If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.
If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.
return. Note the Figure of speech Cycloides. App-6 .
Israel. Now referring to the northern kingdom.
saith the LORD = [is] Jehovah's oracle.
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .
then shalt thou not remove = and stray not [from Jehovah]. Compare Jeremiah 2:22-26 ; Jeremiah 3:2 .
And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
thou shalt swear. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 10:20 ).
in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness. Figure of speech Hendiatris ( App-6 ) = truly, yea, justly and righteously, the three referring to the one thing, "shalt swear".
For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
and Jerusalem. Some codices, with Aramaean, Septuagint, and Syriac, read "and the inhabitants of Jerusalem", as in Jeremiah 4:4 .
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
Circumcise. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 10:16 ; Deuteronomy 30:6 ). Spiritual circumcision in the O.T. is confined to these three passages.
Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.
Declare . . . publish . . . say. Compare Jeremiah 46:14 ; Jeremiah 50:2 .
Judah. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Part), for Judah and Benjamin.
Blow ye. Hebrew text reads, "And blow ye": but Hebrew margin, and some codices, with three early printed editions, Aramaean, Septuagint, and Syriac, read without the "And". This is followed by Authorized Version and Revised Version.
Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.
Set. . . retire . . . stay. All plural. standard.
evil = calamity. Hebrew. ra'a'. App-44 .
destruction: or, breaking up.
The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.
The lion = A lion. Figure of speech Hypocatastasis , not Simile or Metaphor. Put thus for the king of Babylon. Contrast Jeremiah 49:19 . See note there.
Gentiles = nations.
For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us.
And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.
heart. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Subject), for courage.
king . . . princes . . . priests . . . prophets. All had become false and corrupt since Josiah's day.
Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.
greatly deceived. Hebrew idiom for declaring that they would be deceived: i.e. by the false prophets who prophesied peace.
soul. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13 .
At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,
wind. Hebrew. ruach . App-9 .
Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.
them . A special various reading called "Sevir" ( App-34 ) reads "her".
Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.
O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?
For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim.
from Dan . . . Ephraim. The enemy would enter the Land from the north, as he afterward did.
mount = hill country of.
Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.
As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.
Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.
My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
My bowels. Figure of speech Epizeuxis ( App-6 ), for emphasis. Note the Figure of speech Hypotyposis, verses: 19-31. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Effect), for the emotions which produce and affect their movement.
bowels . . . very heart . . . heart. Note the Figure of speech Anabasis. App-6 . See note below.
my very heart = the walls of my heart.
thou hast. Hebrew text reads "I have"; but margin and some codices, with three early printed editions, and Revised Version margin, read "thou hast", as in Authorized Version.
Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.
curtains. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), for tents, in which a large proportion of the people lived (2 Samuel 18:17 . 1 Kings 8:66 ). Compare Jeremiah 10:20 .
How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
known = acknowledged.
sottish = stupid. Probably from Celtic. Breton sot, or sod = stupid.
children = sons.
I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
I beheld. Note the Figure of speech Anaphora ( App-6 ), commencing this and the three following verses.
lo. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6 .
without form, and void. Hebrew. tohu va-bohu. Reference to Pentateuch (Genesis 1:2 ). Occurs only here. App-92 . In Isaiah 34:11 , the two words are in another connection. Compare also Isaiah 45:18 .
light = lights (pl). Compare Genesis 1:14 .
I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.
at = because of.
and by. Some cod ices, with five early printed editions, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "and because of".
For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
yet will I not make a full end. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:44 ). App-92 . Compare Jeremiah 5:10 , Jeremiah 5:18 .
For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.
I have purposed it, and, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Numbers 23:19 ). App-92 .
The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.
city. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Subject), for its inhabitants.
every = all, as in preceding clause.
And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.
thou. Figure of speech Prosopopoeia , Put for idolatrous Israel. An adulterous woman.
rentest = enlargest (with paint).
face = eyes.
life = soul. Hebrew. nephesh.
For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.