1.
At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves:
1. The victorious Babylonians
were about to violate the sanctuaries of the dead in search of
plunder; for ornaments, treasures, and insignia of royalty were
usually buried with kings. Or rather, their purpose was to do the
greatest dishonor to the dead ().
2.
And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.
2. spread . . . before the sun,
c.—retribution in kind. The very objects which received their
idolatries shall unconcernedly witness their dishonor.
loved . . . served . . .
after . . . walked . . . sought . . . worshipped—Words are
accumulated, as if enough could not be said fully to express the mad
fervor of their idolatry to the heavenly host ().
nor . . . buried— ().
dung— (Jeremiah 9:22
Psalms 83:10).
3.
And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.
3. The survivors shall be still
worse off than the dead (Job 3:21;
Job 3:22; Revelation 9:6).
which remain in all the
places—"in all places of them that remain, whither I . . .
that is, in all places whither I have driven them that remain
[MAURER].
4.
Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?
4. "Is it not a natural
instinct, that if one falls, he rises again; if one turns away
(that is, wanders from the way), he will return to the point
from which he wandered? Why then does not Jerusalem do so?" He
plays on the double sense of return; literal and metaphorical
(Jeremiah 3:12; Jeremiah 4:1).
5.
Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.
5. slidden . . . backsliding—rather,
as the Hebrew is the same as in , to which this verse refers, "turned away with a
perpetual turning away."
perpetual—in contrast
to the "arise" ("rise again," ).
refuse to return—in
contrast to, "shall he . . . not return" (Jeremiah 8:4;
Jeremiah 5:3).
6.
I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.
6. spake not aright—that is,
not so as penitently to confess that they acted wrong. Compare
what follows.
every one . . . his
course—The Keri reads "course," but the
Chetib, "courses." "They persevere in the
courses whatever they have once entered on." Their wicked
ways were diversified.
horse rusheth—literally,
"pours himself forth," as water that has burst its
embankment. The mad rapidity of the war horse is the point of
comparison ().
7.
Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.
7. The instinct of the migratory
birds leads them with unfailing regularity to return every spring
from their winter abodes in summer climes (); but God's people will not return to Him even when the
winter of His wrath is past, and He invites them back to the spring
of His favor.
in the heaven—emphatical.
The birds whose very element is the air, in which they are
never at rest, yet show a steady sagacity, which God's people do not.
times—namely, of
migrating, and of returning.
my people—This
honorable title aggravates the unnatural perversity of the Jews
towards their God.
know not, c.— (Jeremiah 5:4
Jeremiah 5:5; Isaiah 1:3).
8.
How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.
8. law . . . with us— (). Possessing the law, on which they prided themselves, the
Jews might have become the wisest of nations; but by their neglecting
its precepts, the law became given "in vain," as far as
they were concerned.
scribes—copyists. "In
vain" copies were multiplied. MAURER
translates, "The false pen of the scribes hath converted it [the
law] into a lie." See Margin, which agrees with Vulgate.
9.
The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?
9. dismayed—confounded.
what wisdom—literally,
"the wisdom of what?" that is, "wisdom in what
respect?" the Word of the Lord being the only true source of
wisdom (Psalms 119:98-100;
Proverbs 1:7; Proverbs 9:10).
10.
Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
10-12. Repeated from . See a similar repetition, Jeremiah 8:15;
Jeremiah 14:19.
inherit—succeed to
the possession of them.
11.
For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
11. ().
12.
Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
10-12. Repeated from . See a similar repetition, Jeremiah 8:15;
Jeremiah 14:19.
inherit—succeed to
the possession of them.
13.
I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.
13. surely consume—literally,
"gathering I will gather," or "consuming I will
consume."
no grapes . . . nor figs—
(Joel 1:7; Matthew 21:19).
things that I have given . .
. shall pass away—rather, "I will appoint to them those
who shall overwhelm (pass over) them," that is, I will send the
enemy upon them [MAURER].
English Version accords well with the context; Though their
grapes and figs ripen, they shall not be allowed to enjoy them.
14.
Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.
14. assemble—for defense.
let us be silent—not
assault the enemy, but merely defend ourselves in quiet, until the
storm blow over.
put us to silence—brought
us to that state that we can no longer resist the foe; implying
silent despair.
water of gall—literally,
"water of the poisonous plant," perhaps the poppy (Jeremiah 9:15;
Jeremiah 23:15).
15.
We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!
15. Repeated ().
We looked for—owing to
the expectations held out by the false prophets.
health—healing; that
is, restoration from adversity.
16.
The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein.
16. his horses—the Chaldean's.
was heard—the
prophetical past for the future.
from Dan—bordering on
Phoelignicia. This was to be Nebuchadnezzar's route in invading
Israel; the cavalry in advance of the infantry would scour the
country.
strong ones—a poetical
phrase for steeds, peculiar to Jeremiah (; compare Jeremiah 4:13;
Jeremiah 4:29; Jeremiah 6:23).
17.
For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.
17. I—Jehovah.
cockatrices—basilisks
(Isaiah 11:8), that is, enemies
whose destructive power no means, by persuasion or otherwise, can
counteract. Serpent-charmers in the East entice serpents by music,
and by a particular pressure on the neck render them incapable of
darting (Psalms 58:4; Psalms 58:5).
18.
When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.
18. (). The lamentation of the prophet for the impending calamity
of his country.
against sorrow—or, with
respect to sorrow. MAURER
translates, "Oh, my exhilaration as to sorrow!" that is,
"Oh, that exhilaration ('comfort', from an Arabic root,
to shine as the rising sun) would shine upon me as to my
sorrow!"
in me—within me.
19.
Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?
19. The prophet in vision hears
the cry of the exiled Jews, wondering that God should have delivered
them up to the enemy, seeing that He is Zion's king, dwelling in her
(Micah 3:11). In the latter half
of the verse God replies that their own idolatry, not want of
faithfulness on His part, is the cause.
because of them that dwell in
a far country—rather, "from a land of distances,"
that is, a distant land (Isaiah 39:3).
English Version understands the cry to be of the Jews in
their own land, because of the enemy coming from their far-off
country.
strange vanities—foreign
gods.
20.
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.
20. Proverbial. Meaning: One
season of hope after another has passed, but the looked-for
deliverance never came, and now all hope is gone.
21.
For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.
21. black—sad in visage with
grief (Joel 2:6).
22.
Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
22. balm—balsam; to be
applied to the wounds of my people. Brought into Judea first from
Arabia Felix, by the queen of Sheba, in Solomon's time [JOSEPHUS,
Antiquities, 8.2]. The opobalsamum of PLINY;
or else [BOCHART] the
resin drawn from the terebinth. It abounded in Gilead, east of
Jordan, where, in consequence, many "physicians"
established themselves (Jeremiah 46:11;
Jeremiah 51:8; Genesis 37:25;
Genesis 43:11).
health . . . recovered—The
Hebrew is literally, "lengthening out . . . gone up";
hence, the long bandage applied to bind up a wound. So the
Arabic also [GESENIUS].