Jeremiah 15:4

And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth,.... Not only into Babylon, but into other countries; which has had its full accomplishment in this their last captivity by the

And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.

Though the body of the people were removed into Babylon, yet as it is more than probable that many of them fled into other countries to save themselves, so there is no doubt but the king of Babylon removed them into several kingdoms belonging to his large empire. What Manasseh did may be read ,16, He did wickedly, above all that the Amorites did that were before him, and made also Judah to sin with his idols. Moreover, he shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, &c. Some make a question whether God means the personal sins of Manasseh and his ministers, or only the sins of the same kind that the Jews still continued. Manasseh lived fifty-five years, his son Josiah thirty-one years, it was now the time of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, who reigned but eleven years, and it is probable this was his fifth year, for in that year he proclaimed the fast for the drought, (as is supposed,) . Though the people were bad enough still, yet it is no way probable that they were so bad as in the time of Manasseh. We know all Josiah’ s time, the father of this prince, was a time of reformation, though it be certain much of their old leaven of idolatry and superstition was yet in them. Whatever therefore some think, God undoubtedly meaneth the guilt that Manasseh and his subjects contracted forty years before this time: nor do I see any reason why any should question, whether it be consistent with the justice of God to punish the sins of parents upon their posterity, when it is no more than we see done every day in the punishments of traitors and felons, by the seizing the estates of their children, and in wars, upon the taking of cities and fortified places; and it is no more than God hath threatened in the second commandment, Exodus 20, and declared it as a piece of his name, , and done in a multitude of Scriptural instances. Manasseh is here named as the son of Hezekiah for his shame, because of his degeneracy from so good a parent; it is expressly said, , that notwithstanding Josiah’ s reformation, yet the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his wrath kindled against Judah for the provocations of Manasseh.

Jeremiah 15:4 And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for [that] which he did in Jerusalem.Ver. 4. Because of Manasseh.] Because of his sins, idolatry and bloodshed especially, wherein the people partook and persisted, and were therefore justly punished. The son of Hezekiah.] But altogether degenerate. He was therefore the worse, because he should have been better, and yet the worse again, because he was author publicae corruptelae, a ringleader of rebellion to others, as was Jeroboam.

(4) Manasseh the son of Hezekiah.—The horror of that long and evil reign still lingered in the minds of men, and the prophet saw in it the beginning of the evils from which his people were now suffering. The name of Hezekiah may have been inserted as an aggravation of the guilt of his successor.

Verse 4. I will cause them to be removed into an kingdoms of the earth] This seems to have respect to the succeeding state of the Jews in their different generations; and never was there a prophecy more literally fulfilled; and it is still a standing monument of Divine truth. Let infidelity cast its eyes on the scattered Jews whom it may meet with in every civilized nation of the world; and then let it deny the truth of this prophecy, if it can. The Jews are scattered through every nation, and yet are not a nation; nor do they form even a colony on any part of the face of the earth. Behold the truth and the justice of God!

4. The latter part (“because of … in Jerusalem”) may be a gloss, founded on such passages as 2 Kings 21:11 ff. Jeremiah does not elsewhere name Manasseh in connexion with the evil deeds of that reign. cause them to be tossed to and fro among] to shake is the lit. meaning of the Heb. root, hence, to move in fear, to tremble (Esther 5:9). The Heb. substantive here (from that root) thus means consternation, i.e. an object of it, and occurs again in Jeremiah 24:9, Jeremiah 29:18. Thus we should render, I will make them to be a consternation to, etc.

To be removed - Rather, “to be a terror.” Because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah - The name of the pious father intensifies the horror at the wickedness of the son.

4. Removed — Rather, a terror. Furst, Nagelsbach, Keil, Syriac, render it maltreated. Manasseh — See 2 Kings 21:1-16.