Jeremiah 15

therefore we will wait upon thee. For rain, and the supply of all other our wants. The Hebrew word h&, he, is often (equivalent to the true or eternal God: see Dcut. xxxii. 39. Isa.- xliii. 10. 13. xlviii. 12. and especially Psal. cii. 27. where the expression is the same with that of the text, atta hu, thou art he: our English reads thou art the same. The words express the eternal and unchangeable nature of God. There is another text where the word is plainly taken in this sense, 2 Kings ii. 14. Where is the Lord God oj’Elijah, aph hu, even he? for so the words should be translated. Those translations which join that expression of the following sentence, as our English does, put a manifest force upon the syntax. chap; xv. God declares his irrevocable purpose of bringing desolations and captivity upon the Jewish nation: and comforts Jeremiah under those discouragements, which he met with in the discharge of his prophetical office. [chap..XV* of. strife, and a man of contention to the whole earth.] Or, land. I am an object of the common hatred, every body takes occasion to quarrel with me, because I speak such truths as they do not care to hear. (Sec xi. 19, &c. xx. 7, 8.) I have neither lent upon usury, nor men have lent to me upon usury; yet every one of them doth enrse me."] The Jews were forbid to take usury of their brethren, (Dcut. xxiii. 19.) especially of the poor, (Exod. xxii. 25.) which was thought so groat an oppression, that it made the man who was guilty of it hated and cursed by every one. The prophet saith, this was just his own case, every body was his enemy for delivering those messages he had received from God. * Vcr. 11. The Lord saith, Verily it shall be ivell with thy remnant, &c] If wc follow this translation, the. sense is, that the prophet himself, his family, and relations, should escape the evils coming upon the Jewish nation, when the remnant or.residue of them should be delivered to the sword, (vcr. 9.) But others translate the sentence thus, I will give thee a happy deliverance [from these evils]: or, thy habitation shall be happy, or secure; and thine enemies shall use thee well, when they exercise all manner of cruelty towards the rest of the Jews. (Sec xxxix. 11, 12. -xl.4.) Vcr. 12. Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel?] The northern iron. was the hardest in its kind of any, viz. such as the people called Chalybes, living near tho Euxine Sea, prepared. The words, if they are applied to Jeremy, import thus much, That as common iron cannot contend for hardness with tho northern iron, or with steel: •so the opposition which the Jews make against thee, shall easily be vanquished and disappointed, because I am with thee to save thee, (vcr. 20.) If the ^ords.relate to the Jews, as the following verses plainly do; the sense is, that the Chaldeans coming from the north, (i. 15.) will be as much’too hard for the Jews to engage with, as the northern iron is superior in strength to the common metal of that kind. Vcr. 13. Tliy substance and thy treasure will I give to the spoil without price.] Compare xvii. 8. God threatens the Jews, that he will give up all their wealth and substance for a prey unto their enemies, without receiving any valuable consideration for it, without any regard to Jiis own honour, which will be so far from being increased -by it, that it will be thought to suffer in the eyes of the -world, by delivering up his own people into the hands of idolaters; he will deal with them as men do with the refuse of their stock or goods, which they are glad to be rid of upon any terms. (Compare Psal..xliv. 13.) shepherd putteth on his garment*] He shall invest the land of Egypt, and take entire possession of it, just as a shepherd’s garment covers his body all over. So calamities, when they surround men on every side, are compared to a garment, Psal. cix. 19. And this destruction shall come upon Egypt suddenly, and as it were in a moment; in which sense the verb nitt or natdh is taken, 1 Sam. xiv. 32. xv. 19. A learned friend gives the text another turn: ho supposes Nebuchadnezzar’s army to have endured hard service before they invaded Egypt: this conjecture he grounds upon the words of Ezekiel, xxix. 18—20. So the prophet here promises, that Egypt should furnish them with all manner of necessaries, and defend them from the hardships they had been exposed to, just as a shepherd is secured from the injuries of the weather by a thick garment. Vcr. 13. He shall break also the images of Beth-shemesh.] Vcr. 12, 13.] Seo xlii. 15—18. [Vcr. 14. None of the remnant — shall escape — (hat they should return into the land of Judah.] Scaliger observes out of Eusebius, that Artaxerxcs Ochus, making an expedition into Egypt, removed a considerable colony of Jews out of that country, and carried them away as far as (he Caspian Sea, and there settled them. Theso he thinks were the remainder of those Jews that went down into Egypt at this time. They were called by the other Jews, the Median captivity. See his notes on Euseb. numb. For none shall return, but mch as shall escape.] Seethe noto on iv. 27. None shall return but the remnant mentioned vcr. 28. to whom I will grant that peculiar favour of being saved, or escaping out of the common destruction. (Compare 1. 20.) This is the import of the word peliti, commonly rendered by the Scptuagint, trwZofitvoi and ava- The samo place that is called by Isaiah, (xix. 18.) Nir \ ataoxTfilvot: (seeli. 50. Isa. x. 20. xxxvii. 32. xiv. 20.1xvi heres, which our margin rightly translates, Tlie city of the 20.) from whence the word Su&J/ievoi is applied in the sun. (See the note upon that place.) And the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.] See Ezck. xxx. 13.

Jeremiah 15:1

JL HOUGH Moses and Samuel stood before nte, yet my mind could not be towards this people. As God had forbid Jeremiah before to intercede for them, because it would be to no purpose: (see the note on xvii. 16.) so here he declares, that he would not admit the prayers of any others, though eminent favourites of God, in their behalf. Moses obtained pardon for the people after their sin in making the golden calf; (Exod. xxxii. 34.) and again, after their despising the promised land: (Numb. xiv. 20.) Samuel’s intercession prevailed for their deliverance out of the hands of the Philistines, (1 Sam. vii. 9.) And these two persons are mentioned together, as remarkably prevalent by their prayers, Psal. xcix.’ 6. TJiou answeredst them, O Lord our God: thou wast a God that forgavest them, even when thou wast just taking vengeance upon their inventions: for so the words should be translated. But here God saith, that if these very persons were alive, and in that near attendance to him which they formerly enjoyed, (for that is the import of the phrase, To stand before him: see ver. 19. xviii. 20. Deut. x. 8. 1 Kings xvii. 1.) yet even their prayers should notaverthis judgments from this people. (Compare Ezck. xiv. 14.)

Jeremiah 15:2

Such as are for death, to death. Death here signifies the pestilence, which, together with the sword and the famine, should consume’ the greatest part of the’peoplc. (Compare xiv. 12. Ezek. v. 12. xiv. 21.)

Jeremiah 15:3

And I will appoint over them four kinds — the sword to slay, &c. These four judgments shall be the executioners of my vengeance upon this people. (Compare Lev. xxvi. 16.) Those whom the sword destroys shall not enjoy the common rites of burial, but their carcasses shall be left a prey to the dogs, the birds, and the beasts. This is mentioned as an aggravation of the Divine judgments. (CompaTo viii. 2.)

Jeremiah 15:4

And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth. Several Jews were carried captive into other countries, besides Chaldea: (see the note on xii. 14.) others turned voluntary exiles, to avoid the miseries they saw coming upon their country. (See xl. 11.) The words here are taken out of Dent, xxviii. 25. where Moses threatens them with a general dispersion over the world, which received its utmost completion after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. Because of Manasseh, &c] His idolatry and other abominations, exceeded the wickedness of all the kings that went before him. (See 2 Kings xxi. 7. 9. 11.) In his time the public worship of God was wholly suppressed, and* idolatry introduced into the very temple; the law of God was likewise quite laid aside, and in a manneT forgotten, as appears by the surprise Hilkiah was in, when he found the original of the law in the house of the Lord, (2 Kings xxii. 8.) So it was Manasseh’s sins that filled up the measure of the Jews’ iniquities. (See 2 Kings xxiii. 26. xxiv. Ver. -5. For tvho shall [or rather, who will] have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem?] Thy sins render thee unworthy of pity, and every body that sees the calamities brought upon thee will own them to be just. (See xxii. 8, 9.) Or, who will tarn aside to ask how thott dost?] Who will be so much concerned for thee, as to step a little out of his way to inquire after thee, a common instance of respect between persons never so little acquainted, llath’er they thatpass by will insult over thy calamities. (SeeLam. ii.15.)

Jeremiah 15:6

Thou art gone backivard. See vii. 24. I am weary ivith repenting.] When God suspends the execution of his judgments, he is said to repent of the evil hehad threatened. (See xviii. 8.) This he had done so often, that he is represented like a man whose patience is atlast quite tired out, it being t6 no purposie to withhold his hand any longer from striking. (Compare Isa. xliii. 24. Hos. xiii. 14. Mai. ii. 17.)

Jeremiah 15:7

I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land. I will scatter them to all the ivirids, as Ezekiel expresses it, Ezek. v. 12. (See likewise li. 2. of this prophecy, Isa. xli. 1G.) By the gates of the land are meant the cities. (See xiv. 2.)

Jeremiah 15:8

I have brought upon them, against the mother of the young men, a spoiler at noon. Compare vi. 4. By the mother of young men, is meant Jerusalem. (See Isa. 1. 1. Hos. ii. 2.) And terrors upon the city.] The Hebrew word tm\ is of a double signification: the Septuagint render the words, tumult and terrors. This translation of the word nir, Abr. a Schultens defends from the sense it still? retains in the Arabic. (See his Animadver. in Job, p. 53.) Some suppose that word to signify a watchman here, frcta the’Chaldee sense of it, and translate the latter part of the verse thus, Ihatfe caused (or will cause) a watchman and terrors to fall upon it suddenly.

Jeremiah 15:9

She that hath borne seven, langnisheth. The prophet pursueth the metaphor of the former verse, and describcth the mother-city under tho figure" of a fruitful woman, (compare 1 Sam. ii. 5.) but fainting away; and ready to die with grief for the loss of her children. Her sun is gone down while it is yet day.] She is as’ a young man that dies in the midst of his strength: of a sudden she is overwhelmed with misery, when she might have expected a long continuance of happiness. (Compare Amos viii. 9. and see tho note upon iv. 23.) And the residue of them will I deliver to the sivord.] i. e\ Those that escape out of the city.’ (See ver’. 8. Ezek. v. 12.)

Jeremiah 15:10

Woe is me, my mother, thou hast bommeaman 4K2

Jeremiah 15:14

And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not. Compare xiv. 18. The words maybe rendered thus, I will bring thine enemies (who live]‘in a land which thou, knowest not. The Septuagint and some other interpreters, instead of the present JHcbrcw reading, heeberti, read heebadhti, to this sense, I will cause. thee to serve thine enemies, &c. as the sentence is repeated, xvii. 4.. For afire is kindled in mine anger, &c] Sec vii. 20. Vcr. 15.’. O Lord, thou knowest.] Mine innocency. (Sec xii.3.) Visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors.] See xi. 20. and the note there., Take me not away in thy long-suffering.] Suffer not mine enemies to take away my life, while thou forbcarest to vindicate and defend mo. Verbs active in the Hebrew language, do often signify only permission. (See iv. 10. and the note upon Isa. lxiii. 17.) Know [or consider] that for thy sake I have suffered 7’ebuke.] Sec ver. 10. xi. 21. xx. 8. Herein the prophet was a type of Christ, and his sufferings. (Sec Psal. lxix. 7. and the note upon xi. 19.) Vcr. 10. Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy word was unto me joy and rejoicing of my heart, &c] As soon as I received or understood thy word, and the messages thou didst deliver to me, I treasured them up in my memory; I meditated upon them, and did inwardly digest them. It was a pleasure to me to think I should be an instrument of conveying thy commands to my brethren,‘and that I should have the honour of being called thy prophet, or messenger. The receiving God’s word, by which the soul is nourished, is elsewhere compared to corporal food. (See Isa. Iv. 1, 2. Ezck. iii. 1. 3. Amos viii. 11. John vi. 27. llcv. x. 9.) Vcr. 17. I sat not in the assembly of mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone.] The word meshahakim, here, translated mockers, is elsewhere rendered, Those that make merry; (see xxx. 19. xxxi. 4.) which signification the Chaldce paraphrase follows, and, as I conceive, better suits this place; the sense of which is, That Jeremy quickly found the joy which he had conceived from the honour of being a prophet, was turned into heaviness; all his prophecies containing nothing but terrible denunciations of God’s indignation against a sinful people. This makes me, saith he, sit alone, renounce all cheerful conversation, and give myself to solitariness and, pensive thoughts. (Compare Lam. iii. 28.)‘God’s judgments, as they were represented to the prophets, often raised such dreadful ideas in their mind, as to affect them in an extraordinary mariner, especially if their threatcnings concerned their own country, or the church of God. (See xxiii. 9. Ezek. iii. 4. Dan. vii.,28. Habak.iii. 2. 16.);" Because of thine Jiand.] God’s hand may either be understood of his Judgments, which, being denounced by the prophet, might be resembled to a hand stretched out, and just ready to strike: or else of the prophetical impulse, which was strong upon Jeremiah, and in a manner forced him to be the messenger of evil tidings. (Compare 2 Kings iii. 15. Isa. viii. 11. Ezck. i. 4. iii. 14.)

Jeremiah 15:18

Wilt thou be altogether to me as a liar, and as waters that fail?. Thou hast promised to be my defence and safeguard.against mine enemies; (see i. 18, 19.) and.wilt thou altogether disappoint and deceive mc? like little brooks which arc dried up in summer, when they arc most wanted, and so disappoint the thirsty traveller. (Compare Job vi. 15.) The prophet here sets down the perplexities lie laboured under, by reason of. the opposition he continually met with from ungodly men, in the execution of his office: just as the Psalmist relates the misgivings of his mind, when he was under great troubles and temptations. (Sec Psal. xxxi. 22. lxxiii. 13, 14. lxxvii. 7. 10.) But then presently he checks such thoughts, calls to mind God’s gracious promises, and encourages himself to rely upon him.’ And the like encouragements arc recorded in the following verses of this chapter.