgrowth of Jordan 
 for an indestructible pasture ; for in a moment I chase them 
 away from it, and who is chosen ? him will I appoint over 
 it ; for who is like me, and who would challenge me ? And 
 where is a shepherd to hold his ground before me ? 45. 
 Therefore hear ye the purpose of Yahveh, which he has 
 formed respecting Babylon, and his thoughts which he has 
 thought concerning the land of the Chaldaeans ; truly the 
 little ones of the flock shall be dragged away; truly the 
 pasture shall be astonished at them. 46. The earth trembles 
 at the cry : " Babylon is taken," and lamentation is heard 
 among the nations. 
 
 LI. 1. Thus says Yahveh: Behold, I stir up against 
 Babylon and against the inhabitants of the " heart of my 
 adversaries " the spirit of a destroyer. 2. And I despatch 
 foreigners to Babylon, who shall winnow her and empty her 
 land ; for they advance against her from all sides in the day 
 
 similar changes. Ver. 44. The Keri DS'hx deserves the prefer- 
 ence according to the parallel passage. The overgrowth of the 
 Jordan is part of the figure of the lion, not of the political 
 subject. Ver. 46 differs rather more from xlix. 21. 
 
 There is no sufficient reason for cutting off the section, vv. 
 40-46, as an addition by a later hand, as Graf remarks and 
 Nagelsbach also acknowledges. The repetition of earlier 
 oracles, his own or others', with characteristic deviations, is 
 elsewhere also the custom of this prophet. 
 
 Chapter LT. 
 
 Ver. 1. 'op D$>, heart, centre of my adversaries, a play of 
 words made by transposing the letters after the figure Athbash 
 from D'lBO, see on xxv. 26, like Sheshak from Babylon. Even 
 Graf confesses that it is a subjective prejudice to regard such 
 a mode of speech as unworthy of the prophet, and on this 
 account to describe these passages as additions by a later hand. 
 — 'd nn might be translated " a destructive wind " and under- 
 stood as in iv. 11 ; but ver. 11 is decisive for the rendering 
 given. Ver. 2. D ,- ir is a word-play on the verb ; but for this 
 reason D'nf is not to be read (J. D. Michaelis, Ewald), but as in 
 
JEREMIAH LI. 3-9. 363 
 
 of calamity. 3. Against him that stretches let the archer 
 stretch his bow, and against him that puts on his coat of 
 mail. Also spare not her youths, put under ban all her 
 army ; 4. so that slain ones fall in the land of the Chaldeans, 
 and those thrust through in her streets. 5. For Israel is not 
 bereaved, nor Judah, of its God, of Yahveh of hosts ; for their 
 land is full of guilt in regard to the Holy One of Israel. 6. 
 Flee ye from the midst of Babylon, and deliver ye every one 
 his soul ; perish not through her guilt, for this is the time of 
 vengeance for Yahveh ; the crime that has been done he 
 repays to her. 7. Babylon was a golden goblet in Yahveh's 
 hand, which made all the earth drunken ; the nations have 
 drunk of her wine, therefore the nations are raving. 8. 
 Suddenly is Babylon fallen and broken : howl ye for her, 
 fetch balsam for her pain, perchance she may be healed. 
 9. " We would have healed Babylon, but she could not be 
 healed ; for her judgment reaches to the heaven, and towers 
 
 ver. 51. Ver. 3. The translation follows the Kethib; Keri 
 wrongly omits the second "pri* : " and against him that stretches 
 let the archer" advance. More completely it would run 
 *pT "IK'S ba. The enemy is summoned against the light- 
 armed and heavy-coated Babylonians. The preceding "PT 
 THn is best supplied to bjHV i«0. ^OT shortened imperf. is 
 strange ; hence Syriac, Targum, Vulgate here read btt, which 
 would awkwardly interrupt the summons. The verb usually 
 derived from rhy, to exalt oneself, boast, better from bbv, 
 immittere (Aramaic), Ewald, Gramm. § 121a. Ver. 5. Widowed, 
 so that it would be deprived for ever of its avenging protector, 
 cf. ii. 3. The land of the Chaldaeans is full of guilt, which 
 must be expiated by the Holy One of Israel, i.e. in the sense 
 that God is security for the existence of the debt, and will exact 
 it. God is called the Holy One of Israel, in Jeremiah only here 
 and 1. 29 ; on the other hand, frequently in the first and second 
 part of the Book of Isaiah. Ver. 6, cf. 1. 8; Gen. xix. 15. 
 Ver. 7. The drink which Yahveh gave all nations in this goblet 
 was His wrath, cf. xxv. 15 f. The gold alludes to the grandeur 
 of Babylon (Graf). Ver. 8 f. Dramatically vivid exhibition of 
 the incurable hurt inflicted on Babylon, cf. xlvi. 11. Perhaps 
 it might be healed, says human sympathy. But ver. 9 states 
 that man's attempts at healing are in vain ; the guests dwelling 
 in the land give it up; cf. 1. 16: their doom towers up to 
 heaven, — allusion to Gen. xi. 4, is immeasurably great, mocking 
 
364 JEKEMIAH LI. 10-17. 
 
 to the clouds." 10. Yahveh has brought our righteous cause 
 to the light ; come, let us recount in Zion what Yahveh our 
 God has done. 11. Make the arrows bright, take up the 
 shields ! Yahveh has stirred up the spirit of the kings of 
 Media, for his purpose stands against Babylon, to destroy it; 
 for this is Yahveh's vengeance, vengeance for his temple. 
 12. Set up a banner against the walls of Babylon, make 
 strong the watch, appoint watchmen, prepare ambushes ; 
 for as Yahveh has devised, so also he carries out what he 
 has spoken against the inhabitants of Babylon. 13. Thou 
 who dwellest by abundant waters, rich in treasures, thy end 
 is come, the ell, when thou art cut off. 14. Yahveh of hosts 
 has sworn by his soul, although I filled thee with men as 
 locusts, they shall raise the vintage-cry against thee; 15. 
 He who prepared the earth by his strength, who established 
 the circle of the world by his wisdom, and stretched out the 
 heavens by his knowledge; 16. At the sound of his call 
 there is a multitude of waters in the heaven, and he makes 
 vapours ascend from the end of the earth ; he creates light- 
 nings for the rain, and brings forth wind from his treasuries. 
 17. Every man is stupid in understanding, every smith is 
 put to shame by his image, for his casting is deceit, and there 
 
 all human help. — WSST again after the manner of n"?. Ver. 10. 
 Israel speaks, justified by such judgments on its foe. Ver. 11. 
 Take up the shields, properly, fill the shields, namely with your 
 bodies or arms, which are inserted injtheir fastenings. The Medes 
 are the northern nation (1. 3, 9) who will execute the venge- 
 ance, described already iu Isa. xiii. 17 as avengers; the name 
 applies here to the Aryan inhabitants of Iran generally, so that 
 the Persians may be included among these " kings," who along 
 with the Medes would put an end to the Babylonian empire. 
 — Eevenge for His temple, see on 1. 28. Ver. 12. Make strong 
 the watch, fix strong stations so as strictly to invest and watch 
 the city. Ver. 13. Vti3B>, see on x. 17. — The ell of thy cutting 
 off; cf. Vulgate, pedalis prcecisionis turn, " like a piece woven or 
 spun, which continues evenly for many ells, and when it has 
 reached the required number of ells is cut off at the end" 
 (Bottcher). Others : the measure (= full measure) of thy gain. 
 Ver. 14. v 3 asseverating, DX although. The great number 
 of thy inhabitants will not help thee, but only make grape- 
 treading in thee more productive. Vv. 15-19. Repetition of 
 
JEKEMIAH LI. 18-25. 365 
 
 is no spirit therein. 18. They are nothingness, work for 
 jests; in the time of their visitation they perish. 19. Jacob's 
 inheritance is not like them ; for he is the Maker of all 
 things and of the tribe of his possession, Yahveh of hosts 
 his name. 
 
 20. Thou art a hammer to me, an instrument of battle, 
 and with thee I break in pieces nations, and with thee destroy 
 kingdoms. 21. And with thee I break in pieces the horse 
 and his rider, and with thee break in pieces the chariot and 
 him that rides therein, 22. and with thee break in pieces man 
 and woman, and with thee break in pieces old man and boy, 
 and with thee break in pieces young man and maiden; 23. 
 and with thee I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock, 
 and with thee break in pieces the husbandman and his team, 
 and with thee break in pieces governors and satraps ; 24. and 
 I will repay to Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldsea 
 all their evil, which they did to Zion in your sight, is Yahveh's 
 oracle, 25. Behold, I will (come) to thee, thou mountain of 
 
 x. 12-16. See there. Ver. 19. Variation of x. 16. This 
 repetition (w. 15-19) is regarded by the critics as a later 
 interpolation (so also Nagelsbach, Graf), since it interrupts the 
 connection ; but the connection in these chapters as to form is 
 loose. This doxology joins on to ver. 14, and intimates what a 
 powerful God it is that pronounces sentence of doom on the 
 imperial power and its idols. The grammatical subordination 
 of ver. 24 to the preceding may suggest that in ver. 20 ff. 
 Babylon is not addressed, but the instrument which God used 
 against Babylon, either the Medes, or Cyrus (Hitzig), or Israel 
 (Ewald), better still the prophet (after i. 10), — a view which 
 would have been made plain by a previous heading. But 1. 23, 
 and especially li. 25 compared with ver. 20, is decisive for the 
 reference of ver. 20 ff. to Babylon. It is still at the time 
 a hammer with which God can crush everything. Ver. 24 
 is in this case antithetical (Graf, Keil, Nagelsbach et al). 
 Ver. 20. fSQ, crusher, battle-axe ; cf. r ao , Prov - XXT - 18 > ancl 
 the similar appellation of Babylon, 1. 23. Instrument of battle, 
 weapon of war ; cf. 1. 25. Ver. 23. Dins, the Assyrio-Babyloniau 
 pahati, from sing, pahat, see Schrader, i. 175 f. pD, Assyrian 
 saknut, from sing, sakan, saknu, see Schr. ii. 103. Both phrases 
 came into Hebrew in the Chaldsean period, but were not of 
 Persian origin. Ver. 24. uyy)h belongs to *JTOB>1. Ver. 25. 
 Mountain of the destroyer or destruction (cf. 2 Kings xxiii. 13) 
 
366 JEEEMIAH LI. 26-30. 
 
 the destroyer, is Yahveh's oracle, that was destroying the 
 whole earth, and I stretch out my hand against thee and roll 
 thee down from the rocks and make thee a burnt mountain, 
 26. so that men shall no more fetch stone from thee for the 
 corner and stone for foundations ; for thou shalt be for per- 
 petual desolation, is Yahveh's oracle. 
 
 27. Lift ye up a banner on earth, blow the trumpet ! 
 Sanctify nations against her ! Summon against her the king- 
 doms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz ! Appoint against 
 her a commander, bring up horses like rough locusts. 28. 
 Sanctify nations against her, the kings of the Medes, their 
 governors and all their satraps, and the whole land of their 
 dominion. 29. Then the earth trembles and writhes; for 
 there comes to pass against Babylon what Yahveh planned to 
 make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant. 
 3 0. The heroes of Babylon have ceased to fight ; they sit in 
 the fortresses; their great strength is dried up; they have 
 become women ; his dwellings are set on fire, his bars broken 
 
 Babylon is called, though lying in the plain, because a power 
 dominating the earth. The Lord overthrows this mountain 
 and makes it a burnt-out one. Usually understood of a volcano. 
 But it is no longer to be dangerous, hence better = burnt, a 
 mountain whose forests are consumed by fire. Ver. 26, cf. 
 xxv. 12. The mountain shall no longer supply building- 
 stone, because there shall be no more building in its territory. 
 Ver. 27. Bnp, see on vi. 4, and cf. Isa. xiii. 3, here joined with the 
 nations to be prepared as object. — Summon, see on 1. 29. — The 
 land of Ararat (Gen. viii. 4 ; Isa. xxxvii. 38), a portion of 
 Armenia on the middle Araxes, along with it Minni, the Minyai 
 of Nicolaus Damasc. in Joseph. Ant. i. 3. 8 ; the Mannai of the 
 inscriptions (Schrader, ii. 118), on Lake Van, west of the land 
 of Ararat. — Ashkenaz (see Gen. x. 3) seems according to this 
 passage likewise to be in Armenia or in its neighbourhood, which 
 agrees with the fact of AshJeen being an Armenian name and as 
 an Armenian ending. — "iDBD, Assyrian word dup-sar-ru, from dup 
 = tablet, sar = to write = tablet- writer (Schr. ii. 118); hence 
 perhaps the prefect over the conscription, whose Hebrew title 
 is found in lii. 25. Horses, like rough locusts, alludes to the 
 small rough horses of those northern lands. Ver. 28, see on 
 ver. 11. Ver. 29. T\Q\>, cf. xliv. 28 f. Ver. 30. The warriors of 
 Babylon do not dare to oppose the foe ; they sit behind the 
 walls of impregnable forts, whilst their dwelling-places are 
 
JEKEMIAH LI. 31-36. 367 
 
 in pieces. 31. One runner runs to meet another, and one 
 messenger another, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is 
 taken in every quarter, 32. and the passages are seized and 
 the pools burnt with fire and the men of war dismayed. 33. 
 For thus says Yahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: The 
 daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor at the time 
 when it is trodden ; yet a little while, and the time of harvest 
 is come for her. 34. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has 
 devoured us, consumed us, has set us as an empty vessel, has 
 swallowed us like a dragon, has filled his belly with my choice 
 morsels, has driven us away. 35. My ill-usage and my 
 flesh come upon Babylon ! let the inhabitress of Zion say ; 
 and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldsea, let Jerusalem 
 say! 36. Therefore thus says Yahveh: Behold, I fight for 
 thee and take revenge for thee, and dry up her sea and cause 
 
 burnt. — nB'i, to dry up. Ver. 31. The capital itself is taken. 
 The messengers, coming from every side to report that the wall 
 is broken down, meet in the midst of the royal fort. nxpD, 
 somewhat differently in 1. 26, from the ends = from every end. 
 Ver. 32. The passages are not merely those over the main river, 
 but also those over the canals cut from it to add strength, 
 whether fords, ferries, or light wooden bridges, which must 
 have existed alongside the one stone bridge over the Euphrates 
 (Herod, i. 185 f.) for purposes of intercourse. The pools burnt 
 with fire, is usually taken as poetical hyperbole, making the 
 fire applied to the city dry up even the water. Bather the 
 woodwork is to be thought of, the burning of which would 
 destroy the sluices ; and so the waters used for purposes of 
 defence would run away (so Nagelsbach). Ver. 33. The 
 threshing-floor is trodden, to level it and so prepare it for the 
 later threshing. The saying is not to be referred to threshing 
 itself, since the harvest is still future. The figure of impend- 
 ino- threshing was common in earlier prophets; cf. Isa. xxi. 10, 
 Micah iv. 12 f., etc. Ver. 34. Lament for the wild beast — 
 Nebuchadnezzar — that devoured, consumed Judah (Don, dash 
 to pieces); E>"0 here only, Aramaic belly; cf. Arabic hirsch, 
 stomach. — tf!?o for «;>». D^njD, usual phrase, Gen. xlix. 20, in 
 the same sense. Because of the sing, of the suffix here the 
 Keri needlessly changes all the suffixes into singular. Ver. 35. 
 My flesh, namely, which is consumed (ver. 34); cf. Gen. xvi. 5. 
 Ver. 36. Sea and fountain applies to Babylon's abundant 
 waters, to which it certainly owes all its wealth and prosperity, 
 
368 JEREMIAH LI. 37-44. 
 
 her fountain to fail. 37. And Babylon shall become rubbish- 
 heaps, a dwelling of jackals, a horrible waste and hissing, 
 without inhabitants. 38. They roar together like lions, 
 growl like young lions. 39. When they are heated, I will 
 set their drink and make them drunken, that they may be 
 merry and sleep a perpetual sleep, not to awake, is Yahveh's 
 oracle. 40. I cause them to go down to slaughter like lambs, 
 like rams along with he-goats. 41. How is Sheshach con- 
 quered and the renown of the whole earth taken, and Babylon 
 become an astonishment among the nations ! 42. The sea 
 has come up upon Babylon ; it is covered with the roaring of 
 its waves. 43. Its cities have become a solitude, a land of 
 drought and desert, a land in which no one dwells and no 
 child of man passes by. 44. And I visit Bel at Babylon, 
 and I pluck out of his mouth what he swallowed ; and nations 
 
 hence it stands here figuratively for these ; cf. ver. 13. That 
 C may refer to a great river, is proved by Isa. xxi. 1, xviii. 2, 
 xix. 5, etc. Ver. 37, cf. ix. 10, etc. Ver. 38 applies to the 
 present condition, when they roar (Amos iii. 4) and growl and 
 tear (nj» here only) the prey. Let them do so ; soon the Lord 
 will season their feasting with a drink which will agree ill with 
 them. Ver. 39. When they are heated with their eager eating 
 and desire drink, then I will set before them drink which will 
 make them merry and go to sleep, a sleep from which they will 
 never wake. Ver. 40. Instead of devouring lions, they are 
 defenceless sheep for slaughter. No class of the flock escapes 
 the knife ; cf. Isa. xiv. 9. Ver. 41. Sheshak, see on xxv. 26. — 
 Benown of the whole earth, as in xlix. 25. — now, see on 
 xviii. 16. Ver. 42. The sea is the all-devastating power of 
 the foe. Ver. 44. Bel, see on 1. 2. vbz, swallower (word-play 
 on Bel). What Babylon plundered really its god plundered 
 from Yahveh, and the gathering of the nations there (cf. Isa. 
 ii. 2) is an act of homage to this god, who made his city so 
 great and powerful. Thus the revenge which the Lord takes 
 on this city falls on the god. The wall of Babylon falls. It 
 was exceedingly famous. The city-walls of Babylon were a 
 magnificent work, the outermost one (Herod, i. 185) measuring 
 480 stadia, and being 50 cubits wide and 200 high. They 
 embraced the whole land, the Euphrates and Tigris in their 
 lower course. Nebuchadnezzar further strengthened them by 
 the giant " Median wall," as the Greeks call it, which, in fact, 
 was directed against the Medes and (from 12 to 15 miles long, 
 
JEREMIAH LI. 45-54. 369 
 
 shall no longer stream to it, Babylon's wall also falls. 45. 
 Depart from its midst, my people, and deliver every one his 
 soul from the fiery wrath of Yahveh ! 46. Only let not your 
 heart tremble, and do not be afraid for the news which is 
 heard in the land, when in one year news comes, and after- 
 wards in another year news, and violence is in the land, ruler 
 against ruler. 47. Therefore behold, days come, that I visit 
 the graven images of Babylon, and her whole land shall be 
 put to shame, and all her slain ones fall in her midst. 48. 
 And heaven and earth and everything that is therein shall 
 exult over Babylon ; for the destroyers shall come to her from 
 the north, is Yahveh's oracle. 49. Babylon also must fall, 
 ye slain ones of Israel, as the slain ones of the whole earth 
 have fallen also for Babylon. 50. Fugitives from the sword, 
 go ye, stand not still ! Bemember Yahveh from afar, and 
 let Jerusalem come into your mind! 51. We were put to 
 shame, for we were forced to hear reviling ; reproach covered 
 our face, for strangers came upon the sanctuaries of the house 
 of Yahveh. 52. Therefore behold, days come, is Yahveh's 
 oracle, that I visit her graven images, and slain ones shall 
 groan in her whole land. 53. Although Babylon mount up to 
 heaven and make her strong heights unapproachable, fromme 
 shall destroyers come upon her, is Yahveh's oracle. 54. Hark, 
 
 20 feet thick, and 100 high) joined the Euphrates with the 
 Tigris. Ver. 45, cf. ver. 6. Ver. 46. The deliverance will be 
 accomplished amid suffering, year by year distressing events 
 will be heard of ; but the people of God must not despond on 
 this account, but conclude that the time of deliverance draws 
 nigh ; cf. Matt. xxiv. 6 f.— inns, suffix in neuter. Ver. 47. pi>, 
 because such things take place, it is a sign of impending 
 judgment. Ver. 49. The two DJ introduce correlative clauses. 
 The first is only intelligible when ^K"it^'> ^n is taken as voca- 
 tive, as in ver. 50, fugitives from the sword. Proclamation is 
 made to the slain of Israel that Babylon must fall, because 
 they are to be avenged first of all. btxb, Ges. § 132. a. 1 ; Eng. 
 § 129. Ver. 50. vbn, rare strong form of the imperative. 
 Those living in the distant land of flight or exile are summoned 
 to return without delay to the temple of Yahveh in Jerusalem. 
 Ver. 51. A doubt clouding the joyous return, but removed, 
 ver. 52 ff., by a reference to the vindication of God's honour. 
 Ver. 53. Her strong height, namely, the height of her fortifica- 
 
 2 A 
 
370 JEEEMIAH LI. 55-59. 
 
 a cry from Babylon, and great overthrow from the land 
 of the Chaldeeans ! 55. For Yahveh overthrows Babylon, 
 and makes the great tumult cease from her ; and their waves 
 roar like mighty waters, their great uproar is heard. 56. 
 For a destroyer comes upon her, upon Babylon ; and her 
 champions are taken, their bows are broken in pieces ; for 
 Yahveh is a God of retributions, he will surely repay. 57. 
 And I make her princes and her wise men drunk, her gover- 
 nors and her satraps and her heroes, so that they sleep a 
 perpetual sleep and awake not, is the oracle of the King, 
 whose name is Yahveh of hosts. 58. Thus says Yahveh of 
 hosts : The walls of Babylon, the broad ones, are utterly over- 
 thrown, and her gates, the high ones, are burnt with fire, so 
 that peoples wearied themselves for vanity and nations for the 
 fire, and they shall grow weary. 
 
 59. The word which the prophet Jeremiah commanded 
 Seraiah, son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went 
 with Zedekiah, king of Judah, to Babylon in the fourth year 
 
 tion. Ver. 54, like xlviii. 3, 1. 22, and often. Ver. 55. The, 
 loud tumult made by the vast population and active com- 
 mercial life. This is overpowered by the roar of their (i.e. 
 of the approaching foes) waves. Ver. 56. nnnn, Piel intrans., 
 strengthened Kal. Ver. 57, cf. ver. 39. — Governors, see on 
 ver. 23. Ver. 58. The broad walls, see on ver. 44. — Over- 
 thrown, properly, laid bare. IDS' 1 , with dagesh forte euphon. or 
 affectuosum inpausa, Ges. § 20. 2c. That peoples wearied them- 
 selves, will have wearied themselves, etc., appears from Hab. 
 ii. 13, where the oracle seems to be a citation. Considering 
 the vast extent of the brick walls of Babylon, great masses of 
 people must have wearied themselves in building them. — *12, 
 properly, for the need of fire, of vanity, i.e. for the fire, aimlessly. 
 Ver. 59. This Seraiah seems (xxxii. 13) to have been Baruch's 
 brother. Only one acquainted with the prophet could accom- 
 plish this mission. — Zedekiah went to Babylon in the fourth 
 year of his reign in order to assure the monarch of his devotion. 
 The machinations spoken of in xxvii. 1 ff. in Jerusalem had 
 perhaps taken place before this journey, but they led to no 
 result. Perhaps men were deterred from coming to a decision 
 partly by the threats of Jeremiah. But since wind of these 
 conspiracies may meantime have reached Babylon, it is intelli- 
 gible that the king himself went there to purge himself from 
 suspicion. — Quartermaster, having the office of providing for 
 
JEREMIAH LI. 60-64. 371 
 
 of his reign, Seraiah being quartermaster. 60. Then Jeremiah 
 wrote all the ruin that was to come on Babylon in a book, 
 all these words which are written against Babylon. 61. And 
 Jeremiah said to Seraiah : "When thou comest to Babylon, see 
 and read aloud all these words, 62. and say : Yahveh, thou 
 hast spoken against this place to extirpate it, that there may 
 be no inhabitant therein from man to beast ; for it shall be a 
 perpetual desolation. 63. And it shall come to pass, when 
 thou hast finished reading this book, thou shalt fasten a stone 
 thereto and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, 64. and 
 say : Thus shall Babylon sink and not rise again because of 
 the ruin which I bring upon it, and they shall grow weary. 
 Thus far the discourses of Jeremiah. 
 
 the king's safety and support on the journey. Ver. 60. Thus 
 seek an occasion, a favourable place. There is no reference to 
 a reading before Jews or Babylonians, which would be im- 
 practicable, but to a symbolical action, in which the doom of 
 the city was declared to it. Ver. 63. The divine sentence is 
 incorporated with the river of the city, the sinking of the book 
 symbolizing the city's destruction. Ver. 64. lBjn, repetition of 
 the concluding words of the prophetic discourses from ver. 58, 
 according to many critics put here by mistake, perhaps on the 
 misplacing of the notice : " Thus far the discourses of Jeremiah," 
 which is said to have stood originally after ver. 58. But it is also 
 conceivable that in this solemn oracle, which Seraiah was to 
 pronounce over the roll, the last saying of the discourses con- 
 tained in it should be repeated in ominous tones. — " Thus far 
 the discourses of Jeremiah " limits them as regards the follow- 
 ing historical appendix, and originates with the hand that 
 added the latter. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 Contents of chs. 1., li. : Jeremiah's Oracles respecting 
 Babylon. 
 
 These oracles, according to li. 59 f., were collected on a 
 particular occasion in the fourth year of Zedekiah, and conse- 
 quently originated before this conclusion and after the fourth 
 year of Jehoiakim. The genuineness of these two chapters 
 has certainly been strongly attacked. It is contested by 
 
372 JEREMIAH L,, LI. 
 
 Eichhorn, von Colin, Gramberg, Maurer, Knobel (Prophetism. 
 der Heir. ii. 353 ff.), Ewald, Cheyne, Kuenen, Keuss, Budde 
 (besides li. 59-64), and others. Movers, Hitzig, de Wette et 
 al. regard the section as at least greatly interpolated. Eor 
 the genuineness (apart from slight additions), Kiiper, Umbreit, 
 Havernick, Bleek, Nagelsbach, Keil, Graf et al. argue. The 
 arguments for spuriousness are best stated by Budde, Jahrb. 
 fur deutsche Theol. xxiii. (1878), pp. 428 ff., 529 ff. ; for the 
 genuineness, Graf, p. 580 ff. 
 
 As concerns, first, the form of these oracles, the literary 
 style of the prophet Jeremiah shows itself so frequently and 
 unmistakeably therein, that, if his authorship be rejected, we 
 must suppose that some one imitated him from a petty desire 
 to be taken for Jeremiah. But this is not in keeping with 
 the independence which the author shows, even where he 
 repeats Jeremiah's own words. Even the two longer 
 repetitions, 1. 40-46, li. 15—19, the latter of which especially 
 is regarded by many as an interpolation, yet show charac- 
 teristic variations such as Jeremiah loves when using his own 
 or others' oracles, but which a copyist, anxiously clothing 
 himself in the prophet's dress, would scarcely have permitted 
 himself. The section has indeed peculiar expressions not 
 found in the rest of the book, e.g. such as are common in the 
 early Isaiah or the contemporary Ezekiel ; but these were just 
 as much at Jeremiah's service. Least of all can it surprise 
 us in this prophet, that even in the oracles respecting Babylon 
 he echoes older oracles against this kingdom. We are one 
 with Budde against Graf in thinking that the author had in 
 view the oracles Isa. xiii., xiv., xxi. 1-10, xxxiv., xxxv, 
 although the likeness is less than in the oracles respecting 
 Edom, Moab, and others ; but that those Isaianic oracles are 
 to be put down to the exile, we by no means regard as proved. 
 That, on the other hand, Jer. 1., li. are dependent on Isa. 
 xl.-lvii, we see no conclusive proof; just so Jer. li. 25 f. is 
 so original that we cannot see in it a copy of Ezek. xxxv. 3 ff. 
 
JEEEMIAH L., LI. 373 
 
 As relates to Deutero-Isaiah in particular, he not only gives 
 signs of the influence of Jeremiah's person and prophecies in 
 general, but also presupposes such definite oracles against 
 Babylon, that, if these Isaianic oracles and Jeremiah's in 
 xxv. 12-14, xxvi., 1., li. be rejected on critical grounds, it 
 will be hard to understand him. We should then be limited 
 simply to Micah iv. 10 and Hab. ii. 
 
 More weighty are the substantive objections against the 
 genuineness of the present oracles and their origin before the 
 time stated in li. 59, to the effect that the destruction of 
 Jerusalem and the temple is here presupposed, and the speedy 
 deliverance from the Babylonian bondage foretold; whereas 
 Jeremiah just in those years announced the opposite, a long 
 (seventy years') space of exile, and incessantly summoned the 
 captives calmly and contentedly to settle in the land of exile. 
 But, regarded more closely, these considerations are seen to 
 be insufficient to weaken the strong testimony of the Jeremiah- 
 like impress of the prophecy to its genuineness. In Jeremiah's 
 view the exile had in fact begun; to him the impending 
 destruction of Jerusalem and the temple was a completed 
 fact. So he can already point out to view the " vengeance of 
 Yahveh for His temple" (1. 28, li. 11); its destruction is 
 nowhere expressly spoken of as having taken place. On the 
 contrary, li. 51 speaks merely of a great irruption of strangers 
 into God's temple. The Lord dwells still in Jerusalem (li. 50), 
 like the prophet himself (1. 5). Already in the fourth year 
 of Jehoiakim, the seer, as we found in xxv. 12 f£, saw the 
 overthrow of Babylon in the distance. That in the inter- 
 mediate period to which the carrying away of Jehoiachin and 
 the noblest Jerusalemites, with other violent acts of the 
 Chaldeans, belong, he was never allowed to develope those 
 intimations because of the false prophets, is an unwarranted 
 supposition. And if just in the fourth year of Zedekiah he 
 had strongly to emphasize (chs. xxvii., xxviii.) the long 
 duration of the Babylonian supremacy, this does not preclude 
 
374 JEKEMIAH L., LI. 
 
 the writing down of the messages against Babylon, which 
 were by no means to be openly proclaimed or read publicly 
 to the exiles, but were to be sunk with all quietness by a 
 trusty friend in the Euphrates. The commands in 1. 8, 
 li. 6, 45, are not designed for the present moment (as little as 
 1. 2 and others), but the seer is transported into the future ; 
 they stand in connection with future events which will give 
 the exiles a divine hint to depart (cf. 1. 4, 20, li. 47, 52). 
 The appearance of the Medes as conquerors may be taken as 
 proof that the oracle was written a long time before the end 
 of the exile, and under no circumstances after the capture of 
 Babylon ; for (in distinction from Deutero-Isaiah) there is no 
 specific mention of the Persians or of Cyrus, who had the 
 lion's share in the humbling and capture of Babylon ; instead 
 of this, Armenian tribes appear here as helping the revenge 
 of the Medes. Nebuchadnezzar is mentioned as king of 
 Babylon, 1. 17, li. 34, and he seems still to be reigning; but 
 the prophet does not expect the overthrow of his empire 
 under his government (cf. 1. 43, li. 35, where no name is 
 given to the king in question). The objection, that Jeremiah 
 nowhere shows himself so hostile to the Babylonians, nay, as 
 hating them, as appears here, rests on an erroneous view of 
 the prophet's entire attitude to this great power. He did not 
 predict its success from sympathy with it or from admiration, 
 but because it was to be God's instrument in punishing the 
 nations; Jeremiah's prophecy was not dependent on the 
 Chaldseans. The independence of the Divine Spirit that 
 spake in him showed itself just in this, that he applied the 
 same rule to the Chaldaeans as to the other nations, and he 
 does this here especially just as in ch. xxv. 
 
 Budde rightly emphasizes the perfect credibility of li. 59- 
 64, whose genuineness he accepts with the exception of ver. 
 60b. But the sending of such a book to Babylon supposes 
 contents of considerable amount (cf. xxx. 2) : in the same 
 way ver. 60a implies that different predictions of evil were 
 
JEEEMIAH L., LI. 375 
 
 collected in the one book. Vv. 61, 63 also quite imply a 
 long reading, clearly enough, different from the epitome in 
 ver. 62. It is thus an illusion to think that this verse gives 
 the entire contents of the reading ("all these words"), so 
 that any special statement of them was superfluous (as if 
 rn»N1=-)bfcO). If this narrative section stood in Jeremiah's 
 book, the fall of Babylon also must have been predicted at 
 greater length in it ; and we see no reason for supposing that 
 the original oracles were thrust out by others. At most, we 
 admit the possibility that 1., li. 1-58 were again revised by 
 the prophet after the fall of Jerusalem, since, moreover, they 
 have no date ; but the historical section has only a general 
 reference to them. 
 
 The leading thoughts of these oracles are as follows : 
 Although merely an instrument of punishment in God's hand 
 (li. 7, 20 ff.), the Chaldaeans ascribed their success to them- 
 selves and their gods, and considered themselves the true 
 lords of the earth. Such arrogance is rebellion against 
 Yahveh, the sole God who raised them up; cf. 1. 14, 21, 24, 
 29, 32, li. 1. Therefore God will judge Babylon, causing it 
 to fall. Having followed its own will, what it had to carry 
 out as the organ of the righteous God is a punishable wrong 
 which will be repaid it. "What it did to the nations, it will 
 itself suffer. The hammer which God used is broken by God 
 Himself (1. 23, li. 20 ff.). Tor this end He uses a northern 
 people (1. 9, 41, li. 48), the Medes, who, in league with many 
 northern tribes (li. 11, 27 f.), and with skilful archers (1. 9, 
 14, 29, li. 3, 11) and good horsemen (1. 42, li. 27), will 
 overrun the Babylonian kingdom and take the capital, despite 
 its broad streams and proud walls ; they will make Babylon 
 an eternal desolation, 1. 12, 38 ff., li. 25 f., 37, 43, cf. ver. 62. 
 The fact that the Medes, xxv. 25 f., must drink the cup of 
 reeling along with all the kings of the north, is not inconsistent 
 with their appearing here in the second act as avengers : they 
 ,also will suffer from Babylon ; but this does not imply that 
 
376 JEREMIAH L., LI. 
 
 they will not recover ; — this would be too strong an inter- 
 pretation of xxv. 27, and would lead to the conclusion that 
 no nation at all would survive to execute the judgment on 
 Babylon. 
 
 Thus Yahveh celebrates His triumph over Bel and 
 Merodach, the gods of Babylon (1. 2, li. 44). But Babylon's 
 fall will be a token of deliverance to captive Israel-Judah ; 
 for the Lord will deliver and avenge them by means of that 
 judgment, 1. 11 ff., 17 ff., li. 5, 10, 24, 34 ff, 51 f. They 
 return with tears of contrition to their God at Jerusalem, 
 where the eternal covenant of grace is established, 1. 4 ff., 1 9 f., 
 33 f., cf. xxxi. 9, 31-34. 
 
 All this the prophet sees already immediately before him 
 in living realization (cf. 1. 2 ff., 14 ff., 21 ff., li 27 ff.), just 
 as is the case in Isa. xiii. 1 ff. and frequently in prophecy, 
 although intimations are not wanting that it is part of a 
 future that is not to dawn forthwith (cf. 1. 4, 20, li. 47, 52). 
 The development of the thoughts is not one of regular progress, 
 but the main factors recur to the prophet's vision in their 
 interdependence again and again. But the actual repetitions 
 without doubt are due to the circumstance that a number of 
 oracles, which did not originate on the same day, are here 
 combined (cf. li. 59 ff.), so that the several oracles can no 
 longer be certainly distinguished. 
 
 As concerns the fulfilment of these oracles respecting 
 Babylon, they belong to those from which every one willing 
 to see might convince himself towards the end of the exile 
 of the power of the God of Israel, and of the truth of His 
 revelations (cf. Isa. xli. 24 f. et al.). Not that the oracle 
 gives us a fac-simile of history, so that one might suspect a 
 vaticinium post eventum. We draw attention to the fact that 
 the Persians do not appear in it. Moreover, it brings to- 
 gether the conquest, destruction, and desolation of Babylon, 
 whereas in reality these were accomplished in the course of 
 centuries. Under Cyrus the city remained intact; Darius 
 
JEREMIAH L., LI. 377 
 
 only destroyed the walls; the sentence of desolation was 
 carried out slowly hut terribly in later times. A prophecy 
 invented after the exile must have taken a different form, 
 apart from the fact that it could not contain passages like 
 1. 20. But the present prophecy is proved to he divine in 
 a striking manner by the historical fulfilment. The sudden 
 downfall of the mighty Babylonian empire after a brief rule 
 (seventy years), the insignificance and exemplary desolation 
 into which city and country sank (quite differently from Syria 
 and Egypt), show that the true Lord of history spoke through 
 the prophet. In sight of the ruined plains of Babylon it 
 would he petty dogmatism to point to the present settle- 
 ments there (Hillah), which are only important through their 
 contrast to the former greatness and splendour of the im- 
 perial capital (see Cheyne, p. 550). Even the characteristic 
 circumstances under which the city fell are intimated by 
 passages like 1. 24, li. 32, 39. With 1. 24, cf. Herod, i. 191 : 
 "If the Babylonians had observed beforehand what Cyrus 
 meant to do (penetrate into the city by turning aside the 
 Euphrates), they could have prepared a catastrophe for the 
 Persians and caught them in a trap ; but the Persians came 
 upon them so unexpectedly, that those dwelling in the centre 
 of the city suspected nothing when the outer parts of the 
 city were already taken." On the capture by Darius 
 Hystaspes there was a similar surprise, according to Herod, 
 iii. 158. Ch. li. 32 was fulfilled by the drying up of the 
 river, by which Cyrus made his way into the city ; this 
 decided the fate of the city. Somewhat more remote, but 
 noteworthy, is the harmony of li. 39 and Isa. xxi. 5 with 
 the fact that the conqueror penetrated into the city during 
 a gay carouse of the Chaldeeans (Herod, i. 191, during a feast; 
 Cyrop. vii. 23 ; Dan. v. 1 ff.). The carouse spoken of by the 
 prophet is no doubt rather a figurative one. The reality of 
 the fulfilment does not depend at all on the literal happening 
 of such details. At all events, Nagelsbach's thrice-repeated 
 
378 JERKMIAH L., LI. 
 
 statement, that the prophet had no inkling of the agreement 
 of his words with the future realization, is incomprehensible. 
 He describes this realization, not merely as he surmises, but 
 as he sees it ; how could he make any distinction between 
 what he saw and the realization ! 
 
 The symbolical action, 1. 59—64, stamps a confirming seal 
 on the oracles against Babylon. As Jeremiah was prevented 
 from publishing these messages by considerations stated before, 
 he perhaps felt himself compelled the more to send them to 
 the city to which they applied. It was therefore a significant 
 and, prophetically regarded, eventful act, which he entrusted 
 to a confidential friend of the prophetic revelation in Babylon 
 to carry out. The first part of the act consists in this : 
 Seraiah is to read the prophetic message aloud in face of 
 the city, the intention of which is not that it may be heard 
 by the inhabitants, but that the divine message may be 
 uttered over the city. Again, the message is sunk in the 
 bed of the river, to which they owe their existence and 
 greatness, and thus incorporated with themselves, so that it 
 cleaves to them as a power that will do its work on them. 
 Both actions Seraiah is to accompany by a suitable state- 
 ment. By the first he testifies that the Lord has now 
 declared to the city its fate, by the second that the city 
 will sink like the stone, never to rise a^ain. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 The Destruction of Jerusalem, Ch. lii. 
 
 LII. 1. Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when lie 
 became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And 
 the name of his mother was Hamutal, a daughter of Jeremiah 
 of Libnah. 2. And he did that which was evil in the eyes 
 of Yahveh, just as Jehoiakim had done. 3. For according 
 to the wrath of Yahveh it came to pass in Jerusalem and in 
 Judah, until he cast them away from his presence. And Zede- 
 kiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4. Then it came 
 to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on 
 the tenth of the month, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, 
 came, he and his whole army, against Jerusalem, and encamped 
 against it, and built siege-towers against it round about. 5. 
 So the city was invested until the eleventh year of king 
 Zedekiah. 6. In the fourth month, on the ninth of the 
 month, the famine was great in the city, and there was no 
 more bread for the people of the land. 7. And the city 
 was broken open, and all the men of war fled and forsook 
 the city by night by the way of the gate between the two 
 walls which is in the king's garden, whilst the Chaldaeans 
 were around the city, and went the way to the field (of the 
 Jordan). 8. Then the army of the Chaldseans pursued the 
 king ; and they took Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and 
 all his army was scattered from him. 9. Then they seized 
 the king, and brought him to the king of Babylon, to Eiblah 
 
 Chapter LII. 
 
 As ch. lii. is almost literally the same as 2 Kings xxiv. 18- 
 xxv. 30, only the peculiarities of Jeremiah's text are noticed. 
 
 Ver. 6. "In the fourth month" (xxxix. 2) has fallen out of 
 2 Kings xxv. 3. Ver. 7 supplies the defective text of 2 Kings 
 xxv. 4 (cf. Jer. xxxix. 4). Ver. 9. Pronounced his judgments 
 
 379 
 
380 JEEEMIAH LII. 10-17. 
 
 in the land of Harnath ; and he pronounced his judgments 
 upon him there. 10. And the king of Babylon slew the 
 sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and all the princes of Judah 
 also he slew at Biblah. 11. And he put out the eyes of 
 Zedekiah and bound him with chains ; and the king of 
 Babylon brought him to Babylon, and put him into the house 
 of confinement until the day of his death. 12. And in 
 the fifth month, on the tenth of the month — this was the 
 nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon — 
 came Nebuzaradan, the chief of the guards, who stood 
 before the presence of the king of Babylon, to Jerusalem, 
 13. and burnt the house of Yahveh and the house of the 
 king and all the houses of Jerusalem ; and every great house 
 he burnt with fire. 14. And all the walls of Jerusalem 
 round about all the troops of the Chaldseans broke down, 
 which were with the chief of the guards. 15. And (of the 
 poor of the people as well as) the remnant of the people that 
 was in the city, and the deserters who went over to the king 
 of Babylon, and the remnant of the workmen, Nebuzaradan, 
 the chief of the guards, carried away captive. 16. And of 
 the poor of the land Nebuzaradan, the chief of the guards, 
 left some behind as grape - gatherers and husbandmen. 
 17. And the brasen pillars, which were in the house of 
 
 upon him, see on i. 16. 2 Kings xxv. 6 has the singular BBtPD. 
 Ver. 10 f. (cf. xxxix. 6) is more complete and grammatically 
 better than the parallel text, 2 Kings xxv. 7. " He put him 
 into the house of confinement until the day of his death" is 
 wanting in 2 Kings. Hitzig, Graf suggest the severe confine- 
 ment, the house of correction, in which he would have to turn 
 the mill, like Samson who was similarly- treated, Judg. xvi. 21. 
 Also LXX, us olxiav fiuXuvog. Ver. 12. Bead 'b ipjf ; 2 Kings 
 13JJ. — The tenth of the fifth month is correctly given, the seventh 
 in 2 Kings xxv. 8 is wrong. Ver. 15. Djin niinoi, wanting in 
 2 Kings, seems to have come from ver. 16 by mistake, since 
 this class would scarcely be among those carried off. D^SJii, see 
 on xxi. 9. \\mn (for which 2 Kings xxvii. has ponn wrongly), 
 artificer, Prov. viii. 30. A great part of these had been already 
 carried away with Jehoiachin, xxiv. 1, xxix. 2. Ver. 16. 
 rvbio (2 Kings xxv. 12, sing, as in Jer. xl. 7), plur. of the 
 poverties, people in poor circumstances. 2i\ to plough (instead 
 of this 2 Kings, Kethib Dna, from 3U), here only; cf. 2i\ 
 
JEREMIAH LII. 18-23. 381 
 
 Yahveh, and the bases and the brasen sea in the house of 
 Yahveh, the Chaldteans broke in pieces, and carried all their 
 brass to Babylon. 18. And the kettles, and the shovels, and 
 the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and all the brasen 
 vessels with which they ministered, they took away ; 1 9. and 
 the goblets, and the firepans, and the basons, and the kettles, 
 and the lamps, and the spoons, and the sacrificial dishes, those 
 which were wholly of gold and those which were wholly of 
 silver, the captain of the guards took. 20. The two pillars, 
 the one sea, and the (twelve brasen bulls, which were under 
 the) base(s), which king Solomon had prepared for the house 
 of Yahveh, — the brass of all these vessels was not to be 
 weighed. 21. And as for the pillars, eighteen cubits was the 
 height of one pillar, and a thread of twelve cubits compassed 
 it, and it was four Augers thick, hollow. 22. And a capital 
 of brass was on it, and the height of the one capital was 
 five cubits, and network with pomegranates was round about 
 the capital, all of brass. And the second pillar also had the 
 like and pomegranates. 23. And there were six and ninety 
 pomegranates towards the wind ; in all there were a hundred 
 
 xxxix. 10. Ver. 18 f. more complete than 2 Kings xxv. 14 f. 
 The repetition of the kettles, etc., in ver. 19 is explained by the 
 fact that here golden ones are referred to, in ver. 18 brasen 
 ones. It is clear from this passage that, after 2 Kings xxiv. 13, 
 the temple was not quite without golden utensils, although the 
 most and best were then wanting ; certainly efforts were soon 
 made to repair the loss. Ver. 20. According to 2 Kings 
 xxv. 16, the clause " and the twelve brasen bulls, which under " 
 is to be erased and simply nuaom to be read ; for the brasen 
 bulls did not stand under the bases, but under the brasen sea, 
 and, moreover, were already removed by Ahaz as a tribute to 
 Tigiath-pileser, 2 Kings xvi. 17. The clause originates with a 
 commentator who missed the bulls among the brasen articles, 
 while that passage did not occur to him. Ver. 21 f. Cf. the 
 description of the two pillars, 1 Kings vii. 15 ff. In 2 Kings 
 xxv. 17 it is imperfect.— nos, Kethib, properly, 18 cubits in 
 height was the one phlar. Ver. 22. nnan, wanting in 2 Kings, 
 is not essential, though not wrong. 2 Kings has incorrectly 
 put 3 instead of 5 cubits; cf. 1 Kings vii. 16. Instead of 
 D^ioil which is not essential, 2 Kings xxv. 17 has naacn i>j> at 
 the close (from ver. 23 in Jeremiah ?). Ver. 23. Wanting in 
 
382 JEREMIAH L1I. 24-30. 
 
 pomegranates round about the network. 24. And the chief 
 of the guards took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah 
 the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold, 
 25. and from the city he took a court-official, who had charge 
 of the men of war, and seven men of those who saw the face 
 of the king, who were found in the city, and the scribe of 
 the general of the army, who commanded the army of the 
 land, and sixty men of the people of the land, who were 
 found within the city, — 26. these Nebuzaradan, the chief of 
 the guards, took, and brought them to the king of Babylon 
 at Eiblah. 27. Then the king of Babylon smote them and 
 killed them at Eiblah in the land of Hamath, and he took 
 Judah away captive from its own land. 28. This is the 
 people which Nebuchadnezzar took away captive : in the 
 seventh * year three thousand and three and twenty Judseans ; 
 29. in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar eight hundred 
 and thirty-two souls from Jerusalem ; 30. in the three and 
 twentieth year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, the chief of 
 the guards, took away seven hundred and forty-five souls ; in 
 all, four thousand six hundred souls. 
 
 2 Kings, and found here only at all. nnn is variously explained. 
 It scarcely means toward the four quarters, so that the four 
 remaining pomegranates would stand at the four corners ; 
 rather = to the free breeze, since the four were concealed by 
 the wall of the porch, by which the pillars stood. Ver.' 25. 
 Seven men ; 2 Kings, five. — nSD, 2 Kings, with article, as if the 
 next word were in apposition. — saxen refers to *iSD. 
 
 After ver. 27 there follows in 2 Kings xxv. 22-26 an account 
 of Gedaliah and his death, of which Jer. xli.-xliii. speaks at 
 much greater length. This notice is therefore omitted. On 
 the other hand, we find here a summary of those carried away 
 into captivity (vv. 28-30) taken from another source, and 
 harmonizing with the statements in 2 Kings xxiv. 14-16 
 respecting the carrying away under Jehoiachin only on the 
 twofold supposition that in ver. 28 rriE>V is to be read after ME> 
 (Ewald, Graf, Keil), and that the years of Nebuchadnezzar are 
 here reckoned somewhat differently from what they are usually, 
 so that the capture of Jerusalem would fall into the eighteenth 
 instead of the nineteenth (ver. 12) year. Josephus also follows 
 this reckoning (Ant. x. 8. 5 ; contra Apion, i. 21). Both these 
 suppositions are quite admissible ; in this case there is here no 
 
JEREMIAH LII. 31-34. 383 
 
 31. And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year 
 of the captivity of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, in the twelfth 
 month, on the five and twentieth of the month, that Evil- 
 Merodach, king of Babylon, in the year when he became 
 king, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, and 
 brought him out of the prison-house, 32. and spoke kindly 
 to him, and set his throne above the thrones of the kings 
 who were with him in Babylon. 33. And he changed his 
 prison dress ; and he ate food in his presence continually as 
 long as he lived. 34. And his support was given him as 
 constant support from the king of Babylon, the daily supply 
 every day until the day of his death, as long as he lived. 
 
 reference at all to the carrying away under Jehoiachin, but in 
 ver. 28 to that of the Judseans during the siege, in ver. 29 to 
 tbat of the Jerusalemites after the taking of the city ; and in 
 ver. 30 to one that took place on a later campaign of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar and was carried out by Nebuzaradan. Josephus (Ant. 
 x. 9. 7) relates that this king in the twenty -third year 
 subjugated Ccele - Syria, then conquered the Moabites and 
 Ammonites, and finally turned against Egypt. However dis- 
 putable certain features of his account may be, it is clear from 
 monumental sources that further expeditions of this conqueror 
 against Egypt took place after 588, and therewith a further 
 decimating of the population of Palestine might easily be 
 inflicted. See on xliii. 8-13. The smallness of the numbers 
 certainly seems strange in comparison both with 2 Kings 
 xxiv. 14 ff. and Ezra ii. 64. But they give the impression of 
 trustworthy exactness. Certainly only the non-dependent men 
 are reckoned. That the Jewish population quickly increased 
 in Babylon, is quite credible. 
 
 Vv. 31-34. Notice of the advancement of Jehoiachin, who 
 came to honour at the Babylonian court after long captivity, 
 almost an exact copy of 2 Kings. Ver. 31. Instead of the 
 twenty-fifth day, 2 Kings has the twenty-seventh, LXX the 
 twenty-fourth. 
 
 Exposition. 
 
 This historical section, the conclusion of which reaches far 
 down into the exile, was written neither by Jeremiah nor for 
 Jeremiah's book, but was borrowed from a historical work. 
 With the exception of vv. 26-30, and some touches in the 
 
384 JEREMIAH LII. 
 
 description of the temple-pillars, it is found almost literally 
 in 2 Kings xxiv. 25, to which we refer for exposition of the 
 contents. As the style of the narrative is quite that of the 
 Kings (cf. especially the introduction of Zedekiah), its original 
 place will be there ; yet the form of the text in Jeremiah is 
 better and more complete; and whoever added it to this 
 book used another source in vv. 26—30. Why he inserted 
 in the book this important section from the Israelitish history 
 is easily seen. As already many historical illustrations had 
 been inserted in it, necessary to explain the discourses of the 
 prophet, and for the appreciation of their fulfilment, it seemed 
 appropriate here to give a connected and complete view of 
 the catastrophe, which was the goal of most of Jeremiah's 
 prophecies, and with which his name is inseparably blended. 
 The beginning of such a supplement from the historical book 
 had been already made in ch. xxxix., perhaps by the same 
 hand. 
 
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 Commentary on Isaiah. One vol. 
 
 Commentary on Jeremiah. One vol, 
 
 Philippi— Commentary on Epistle to Romans. Two vols. 
 
 Rabiger— Encyclopaedia of Theology. Two vols. 
 
 Sartorius— The Doctrine of Divine Love. One vol. 
 
 Schiirer— The Jewish People in the Time of Christ. Division II. Three vols. 
 
 Steinmeyer— History of the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord. One vol. 
 
 Stier— The Words of the Lord Jesus. Eight vols. 
 
 mU 9 ™ or ? of ,^f E . ise ° Savour, and Commentary on Epistle of St. James. One vo' 
 
 The Words of the Apostles Expounded. One vol «■»=». 
 
 Ullmann— Reformers before the Reformation. Two vols. 
 Weiss— Biblical Theology of the New Testament. Two vols 
 
 The Life of Christ. Three vols. 
 
 Winer— Collection of the Confessions of Christendom. One vol. 
 
 \* For Prices of the above Works see preceding pages.