1. Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2. And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 3. For through the anger of the Lord it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4. And it came to pass, in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round about. 5. So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 6. And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine
was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
non esset panis populo terrae.
7. Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about;) and they went by the way of the plain.
7. Et dirupta fuit urbs, et omnes viri bellatores fugerunt, exieruntque de urbe noete per viam portae (quoe erat) inter duos muros, qui (erant) juxta hortum regis (Chaldaei autem erant juxta urbem per circuitum) abieruntque per viam solitudinis. 8. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.
8. Persecutus vero est exereitus Chaldaeorum regem, apprehenderuntque Sedechiam in desertis Jericho; quia omnis exercitus ejus dispersus est ab eo. 9. Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah, in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him.
9. Comprehenderunt igitur regem, et duxerunt eum ad regem Babylonis in Riblatah, in terram Chamath, qui disceptavit cure eo judiciis. 10. And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.
10. Et jugulavit rex Babylonis filios Sedechiam in oculis ejus, et etiam omnes principes Jehudah jugulavit in Riblatah: 11. Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in chain, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.
11. Oculos autem Sedechiae excaecavit, et vinxit catenis, adducique fecit eum rex Babylonis, Babylonem, et posuit eum in domo carceris fH117 usque ad diem quo mortuus est. 12. Now, in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, (which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon,) came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, which served the king of
12. Mense autem quinto, decima mensis fH118 (is annus erat decimus nonus annus regis Nabuchadrezer regis Babylonis) venit Nebuzaradan princeps militum, qui stabat fH119 coram
Babylon, into Jerusalem, rege Babylonis, in Jerusalem, 13. And burnt the house of the Lord, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great, men, burnt he with fire.
13. Et incendit domurn Jehovae et domum regis, atque cunctas domos Jerusalem, et omnem domum magnam combussit igni: fH120
14. And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about.
14. Onmesque muros Jerusalem undique destruxerunt totus exercitus Chaledaeorum, qui erat cum magistro militum. 15. Then Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the guard, carried away captive certain of the poor of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.
15. De pauperibus autem populi, et de reliquo populo qui remanserant in urbe, et de transfugis qui transfugerunt ad regem Babylonis, et de reliquiis multitudinis transmigrare fecit Nebuzaradan nmgister militum. fH121
16. But Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the guard, left certain of the poor of the land for vine-dressers, and for husbandmen.
16. De pauperibus vero terrae reliquit Nebuzaradan magister militurn vinitores et agricolas.
17. Also the pillars of brass that were in the house of the Lord, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans brake, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon.
17. Et columnas aereas quae erant in domo Jehovae, et bases et mare aereum quod erat in domo Jehovae confregerunt Chaldaei, et detulerunt omne aes eorum Babylonem. 18. The caldrons also, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
18. Lebetes quoque et scopas et psalteria et pelves et cochlearia et omnia vasa aerea quibus ministrabant, tulerunt.
19. And the basons, and the firepans, and the bowls, and the caldrons, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups; that
19. Et hydrias et thuribula et pelves et ollas et candelabra, et mortariola et cyathos, quae aurea, aurea, et quae argentea, argentea,
fH122 tulit magister militum.
which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, took the caprain of the guard away.
20. The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brazen bull:; that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made in the house of the Lord: the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
20. Columnas duas, mare unum, et boves duodecim aereos, qui erant sub basibus quas fecerat rex Solomo in domo Jehovae, non erat pondus, aeris eorum omnium (nempe) vasorum istorum. 21. And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers; it was hollow.
21. Quod ad columnas, octodecim cubitorum erat altitudo columnae unius, et filum duodecim cubitortum circuibat eam, cujus crassitudo (quoe) erat quatuor digitorum; (erat) vacua. 22. And the chapiter of brass was upon it; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about, all of brass: the second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto these.
22. Capitellum autem quod erat super earn aereum; altitudo vero capitelli unius, quinque cubitorum erat, et reticulum, et malogranata super capitellum per circuiturn, omnia aerea et similia erant columnae secundae et malogranata. 23. And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; and all the pomegranates upon the net-work were an hundred round about.
23. Fuerunt autem malogranata nonaginta et sex ad plagam (unam) onmia malogranata, centum super reticulum per circuitum. 24. Tulit quoque magister militurn Seraiah sacerdotem primum, et Sephaniah sacerdotem secundum, et tres custodes liminis.
24. And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door: 25. Et de urbe tulit eunuchum unum, qui erat praepositus super viros bellatores, et septem viros ex iis qui videbant faciem regis, qui inventi sunt in urbe, et scribam
25. He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war; and seven men of them that were near the king’s person, which were found in the
principem militiae, qui colligebat ad militiam populum terrae, et sexaginta viros de populo terrae, qui inventi sunt in medio urbis.
city; and the prineipal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city. 26. Tulit, inquam, cos Nebuzaradan magister militum, et deduxit eos ad regem Babylonis in Riblatha:
26. So Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the guard, took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. 27. And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah, in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land.
27. Et percussit eos rex Babylonis, et interfecit eos in Riblatha in terra Chamath; et translatus est Jehudah de terra sua. 28. This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carrid away captive: In the seventh year three thousand Jews, and three and twenty:
28. Iste est populus quem transferre fecit Nabuchadrezer, anno septimo, Judaeos tria millia et viginti tres.
29. In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons:
29. Anno decimo octavo Nabuchadrezer transferre fecit de Jerusalem animas octingentas triginta duas. 30. In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar, Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the guard, carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.
30. Anno tertio et vigesimo Nabuchadrezer, transferre fecit Nelmzar-adan magister militum, Judaeorum animus septingentas quadraginta quinque; omnes animae quatuor millia et sexcentae. fH123
31. And it came to pass, in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of
31. Fuit autem tricesimo septimo anno transmigrationis Jehoiakin regis Jehudah, duodecimo mense, vicesima quinta mensis, elevavit Evil-merodach rex Babylonis, anno regni sui, caput Jehoiakin
Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison,
regis Jehudah, et eduxit eum de domo carceris;
32. And spake kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,
32. Loquutusque est eum eo bolla, et posuit thronum ejus super thronum regum, qui erant secum in Babylone; 33. And changed his prison garments; and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life.
33. Et mutavit vestimenta carceris ejus, et comedebat panem coram eo semper omnibus diebus vitae suae. 34. And for his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion, until the day of his death, all the days of his life.
34. Et portio ejus, portio perpetua dabatur ei a rege Babylonis, per singulos dies ejus, usque ad diem quo mortuus est, omnibus diebus vitae ejus.
LAUS DEO
A TRANSLATION OF
CALVIN’S VERSION OF
JEREMIAH
1 The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin:
2 Even the word of Jehovah came to him in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, The king of Judah, in the tenth year of his reign;
3 And it came in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, to the transmigration of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
4 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, — 5 Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee; Before thou camest forth from the womb, I sanctified thee; A prophet to the nations have I made thee.
6 And I said, — Ah! Lord Jehovah, Behold, I know not how to speak, for I am a child.
7 And Jehovah said to me, — Say not, I am a child; For wheresoever I send thee, thou shalt go; And whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt say:
8 Fear not their face, for I am with thee, To deliver thee, saith Jehovah.
9 And Jehovah extended his hand and touched my mouth; and Jehovah said to me, — Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth;
10 See, I have set thee today Over nations and over kingdoms, To pull down and to destroy, To root up and to demolish, To build and to plant. (1:47)
11 Then the word of Jehovah came to me saying, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, The rod of a watcher is what I see.
12 Then Jehovah said to me, Thou hast rightly seen, for I watch over my word to do it.
13 And the word of Jehovah came to me again, saying, What seest thou? And I said, A pot boiling is what I see; its face is towards the north.
14 And Jehovah said to me, — From the north shall break forth an evil On all the inhabitants of the land:
15 For behold, I am calling all the families Of the kingdoms of the north, saith Jehovah; And they shall come, and set shall each his throne, At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, And on all its walls around, And on all the cities of Judah:
16 And I will execute my judgments on them For all their wickedness; Because they have forsaken me, And have burnt incense to strange gods, And bowed down to the works of their own hands. (1:58)
17 Thou then, gird thy loins and arise, And speak to them whatsoever I command thee; Fear not their face, Lest I dismay thee before them.
18 And I, behold I have made thee this day A fortified city, an iron pillar, And a brazen wall, as to the whole land, Against the kings of Judah, Against his princes, against his priests, Against the people of the land:
19 And they shall fight with thee, But shall not prevail over thee, For with thee am I, saith Jehovah, to deliver thee.
1 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, — 2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, Saying, Thus saith Jehovah, — I remember thee for my kindness to thine youth And my love at thy espousal, When thou didst follow me in the desert, In a land not sown. (1:70)
3 Holiness was Israel to Jehovah, The first-fruits of his increase: Whosoever devour him shall be punished, Evil shall come upon them, saith Jehovah.
4 Hear the word of Jehovah, ye house of Jacob, And all the families of the house of Israel:
5 Thus saith Jehovah, — What iniquity did your fathers find in me? For they alienated themselves from me, And walked after vanity, and became vain; (1:75)
6 And they said not, “Where is Jehovah, Who brought us out of the land of Egypt, And led us through the wilderness, In a land waste and rugged, In a land horrible and deadly, In a land through which none passed, And in which no man dwelt?” (1:79)
7 And I brought you into a fertile land, To eat its fruit and its abundance; But ye entered and polluted my land, And my heritage have ye made an abomination:
8 The priests said not, “Where is Jehovah?” And they who handled the law, knew not me; And the pastors dealt treacherously with me, And the prophets prophesied by Baal, And after things which did not profit, they walked.
9 Therefore still will I contend with you, saith Jehovah; And with your children’s children will I contend.
10 For pass over to the isles of Chittim, and see; And to Kedar send, and consider diligently; And see whether such a thing as this has been done — 11 Has a nation changed its gods, Though they are no gods? Yet my people have changed their glory Unto that which does not profit.
12 Be astonished, ye heavens, at this, and terrified, Be ye wholly desolated, saith Jehovah: (1:92)
13 Surely, two evils have my people done, — Me have they forsaken, the fountain of living waters, And dug have they for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns, which hold no waters!
14 Is Israel a servant? Is he one born in the house? Why is he become a prey?
15 Over him roar the lions, They have raised their voice; They have made his land waste; His cities are burnt up, Without an inhabitant.
16 Even the children of Noph and Thaphanes Do break thy crown.
17 Hast thou not done this for thyself, By forsaking Jehovah thy God, While he was leading thee in the way?
18 And now what hast thou to do in the way to Egypt, That thou mightest drink the waters of the Nile? And what hast thou to do in the way to Assyria, That thou mightest drink of the water of the river?
19 Chastise thee shall thine own wickedness, And thy apostasies, they shall punish thee; And thou shalt understand and know, That it is an evil and a bitter thing for thee To have forsaken Jehovah thy God, And that my fear has not been in thee, Saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
20 For of old have I broken thy yoke, Have I burst thy bands; But thou hast said, “I will not serve;” For on every high hill and under every shady tree Hast thou rambled like a harlot. (1:107)
21 I indeed planted thee a choice vine, Altogether a good seed; How then art thou turned to me A degenerated foreign vine!
22 Even though thou washest thyself with nitre, And multipliest to thee the herb of the fuller; Yet imprinted is thine iniquity Before my face, saith the Lord Jehovah.
23 How canst thou say, “I am not polluted, After Baalim have I not gone?” See thy ways in the valley, Know what thou hast done, — Thou swift dromedary, traversing her ways, — 24 A wild she-ass, used to the desert, In her own lust snuffing up the wind she meets with: Who can thence bring her back? Whosoever seeks her, needs not weary himself; In her month will he find her. (1:118)
25 Keep thy foot from being unshod, And thy throat from thirst: Yet thou hast said, “It is all over, No, for I have loved strangers, And after them will I go.”
26 As there is shame to a thief when caught, So ashamed shall be the house of Israel, Their kings and their princes, Their priests and their prophets, — 27 Who say to the wood, “My father art thou;” And to the stone, “Thou hast begotten me:” For they have turned to me the back, not the face; But in the time of their calamity they say, “Arise and save us.”
28 But where are thy gods, Which thou hast made for thyself? Let them arise, if they can save thee In the time of thy calamity; For according to the number of thy cities Have been thy gods, O Judah!
29 Why do ye contend with me? Ye have all dealt perfidiously with me, saith Jehovah.
30 In vain have I chastised your children; Correction they received not; Devoured has the sword your prophets, As a destroying lion.
31 O generation! see ye the word of Jehovah; Have I been a desert to Israel, or a land of darkness? Wherefore have my people said, — “We have ruled, we will come no more to thee.” (1:135)
32 Can a maid forget her ornaments, A spouse her attire? But my people have forgotten me, Days without number.
33 Why trimmest thou thy ways to seek love? Thou hast even thus taught wickedness by thy ways.
34 Even in thy skirts is found The blood of the souls of the poor innocents; Not in digging under have they been found, But on account of all these things: (1:143)
35 Yet thou hast said, “Surely I am clean; Only let his fury depart from me.” Behold I will contend with thee in judgment, Because thou hast said, “I have not sinned.”
36 Why ramblest thou so much to change thy ways? Even of Egypt shalt thou be ashamed, As thou hast been ashamed of Assyria.
37 Even now for this thou shalt go forth, And thine hands on thine head; For abhorred hath Jehovah thy confidences, And in them thou shalt not prosper. (1:151)
1 It is said, when a man puts away his wife, And she goes from him to another man, Shall he return to her again? Would not the land be thus greatly polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many friends; Yet return to me, saith Jehovah.
2 Raise thine eyes to the high places, And see where thou hast played the harlot: By the ways thou didst sit for them, As the Arabian in the desert; And polluted hast thou the land With thy whoredoms and thy wickedness.
3 Restrained therefore have been the showers, And the late rain has not been; Yet the front of a strumpet has been thine, Thou hast refused to be ashamed.
4 Wilt thou not hereafter cry to me, — “My Father, the guide of my youth art thou?
5 Will he keep wrath for ever? Will he reserve it perpetually?” Behold, thou hast spoken, And hast done evils with all thy might. (1:162)
6 And Jehovah said to me in the days of Josiah the king, — Hast thou seen what the apostate Israel has done? She went on every high mountain And under every shady tree, And played there the harlot:
7 And I said, after she had done all these things, “Return to me; “ but she returned not; And see this did her perfidious sister Judah.
8 And I saw, that when for all these things, Because rebellious Israel had played the harlot, I had dismissed her and given her a bill of divorce, Yet fear did not her perfidious sister Judah, But went and played also the harlot. (1:166)
9 And it happened through the levity of her whoredom, That she polluted the land, And played the harlot with stone and with wood.
10 And yet after all this, returned to me Has not her perfidious sister Judah, With her whole heart, but feignedly, saith Jehovah.
11 And Jehovah said to me, — Justified herself has apostate Israel Rather than perfidious Judah:
12 Go and publish these words towards the north, And say, Return, rebellious Israel, saith Jehovah; I will not let fall my wrath upon you, For I am merciful, saith Jehovah; I will not keep it for ever:
13 But know thine iniquity, That against Jehovah thy God thou hast acted wickedly, And prostituted thy ways to strangers Under every shady tree; (1:176) And to my voice thou didst not hearken, saith Jehovah.
14 Return, ye rebellious children, saith Jehovah; For I am your husband; And I will take you, one from a city, And two from a family, and bring you to Sion;
15 And will give you pastors according to my heart, And they shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
16 And it shall be, when ye shall multiply and increase In the land, in those days, saith Jehovah, That they will no more say, — “The ark of the covenant of Jehovah;” And it shall not come to mind, And they shall not remember nor visit it; Even this shall not be done any more. (1:185)
17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem, The throne of Jehovah; And assemble to it shall all nations, For the name of Jehovah, even to Jerusalem; And walk shall they no more After the evil hardness of their own hearts. (1:186)
18 In those days shall come The house of Judah with the house of Israel; Together shall they come from the land of the north, To the land which I have given For an inheritance to your fathers.
19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, And give thee the desirable land, The heritage coveted by hosts of nations? And I said, “My Father,” shalt thou call me, And from me thou wilt not depart. (1:189)
20 Surely as a woman deals perfidiously with her partner, So hast thou dealt perfidiously with me, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah.
21 A voice on high places was heard, The weeping of the prayers of the children of Israel; Because they had perverted their way, And forgotten Jehovah their God. (1:192)
22 “Return, ye rebellious children, I will heal your transgressions.” “Behold we come to thee, For thou art Jehovah our God:
23 Surely deceit is from the hills, From the multitude of mountains; Surely, in Jehovah our God Is the salvation of Israel. (1:194)
24 Even shame hath devoured the labor Of our fathers, from our youth, Even their sheep and their cattle, Their sons and their daughters.
25 We have lain down in our shame, And our reproach hath covered us, Because with Jehovah our God We have dealt wickedly, we and our fathers, From our childhood even to this day, (1:196) And have not attended to the voice of Jehovah our God.”
1 If thou wilt return, Israel, saith Jehovah, Return to me; Even if thou wilt take away Thine abominations from my sight, And wilt not wander: (1:199)
2 And thou shalt swear, “Live does Jehovah, In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness;” Then bless themselves in him shall nations, And in him shall they glory. (1:202)
3 For thus saith Jehovah To the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, — Plough again the first ploughing, And sow not among thorns:
4 Be ye circumcised to Jehovah, And take away the foreskin of your heart, Ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Lest my fury go forth like fire, And burn that none may quench it; On account of the evil of your doings.
5 Proclaim ye in Judah, And publish in Jerusalem, and say, “Sound the trumpet in the land;” Call, assemble, yea, say, — “Be assembled, and let us enter into fortified cities;”
6 Raise the standard in Sion; Flee, stay not, for an evil do I bring From the north, even a great ruin. (1:208)
7 Ascended has the lion from his thicket, And the waster of nations is gone forth; He is come forth from his place, To make thy land a waste; Thy cities shall be destroyed, So as to be without an inhabitant.
8 For this gird yourselves with sackcloth, Lament and howl; for turned away from us Is not the fury of Jehovah’s wrath.
9 And it shall be in that day, saith Jehovah, That perish shall the heart of the king, And the heart of the princes; And amazed shall be the priests, And the prophets shall be astonished. (1:212)
10 Then I said, Ah! Lord Jehovah! Surely, deceiving thou hast deceived This people and Jerusalem, by saying, “Peace shall be to you;” Yet reached has the sword to the soul. (1:214)
11 At that time it shall be said To this people and to Jerusalem, — A dry wind from the heights of the desert Shall be towards the way of the daughter of my people, Not to fan nor to cleanse;
12 A wind stronger than this shall come for me; Now also will I pronounce judgments on them. (1:217)
13 Behold as clouds shall he ascend, And as a whirlwind his chariots; Swifter than eagles his horses: Woe to us! for we are lost.
14 Cleanse from evil the heart, Jerusalem; That thou mayest be saved: How long will remain within thee The thoughts of vanity! (1:221)
15 For a voice proclaims from Dan And publishes ruin from Mount Ephraim.
16 Rehearse it to the nations; Behold, publish against Jerusalem, — Besiegers come from a remote land, And raise over the cities of Judah their voice;
17 As keepers of the field they shall be over her around; Because she hath provoked me, saith Jehovah.
18 Thy way and thy doings have done this for thee; This is thy wickedness, though it be bitter, Though it reaches to thy heart. (1:227)
19 My bowels! my bowels! I am in pain; The walls of my heart! My heart is in a tumult within me; I will not be silent, for the sound of the trumpet Has my soul heard, And the clamor of war has it heard. (1:229)
20 Calamity on calamity is cried; For destroyed is the whole land; Suddenly destroyed are my tents, In an instant my curtains.
21 How long shall I see the standard — Shall I hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 Because foolish are my people, Me have they not known; Sottish children are they, And they are not intelligent; Acute are they for evil, But how to do good they know not.
23 I beheld the land, and lo, it was waste and without form; And the heavens, and they had no light:
24 I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled; And all the hills were shaking:
25 I beheld, and lo, there was no man, And every bird of the heavens was fled:
26 I beheld, and lo, Carmel was a desert; And all its cities were destroyed, At the presence of Jehovah, At the presence of the burning of his wrath.
27 For thus saith Jehovah, Laid waste shall be the whole land; But an end will I not make.
28 For this mourn shall the land, And black shall become the heavens above; For I have spoken, I have purposed, And will not repent nor be turned from this.
29 At the voice of the horseman and of the bowmen, Flee shall the whole city; They shall penetrate into thick clouds, They shall ascend into rocks; Every city shall be forsaken, And no man shall dwell in them. (1:245)
30 And thou, wretched one, what wilt thou do? Though thou puttest on crimson, Though thou deckest thyself with ornaments of gold, Though thou adornest with paint thine eyes, In vain wilt thou decorate thyself; Hate thee will thy lovers, Thy life will they seek.
31 Surely, the voice of one in travail have I heard, The distress as of one giving birth to a first-begotten, The voice of the daughter of Sion; Who mourns, who spreads her hands, — “Wo to me now! for fainted has my soul On account of murderers.” (1:251)
1 Go round through the streets of Jerusalem, And see, I pray, and know, Inquire also in its cross-ways, Whether ye shall find a man, Whether there be any, who doeth judgment, Who seeketh the truth, And I will spare it. (1:252)
2 Though they say, “Live does Jehovah;” Yet in this they swear falsely.
3 Jehovah! are not thine eyes on the truth? Thou hast smitten them, But they have not grieved; Thou hast consumed them, But they have not received correction: They have made their faces harder than a rock, They have refused to return.
4 But I said, Surely the poor are these; They have acted foolishly, Because they knew not the way of Jehovah, The judgment of their God:
5 I will go to the great and speak to them, For they know the way of Jehovah, The judgment of their God: But these have altogether broken the yoke, They have burst the bonds.
6 Therefore smite them shall the lion from the forest, The wolf of the desert shall spoil them, The leopard shall watch over their cities; Whosoever goeth out shall be torn: For manifold are their transgressions, Increased are their defections.
7 How for this shall I spare thee? Thy children have forsaken me, And have sworn by one that is not a god; When I fully satisfied them, they committed adultery, And at the house of the harlot they assembled:
8 Fed horses! rising early in the morning, Every one at his neighbor’s wife neigheth.
9 Should I not for these things visit? saith Jehovah, And on such a nation as this Shall not my soul be avenged?
10 Ascend her walls and demolish, But an end make not; Take away her foundations, For they are not Jehovah’s:
11 For by transgressing they have transgressed against me, The house of Israel and the house of Judah saith Jehovah.
12 They have denied Jehovah and said, “He is not, and come on us shall no evil; Yea, the sword and the famine we shall not see:
13 And the prophets shall be wind, For the word is not in them: Thus shall it be done to them.”
14 Therefore, thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, — Because you have uttered this word, Behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, And this people wood, And it shall devour them:
15 Behold I will bring on you a nation from far, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah, A strong nation, an ancient nation, A nation whose language thou knowest not, And understandest not what it says: (1:286)
16 Their quiver is like an open sepulcher, All of them are valiant;
17 And they will devour thy harvest and thy bread; They will devour thy sons and thy daughters, They will devour thy flocks and thy herds, They will devour thy vine and thy fig-tree; To want shall they reduce thy fortified cities, To which thou trustest, by the sword:
18 But even in those days, saith Jehovah, I will not make with you an end.
19 And it shall be, when ye say, “Why hath Jehovah our God done to us All these things?” that thou wilt say to them, — As ye have forsaken me, And served foreign gods in your land, So shall ye serve foreigners in a land not your own.
20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, And publish it in Judah, saying, — 21 Hear this, I pray, Ye foolish people and void of heart, Who have eyes and see not, Who have ears and hear not:
22 Will ye not fear me? saith Jehovah; Will ye not at my presence tremble? Who have set the sand a bound to the sea, By a perpetual decree that it cannot pass it; Though its waves rage, yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.
23 But this people hath a perverse and rebellious heart; They have turned aside and departed:
24 And they have not said in their heart, — Let us now fear Jehovah our God, Who giveth rain, both the early And the latter shower in its season, Who keeps to us the appointed weeks of harvest.
25 Your iniquities have prevented these things, And your sins have restrained good from you.
26 For found among my people are the wicked; They look, as though they would set snares; A trap they set, in which they catch men. (1:303)
27 As a cage is full of birds So their houses are full of fraud: Therefore they are increased and become rich;
28 They are become fat, they shine; They even surpass the deeds of the wicked: The cause they judge not, The cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; And the judgment of the poor they judge not. (1:306)
29 Shall I not for this visit, saith Jehovah? On such a nation as this Shall not my soul be avenged?
30 A monstrosity and baseness is in the land!
31 The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their means; (1:309) And my people wish it to be so: But what will ye do at the end of it?
1 Be assembled, ye children of Benjamin, From the midst of Jerusalem, And in Tekoa sound the trumpet; In Beth-haccerem also set up a sign; For evil is seen from the north, And great distress.
2 To a quiet and delicate woman Have I likened the daughter of Sion:
3 To her shall come shepherds and their flocks; They shall pitch their tents near her around, Feed shall each in his own place.
4 Prepare ye war against her: “Arise ye, and let us ascend at midday; Alas for us! for declined has the day, For extended are the evening shadows:
5 Arise, and let us ascend in the night, And let us demolish her palaces.” (1:319)
6 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — Cut ye down wood, And form against. Jerusalem a mound; It is a city of visitation, Entire oppression is in the midst of her:
7 As a fountain casts out its waters, So she casts out her wickedness; Violence and plunder is heard of in her; Before me continually is grief and smiting.
8 Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, Lest my soul be torn from thee, Lest I make thee a desert, A land not inhabited.
9 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — By gleaning they shall glean, as a vine, The remnant of Israel: Turn back thine hand, As a grapegatherer into the baskets. (1:326)
10 To whom shall I speak and protest, That they may hear? Behold, uncircumcised is their ear, And they cannot hear; Behold, the word of Jehovah is to them a reproach; They delight not in it.
11 Of Jehovah’s indignation therefore am I full, I am wearied with refraining To pour it on the children in the streets, And on the assembly of young men also; For the husband with his wife shall be taken, The aged with the full of days:
12 And turned shall be their houses to aliens, Their fields and their wives in like manner; For I will stretch out my hand On the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah:
13 For from the least to the greatest of them, Every one is given to covetousness; And from the prophet to the priest, Every one acts deceitfully;
14 And healed have they the wound Of the daughter of my people slightly By saying, “Peace, peace,” when there was no peace. (1:336)
15 Were they ashamed, that they had done abomination? Even of shame they were not ashamed, And how to blush they knew not: Fall therefore shall they among the fallen; At the time of their visitation They shall perish, saith Jehovah. (1:339)
16 Thus said Jehovah, — Stand in the ways and see, Inquire also concerning the old paths, Which is the right way, and walk ye in it, That ye may find rest to your soul: And they said, “We will not walk in it.”
17 I also set over them watchmen, That they might, attend to the sound of the trumpet; But they said, “We will not attend.”
18 Hear therefore, ye nations, And know, thou assembly, what shall be to them:
19 Hear, thou land; behold I bring an evil On this people, the fruit of their thoughts; Because to my words they have not hearkened, And my law have they despised.
20 To what purpose is this to me? Incense cometh from Sheba, And the sweet came from a far country; Your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, And your sacrifices are not pleasant to me.
21 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, I lay before this people stumblingblocks; And stumble shall fathers and sons alike; Neighbor and friend, they shall perish.
22 Thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, a people shall corns from the north country, And a great nation shall be roused From the sides of the earth:
23 On the bow and spear shall they lay hold; They are cruel and will not spare; Their voice, like the sea, will roar, And on horses shall they mount; Arrayed shall they be as men for war, Against thee, O daughter of Sion.
24 We have heard its fame; Relaxed are our hands, Anguish has laid hold on us, The pain as of one in travail.
25 Go not forth into the field, Nor walk by the way; For the sword of the enemy Is a terror on every side.
26 Daughter of my people! gird on sackcloth, And roll thyself in the dust; Make thee mourning, as for an only son, Most bitter lamentation; For suddenly shall come on thee the spoiler.
27 A tower have I made thee to my people, — A fortress; that thou mightest know And try their ways:
28 All are entire apostates, Walking in detraction; Brass and iron are they; All of them are corrupters. (1:358)
29 Burnt are the bellows by the fire, Entire is the lead, In vain has melted the melter; For the wicked have not been refined:
30 Reprobate silver shall they call them, Because rejected them has Jehovah (1:360)
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, — 2 Stand in the gate of the house of Jehovah, And proclaim there this word, and say, — Hear the word of Jehovah, all ye Judah, Who enter through these gates to worship Jehovah:
3 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, — Make good your ways and your doings, And I will dwell with you in this place:
4 Trust not in words of falsehood, by saying, “The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, The temple of Jehovah, are these buildings.” (1:364)
5 Surely, if by making good ye make good Your ways and your doings, If by doing ye do judgment Between man and his neighbor, 6 If the stranger, the orphan and the widow, Ye oppress not, and innocent blood Ye shed not in this place, And after strange gods Ye walk not to your hurt, — 7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this places In the land which I gave to your fathers, For ever and ever.
8 Behold, ye trust in words of falsehood, Which are without profit.
9 Will ye steal, kill, and commit adultery, Swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, And walk after alien gods, Whom ye do not know;
10 And come and stand before me in this house, Which is called by my name, and say, “We have been made free To do all these abominations?” (1:373)
11 Is this house, called by my name, Become a den of robbers in your eyes? Even I, behold I see, saith Jehovah.
12 But go now to my place in Shilo, Where I made to dwell my name at first, And see what I did there, For the wickedness of my people Israel:
13 And now, because ye have done All these works, saith Jehovah, And I spoke to you, rising early, And when I spoke, ye heard not, When I called you, ye answered not;
14 I will therefore do to this place, Which is called by my name, In which ye trust — Even to the place which I gave to you And to your fathers, as I did to Shilo;
15 And I will cast you out from my presence, As I have cast out all your brethren, The whole seed of Ephraim.
16 And thou, pray not for this people, And raise not for them a cry and a prayer, And intercede not with me; For I will not hear thee. (1:384)
17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah And in the streets of Jerusalem?
18 Children gather wood, And fathers kindle a fire, And women knead a dough, To make cakes for the queen of heaven; And they pour libations to alien gods, That they may provoke me to wrath! (1:387)
19 Do they provoke me to wrath, saith Jehovah? Is it not to the shame of their own faces?
20 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, — Behold my wrath, even my fury, It shall be poured on this place, Upon men and upon beast, Upon the tree of the field and the fruit of the land; And it shall burn, and none shall quench it. 21 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, — Your burntofferings add to your sacrifices, And eat ye the flesh:
22 For I spoke not to your fathers, Nor commanded them in the day, In which I brought them out of the land of Egypt, Concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices;
23 But this is what I commanded them, saying, — “Hear my voice, And I will be to you a God, And you shall be to me a people; And walk ye in all the ways Which I have commanded you. That it may be well with you:
24 Yet they heard not, nor inclined their car; But walked in perverse counsels, In the wickedness of their own evil heart, And went backward and not forward.
25 From the day in which your fathers came out From the land of Egypt, to this day, Have I sent to you all my servants, the prophets, Every day rising early and sending them: 26 Yet they heard not nor inclined their ear, But hardened their neck; They have acted more perversely than their fathers.
27 Thou also shalt say to them all these words, But they will not hear thee; And thou shalt call to them, But they will not answer thee:
28 Therefore say to them, — This is a nation, Which have not hearkened to the voice Of Jehovah, their God, And have not received correction: Perished has the truth, And cut off has it been from their mouth.
29 Shave off thy hair and cast it away, Raise on the heights a lamentation; Nor rejected thee has Jehovah; And forsaken hath he the generation of his wrath:
30 For the children of Judah have done evil Before mine eyes, saith Jehovah; They have set their abominations in the house, On which my name is called, to pollute it;
31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, Which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, To burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; Which I have not commanded, Nor has it ever come into my heart.
32 Therefore, behold the days come, saith Jehovah, That it shall no more be called Tophet, And The valley of the son of Hinnom, But, The valley of slaughter; And they shall bury in Tophet, For elsewhere there will be no place:
33 And the carcasses of this people shall be for meat To the birds of heaven and to the beasts of the earth; And there will be none to frighten them:
34 And to cease will I make, from the cities of Judah And from the streets of Jerusalem, The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; For to a waste shall the land be reduced.
1 In that day, saith Jehovah, they shall bring forth 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 citizens of Jerusalem, Out of their graves;
2 And they shall spread them before the sun, And the moon, and all the host of heaven, Which they have loved and served, And after which they have walked, And which they have sought, And before which they have bowed themselves; They shall not be gathered nor buried; For dung on the face of the land shall they be:
3 And chosen shall be death, Rather than life, by all the residue, Who shall remain of this wicked nation, Who shall remain in all the places Where I shall drive them, saith Jehovah of hosts.
4 Thou shalt also say to them, Thus saith Jehovah, — Shall not they who have fallen rise again? If any one turns aside shall he not return?
5 Why rebel does this people at Jerusalem With a perpetual rebellion? They have held fast deceit, They have refused to return.
6 I hearkened and heard; they will not speak aright; There is no one who repents of his wickedness, And says, “What have I done?” Every one turns to his own course, Like a horse who rushes into battle. (1:425)
7 Even the stork in the heavens knows its times; The turtle also, and the swallow and the crane, Observe the time of their journey; But my people know not the judgment of Jehovah.
8 How say ye, “We are wise And the law of Jehovah is with us:” Surely, behold in vain Hath the writer prepared his pen, In vain are the scribes!
9 Ashamed are the wise, terrified and taken; Behold the word of Jehovah have they rejected; And wisdom, what is it to them! (1:432)
10 I will therefore give their wives to aliens, And their fields to inheritors; For from the least even to the greatest, Every one is given to covetousness; From the prophet even to the priest, All have acted deceitfully;
11 And healed have they the wound Of the daughter of my people slightly, By saying, “Peace, peace,” when there was no peace.
12 Had they shame, that they had done abomination? Even of shame they were not ashamed, And how to blush they knew not: Fall therefore shall they with the fallen; At the time of their visitation They shall perish, saith Jehovah.
13 Destroying, I will destroy them, saith Jehovah; No grapes shall be on the vine, And no figs on the fig-tree; The leaf also shall fall, And what I gave them shall pass from them.
14 Why do we sit still? Assemble ye, And let us enter into fortified cities, And let us rest there: Surely, Jehovah our God hath made us silent, And given us waters of gall to drink: Because we have sinned against Jehovah. (1:442)
15 We looked for peace, but there was no good; For time of healing, but behold terror.
16 From Dan is heard the snorting of his horses; At the sound of the neighing of his strong ones, Tremble does the whole land; For they will come and devour The land and its abundance, The city and its inhabitants.
17 For behold, I will send among you Serpents and basilisks, Which will not be charmed; And they shall bite you, saith Jehovah.
18 I would strengthen myself against grief: But within me my heart is weak.
19 Behold the voice of the crying Of the daughter of my people from a far country! “Is not Jehovah in Sion? Is not her king within her?” — Why have they provoked me to wrath With their images, with foreign vanities?
20 Past has the harvest, ended is the summer, And we have not been saved! (1:452)
21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt, I am become black; Astonishment has laid hold on me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? For why is not restored The healing of the daughter of my people! (1:456)
1 Who will make my head waters And mine eye a fountain of tears! Then would I bewail, day and night, The slain of the daughter of my people.
2 Who will set me in the desert, In the lodging of travelers! Then would I leave my people And depart from them: For all of them are adulterers, An assembly of perfidious men.
3 And they shoot lies with their tongue as with a bow; But not for truth are they strong in the land; For from evil to evil they proceed; (1:462) And me they know not, saith Jehovah.
4 And every one of his friend take ye heed, And in a brother trust ye not; For every brother by supplanting will supplant, And every friend walks fraudulently:
5 And a man deceives his neighbor, And the truth he speaks not; They have taught their tongues to speak falsehood; With doing evil they weary themselves.
6 Thou dwellest in the midst of deceit; Through deceit they refuse To know me, saith Jehovah. (1:469)
7 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — Behold, I will try them, and will prove them; For how should I deal With the daughter of my people?
8 A sharpened arrow is their tongue, Falsehood it speaks; His mouth speaks peace to his neighbor, But within he sets up intrigues.
9 For this shall I not visit, saith Jehovah, On such a nation as this Shall not my soul be avenged?
10 For the mountains will I raise up weeping and wailing, For the pastures of the wilderness, lamentation; Because they are laid waste, So that there is not a man passing through, And they hear not the voice of cattle; From the bird of heaven to the beast. Have they fled, have they departed. (1:475)
11 I will also make Jerusalem heaps, A place for dragons; And the cities of Judah will I make a waste, So that there shall be no inhabitant.
12 Who is a wise man to understand this? And to whom has Jehovah’s mouth spoken, That he may declare why the land is to perish — Is to be laid waste like the desert, So that no man should pass through? (1:480)
13 Then Jehovah said, — Because they have forsaken my law, Which I have set before them, And hearkened not to my voice, Nor walked according to it;
14 But walked after the imaginations Of their own hearts, and after Baalim, As their fathers taught them;
15 Therefore, thus saith Jehovah of hosts, The God of Israel, — Behold, I will feed this people with bitterness, And will give them the water of gall to drink;
16 I will also scatter them among the nations, Whom they have not known nor their fathers, And I will send after them the sword, Until I shall have consumed them.
17 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — Attend ye and call for the mourning women, That they may come, And send for those who are skillful, That they may come.
18 And let them hasten and make a wailing for us, That our eyes may let fall tears, And our eyelids drop down waters. (1:489)
19 For a voice of wailing is heard from Sion, “How we are wasted! How greatly shamed! Because we have left the land, They have cast down our dwellings.”
20 Therefore hear, ye women, the word of Jehovah, And let your ears receive the word of his mouth, And teach your daughters wailing, And each one her friend lamentation:
21 For come up is death to our windows, It has entered into our palaces, To cut off the infirm from the street, The young men in the broad places. (1:493)
22 Speak, thus saith Jehovah, fall shall the carcasses of men As dung on the face of the field, And as the handful after the reaper, And none gathering it. 23 Thus saith Jehovah, — Let not the wise glory in his wisdom, And let not the brave glory in his courage, Let not the rich glory in his riches;
24 But in this let him glory who glorieth, In understanding, and in knowing me, That I am Jehovah, who doeth mercy, Judgment and righteousness in the land; For in these things I delight, saith Jehovah. (1:502)
25 Behold the days are coming, saith Jehovah, That I will visit every one circumcised, Who is in uncircumcision, — 26 Egypt and Judah and Edom, The sons of Ammon and Moab, And all those who are in extreme recesses, Who dwell in the wilderness; For all these nations are uncircumcised, And the whole house of Israel, They are uncircumcised in heart.
1 Hear ye the word which Jehovah speaks to you, O house of Israel:
2 Thus saith Jehovah, — The way of the Gentiles learn not, And of the signs of heaven be not afraid, For fear them do the Gentiles:
3 Because the rites of the heathens are vanity, For a tree from the forest does one cut — The work of the craftsman’s hands by the ax;
4 With silver and gold they beautify it, With nails and hammer they make it fast, That it should not move;
5 As a palm, erect, but they speak not; And being raised, they are raised, for they cannot walk: Fear them not, for they cannot do evil, And to do good is not in their power. (2:14)
6 From no time has been found any Like thee, Jehovah; great art thou, And great is thy name in power.
7 Who should not fear thee, king of nations? For to thee this belongs; For among all the wise of the nations, And in all their kingdoms, From no time has there been one like thee. (2:28)
8 Even in this one thing they are foolish and fatuitous — The teaching of vanities the wood is:
9 Silver, extended, is from Tarshish brought, And gold from Ophas, — The work of the artificer and of the melter’s hands; Hyacinth and purple are their garments, The work of the wise, all of them.
10 But Jehovah is God, the truth, God, the life and the king of ages: Through his fury tremble will the earth, And the nations will not bear his wrath.
11 Thus shall ye say to them, — The gods who made not the heaven and the earth, Let them perish from the earth and from under heaven:
12 He who made the earth by his power, Who set in order the world by his wisdom, And by his understanding extended the heavens, — 13 At his voice there is abundance of waters in the heavens, And he makes vapors to ascend from the extremity of the earth; Lightnings he makes for rain, And brings the wind from his treasures. (2:31)
14 Foolish is every man through his knowledge, Ashamed is every maker of the graven image, For a falsehood is the molten image, And there is no breath in them.
15 Vanity they are, the work of illusions; At the time of their visitation they shall perish.
16 But not like them is the portion of Jacob, For the Creator of all things is he, And Israel is the rod of his inheritance; Jehovah of hosts is his name.
17 Gather from the land thy treasures Thou who dwellest in a fortress:
18 For thus saith Jehovah, — Behold! will cast out as with a sling The inhabitants of the land at this time, And I will straiten them, That they may find what they deserve. 19 Woe is me on account of my bruising! Full of pain is the smiting given to me! and I said, — Surely it is my stroke, and I will bear it:
20 My tent is pulled down, And all my cords are broken; My sons are gone from me, and there are none — No one to extend any more my tent, And to set up my curtains!
21 For infatuated are the pastors, And Jehovah have they not sought; Therefore have they not prospered, And all that was in their pastures has been destroyed.
22 A sound of rumor! lo, it comes, And a great tumult, from the land of the north, To make the cities of Judah a waste, The habitation of dragons!
23 I know Jehovah, That his way is not in the power of man, That it is not in man who walketh to guide his steps.
24 Chastise me, Jehovah, but only in moderation; Not in thy wrath, lest thou shouldest consume me:
25 Pour thy wrath on the nations, who know thee not, And on the families who have not called on thy name; For they have devoured Jacob, Yea, they have devoured and consumed him, And his tents have they laid waste.
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, — 2 Hear ye the words of this covenant; and say ye to the men 3 of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, — Cursed 4 Is the man who hears not the words of this covenant, which I commanded your fathers in the day in which I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, — Hear ye my voice, and do according to all those things which I have commanded you; and ye shall be to me a people and I will 5 Be to you a God; that I may confirm the oath which I swear to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, according to what it is at this day. And I answered and said, Amen, Jehovah.
6 And Jehovah said to me, Proclaim these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, — Hear the words of this covenant and do them;
7 For protesting I protested to your fathers, In the day in which I brought them Out of the land of Egypt, to this day, Rising up early and protesting, and saying, — 8 “Hear ye my voice:” Yet they heard not, nor inclined their ear, But walked, every one of them, After the wickedness of his own evil heart: I have therefore brought on them All the words of this covenant, Which I commanded them to do, But they did them not. (2:84)
9 And Jehovah said to me, — Found out is a conspiracy, Among the men of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem:
10 Returned are they to the iniquities of their forefathers, Who refused to hear my words, But walked after foreign gods to serve them: Broken have the house of Israel and the house of Judah My covenant, which I made with their fathers.
11 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, I will bring upon you an evil, From which ye shall not be able to escape; And they shall cry to me, but I will not hear them:
12 And go shall the cities of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem, And cry to the gods to whom they have offered incense; But by saving they will not save them In the time of their affliction:
13 For according to the number of thy cities Have been thy gods, O Judah; And according to the number of streets of Jerusalem, Have ye set up altars for reproach — Altars to offer incense to Baal. (2:94)
14 And thou, pray not for this people, And raise not for them a cry and a prayer; For I will not hear them at the time When they shall cry to me for their distress.
15 What has my beloved to do in mine house, While she commits abomination with many? And the flesh of the sanctuary is taken from thee; For when thou didst evil, thou didst then glory. (2:102)
16 A green olive, fair in fruit and form, Hath Jehovah called thy name; At the noise of great tumult hath he kindled a fire on it, And broken down are its branches: (2:105)
17 For Jehovah of hosts who planted thee Hath spoken against thee an evil, For the wickedness of the house of Israel And of the house of Judah, Which they have done for themselves, To provoke me by offering incense to Baal.
18 Jehovah hath made me to know, and I knew it; Thou didst then discover to me their works.
19 But I was like a lamb or an ox Led to be slain; and I knew not That they meditated thoughts against me: “Let us spoil with wood his bread, And cut him off from the land of the living; And let his name be remembered no more.” (2:113)
20 Now, Jehovah of hosts, who judgest righteously, Who searchest the reins and the heart, Let me see thy vengeance on them, For to thee have I revealed my cause.
21 Therefore thus saith Jehovah To the men of Anathoth, who seek thy life and say, “Prophesy thou not in the name of Jehovah, That thou mayest not die by our hand;”
22 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — Behold, I will visit them; Their young men shall die by the sword, Their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 And there shall be no remnant of them; For I will bring evil on the men of Anathoth, In the year of their visitation.
1 Just art thou, Jehovah, though I contend with thee; Yet of judgments will I speak to thee: How long shall the way of the ungodly prosper? Secure are all they who by transgressing transgress. (2:121)
2 Thou hast planted them, they have even taken root; They have grown, they have even produced fruit: Nigh art thou in their mouth, But far from their reins.
3 But thou, Jehovah, knowest me, Thou seest me and hast tried my heart towards thee; Draw them forth as sheep for the slaughter, And prepare them for the day of destruction.
4 How long shall mourn the land, And the grass of every field wither For the wickedness of those who dwell in it? Consumed are the beasts and the birds, Because they have said, ”He shall not see our end.” (2:129)
5 If with footmen thou hast run, And they have wearied thee, How canst thou contend with horsemen? In the land of peace thou hast trusted, How then canst thou do in the rising of Jordan?
6 Truly, even thy brethren and the house of thy father, Even these act perfidiously towards thee; Yea, they cry after thee with a loud voice: Trust them not, even when they speak good things to thee.
7 I have forsaken my house, I have left my heritage; I have given up the darling of my soul Into the hand of her enemies!
8 My heritage has become to me like a lion in the forest; It has sent forth its voice against me; Therefore have I hated it.
9 Is my heritage to me a speckled bird? Is there not a bird around over it? Come, gather yourselves all ye beasts of the field; Come to devour it. (2:140)
10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, They have trodden under foot my portion, They have made nay choice portion a desolate wilderness;
11 They have made it a desolation, It mourns to me, being desolate; Desolate is become the whole land; Though no one hath laid it to heart.
12 On all high places in the wilderness have come destroyers; For the sword of Jehovah hath devoured, From one end to the other end of the land; There is no peace to any flesh.
13 They have sown wheat And thorns have they reaped; An heritage have they got, but have not succeeded: Ashamed have they been of your produce, Through the burning of the wrath of Jehovah. (2:149)
14 Thus saith Jehovah, — As to all my evil neighbors, Who touch my heritage, Which I have inherited, even my people Israel, Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, And the house of Judah Will I pluck up from the midst of them.
15 And it shall be, after I draw them out, That I shall return and shew mercy to them, And will restore them, every one to his heritage, And every one to his own land.
16 And it shall be, that if by learning they will learn The ways of my people, To swear by my name, “Live does Jehovah,” As they taught my people to swear by Baal, They shall then be built up In the midst of my people:
17 But if they will not hear, I will then pluck up that nation, Plucking it up and destroying it, saith Jehovah.
1 Thus saith Jehovah to me, — Go and get thee a linen belt, and put it on thy loins, and 2 In water set it not. So I got for me a belt, as Jehovah had 3 commanded, and put it on my loins. Then came the word of 4 Jehovah to me again, saying, — Take the belt which thou hast got, which is on thy loins, and rise, go to Euphrates and hide 5 It there in the hole of a rock. Then I went and hid it by 6 Euphrates, as Jehovah had ordered me. And it was, that at the end of many days, Jehovah said to me, Rise and go to Euphrates, and take thence the belt which I commanded thee 7 To hide there. So I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the belt from the place where I had hid it; and behold the belt 8 Was marred, and it was good for nothing. Then came the word of Jehovah to me, saying, — 9 Thus saith Jehovah, — In this way will I mar the excellency of Judah And the great excellency of Jerusalem:
10 This wicked people, who refuse to hear my words, Who walk in the wickedness of their own heart, And walk after foreign gods, That they may serve them and worship them, — Shall be even as this belt, Which is good for nothing.
11 For as the belt cleaves to the loins of man, So had I joined to me the whole house of Israel And the whole house of Judah, saith Jehovah, That they might be to me a people and a name, Yea, a praise and a glory; But they hearkened not.
12 Thou shalt also say this word to them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, — Every bottle shall be filled with wine. When they shall say to thee, Knowing do we not know, that every 13 Bottle shall be filled with wine? then shalt thou say to them, — Thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, I will fill with drunkenness All the inhabitants of this land, And all the kings who sit for David on his throne, The priests also and the prophets, And all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
14 And I will dash them, every one against his brother, The fathers also and the sons together, saith Jehovah: I will not spare, nor will I be propitious, Nor shew pity until I destroy them.
15 Hear ye and attend, be not lifted up, For Jehovah hath spoken:
16 Give to Jehovah your God the glory, Before he makes it to grow dark, And before your feet stumble at the dark mountains, And before he turns the light ye hope for Into the shadow of death, And makes it thick darkness. (2:179)
17 But if ye will not hear this, In secret will my soul mourn for pride, And weeping my eye will weep And run down with tears; For led captive is the flock of Jehovah.
18 Say to the king and to the queen, Be ye humbled, lie ye down, For come down from your heads Shall the crown of your glory.
19 The cities of the south are closed up, And there is no one to open them; For carried away has been all Judah, He has been carried away completely. (2:185)
20 Raise ye your eyes, And behold them who come from the north: Where is the flock, which has been given to thee, The sheep of thy glory?
21 What wilt thou say when he visits thee? But thou hast taught them to be leaders over thy head; Shall not sorrows lay hold on thee, As on a woman in travail?
22 But if thou wilt say in thine heart, “Why have these evils happened to me?” For the multitude of thine iniquity Are thy skirts discovered, And naked are made thy heels.
23 Can the Ethiop change his skin, And the panther his spots? Even so can ye do good, Who have been taught evil. (2:192)
24 I will therefore scatter them like the stubble, That passeth away by the wind of the desert.
25 This thy lot is the portion of thy measures From me, saith Jehovah, For thou hast forgotten me, And thou hast trusted in falsehood;
26 And I also will uncover thy skirts on thy face, That seen may be thy shame.
27 Thy adulteries and thy neighings, The thought of thy whoredom, On the mountains, in the field, have I seen, Even thine abominations; Woe to thee, Jerusalem! Wilt thou not at length be made clean? How long yet!
1 The word which came to Jeremiah respecting the drought:
2 Mourned has Judah, And his gates have been weakened; They are become black on the ground, And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up: (2:205)
3 And their chiefs sent the common people to the waters; They came to the cisterns, they found no water; They returned with empty vessels; They were confounded and ashamed, And they covered their head:
4 For the chapt ground, as there was no rain in the land, Ashamed were the husbandmen, And they covered their head:
5 Moreover the hind brought forth young in the field, And forsook it, for there was no grass:
6 And the wild asses stood on the cliffs, They drew in wind like serpents; Fail did their eyes, for there was no grass. (2:209)
7 Though our iniquities testify against us, O Jehovah, Deal with us for thine own name’s sake; For multiplied have our defections, Against thee have we done wickedly, 8 Hope of Israel! Savior art thou In the time of trouble; Why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land? As a traveler, turning aside to pass the night?
9 Why shouldest thou be as a man terrified? As a strong man, who yet cannot save? Thou art in the midst of us, O Jehovah, And on us is thy name called, Forsake us not. (2:214)
10 Thus saith Jehovah of this people: As they have loved to wander, And have not restrained their feet, Therefore Jehovah has not been pleased with them; He will now remember their iniquities, And visit their sins.
11 Jehovah said also to me: Pray not for this people for their good:
12 When they fast I will not hear their cry; And when they offer a sacrifice and an oblation, I will not be pleased with them; For with the sword and with famine, And with pestilence, will I consume them.
13 And I said, Ah! Lord Jehovah, Behold, the prophets say to them, — “Ye shall not see the sword, And famine shall not be to you, Nay, sure peace will I give you in this place.”
14 Then said Jehovah to me, — Falsehood do the prophets prophesy in my name; I have not sent them nor commanded them, Nor have I spoken to them; A false vision and divination, Yea, vanity and the deceit of their own heart, Do they of themselves prophesy to you. (2:226)
15 Therefore, thus saith Jehovah, of the prophets who prophesy in my name, and I have not sent them, and who say, The sword and the famine shall not be in this land, — By the sword and 16 Famine shall these prophets be consumed; and the people, to whom they have prophesied, shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem through the famine and the sword, and there will be none to bury them, — they, their wives: and their sons, and their daughters; and I will pour upon them their own wickedness.
17 Therefore shalt thou say to them this word, — Run down shall mine eyes with tears Day and night, and they shall not rest, For with a great breach is broken down The virgin, the daughter of my people; The stroke is very grievous:
18 If I go out to the field, behold the slain with the sword! And if I enter the city, behold the sorrowful with famine! For both the prophet, and the priest, Go round through the land, and know not what to do. 19 Repudiating hast thou repudiated Judah? Has thy soul abominated Sion? Why hast thou so smitten us, that we have no healing? We have looked for peace, and there is no good, And for time of healing, and behold terror!
20 We know, O Jehovah, our wickedness, And the iniquity of our fathers; For we have done wickedly against thee.
21 Reject not, for thy name’s sake, Overthrow not the throne of thy glory; Remember. render not void, Thy covenant with us. (2:240)
22 Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles, Who can cause it to rain? And can they give rain from heaven? Art not thou thyself, Jehovah, our God? And we have looked to thee, For thou hast done all these things.
CHAPTER 15 [^f1]
1 Then Jehovah said to me: Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, My soul would not be towards this people; Send them from my presence, and let them depart.
2 And it shall be, if they say to thee, “Whither shall we go forth?” Then shalt thou say to them, — Thus saith Jehovah, — They who are for death, to death, And they who are for the sword, to the sword, And they who are for the famine, to the famine, And they who are for captivity, to captivity:
3 And I will set over them four kinds, saith Jehovah, — The sword to kill, and the dogs to drag, And the bird of heaven, and the beast of the earth, To devour and to destroy:
4 And I will set them a vexation, To all the kingdoms of the earth, For Manasse, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, On account of what he did in Jerusalem.
5 For who will pity thee, O Jerusalem? And who will condole with thee? And who will turn aside To inquire of thy welfare?
6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith Jehovah; Backward hast thou gone; I will therefore stretch my hand against thee, And I will destroy thee; I am wearied with repenting:
7 And I will fan them with a fan Through all the gates of the earth; I have bereaved, I destroyed my people; From their own ways they have not returned.
8 Multiplied have their widows to me Above the sand of the sea; I brought to them, on the troop of youths, A waster at mid-day; And I cast on them suddenly A tumult and terrors.
9 Weakened did she become who had born seven, Expire did her soul, Go down did her sun while it was yet day, Confounded has she been and ashamed: And the remainder of them to the sword will I give, Before their enemies, saith Jehovah. (2:266)
10 Wo to me, my mother! That thou hast born me a man of strife, And a man of contention to the whole land: I have not lent on usury, And they have not on usury lent to me; Yet every one curses me.
11 And Jehovah said, — Surely thy latter end shall be well; Surely I will cause to meet thee the enemy, In the time of evil and in the time of distress. (2:273)
12 Shall iron break The iron from the north and the steel!
13 Thy wealth and thy treasures To plunder will I give, Not in exchange, but for all thy wickedness, And for all thy counsels:
14 And I will make thee to pass to the enemy Into a land which thou knowest not; For a fire is kindled in my wrath, On you it shall burn.
15 Thou knowest, O Jehovah, Remember me and visit me, And avenge me on my persecutors, Lest thou shouldest take me away By protracting thy wrath: Know that for thee have I borne reproach. (2:280)
16 Found were thy words, and I did eat them; And thy word was my joy and the gladness of my heart; For called on me was thy name, O Jehovah, the God of hosts.
17 I sat not in the assembly of mockers, Nor exulted on account of thy hand; I sat apart, for with indignation Hast thou filled me.
18 Why is my pain strong, and my stroke incurable, And refuses to be healed? Wilt thou be to me As the deception of unfaithful waters?
19 Therefore, thus saith Jehovah, — If thou wilt be turned, then I will turn thee, That thou mayest stand before me; And if thou separatest the precious from the worthless, As my mouth shalt thou be: Let them turn to thee, but turn not thou to them.
20 I have even made thee to this people A wall of brass, fortified; They shall therefore fight against thee, But over thee they shall not prevail; For with thee am I to save thee, And to deliver thee, saith Jehovah:
21 Yea, I will save thee from the hand of the wicked, And deliver thee from the hand of the strong. (2:300)
1 Then came the word of Jehovah to me, saying, — 2 Take not to thee a wife, And have no sons and daughters in this place:
3 For thus saith Jehovah, — As to the sons and daughters, born in this place, And as to the mothers who shall bear them, And as to the fathers, who shall beget them in this land — 4 With deaths of sicknesses shall they die, They shall not be lamented nor buried; As dung on the face of the earth shall they be; With the sword also and the famine shall they be consumed, And their carcasses shall be for meat To the birds of heaven, and to the beasts of the earth. (2:305)
5 For thus saith Jehovah, — Enter not the house of mourning Nor go to lament, nor be moved for them; For I have taken away my peace From this people, saith Jehovah, My kindness also and mercies:
6 And die shall they, great and small, in this land; They shall not be buried, Nor shall any lament for them nor cut themselves, Nor shall baldness be made for them;
7 And they shall not for them smite the hand, To console them for the dead; Nor shall they drink to them the cup of consolations, For their father or for their mother. (2:310)
8 The house of feasting also enter not, To sit with them to eat and to drink;
9 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, — Behold, I will take away from this place Before your eyes and in your days, The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
10 And it shall be, when thou declarest to this people All these words, that they will say to thee, — “Why has Jehovah spoken against us All this great evil? And what is our iniquity? and what is our sin? Which we have wickedly done against Jehovah, our God.”
11 Then thou shalt say to them, — Because your fathers forsook me, saith Jehovah: For they went after foreign gods, And served them and bowed down to them, And me they forsook, and my law they did not keep;
12 And worse are ye become than your fathers; For, behold, ye have walked, every one of you, After the wickedness of his own evil heart, So as not to hearken to me.
13 I will therefore cast you out of this land, Into a land which ye have not known, nor your fathers, And there shall ye serve foreign gods, day and night; For I will shew you no favor.
14 Therefore, behold, the days will come, saith Jehovah, When it shall be no more said, Live does Jehovah, Who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt:
15 But, Live does Jehovah, who has brought up The children of Israel, from the land of the north, And from all the lands to which he had driven them; For I will restore them to the land Which I gave to their fathers.
16 Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith Jehovah; And they shall fish them; And afterwards I will send for many hunters, And they shall hunt them from every mountain, And from every hill and holes of rocks:
17 For mine eyes are on all their ways; They are not hid from my face, Nor are their iniquities hid from mine eyes:
18 And I will render double, from the beginning, For their iniquities and their sins; For they have polluted my land With the carcasses of their abominations; And with their defilements Have they filled mine inheritance. (2:325)
19 O Jehovah, my strength and my fortress, And my refuge in the day of distress, To thee shall come the Gentiles From the extremities of the earth, and shall say, — “Surely falsehood did our fathers inherit; Vanity and nothing profitable had they.”
20 Can men make gods for themselves, When they themselves are no gods? (2:333)
21 Therefore, behold, I will make them to know at this time, I will make them to know My hand and my power; And they shall know that my name is Jehovah.
1 The sin of Judah is written With a pen of iron, with the point of adamant, It is graven on the tablet of their hearts, And on the horns of your altars:
2 For their children remember Their altars and their groves, Under the shady tree, on high hills.
3 Dweller on mountains! in the field will I give for spoil Thy wealth and all thy treasures, Because of thy high places, Because of thy sin in all thy borders:
4 And dismissed shalt thou be, even thyself, From thine inheritance which I gave thee; And I will make thee to serve thine enemies In a land which thou knowest not; For ye have kindled a fire in my wrath, Perpetually shall it burn. (2:342)
5 Thus saith Jehovah, — Cursed is the man who trusts in man, And makes flesh his arm, And whose heart turns away from Jehovah:
6 And he shall be like a tamarisk in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, And shall dwell in dryness in the desert, In the land of salt and not inhabited.
7 Blessed is the man who trusts in Jehovah, And whose hope Jehovah is:
8 And he shall be like a tree, That is planted near waters, And nigh the stream sends its roots, And shall not see when heat comes; And green shall be its leaf, And in the year of drought it shall not fear, Nor cease from bringing forth fruit. (2:347)
9 Insidious is the heart above all things, And vicious, — who can know it?
10 I Jehovah, who search the heart And try the reins, to give to every one, According to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. (2:354)
11 A partridge, which gathers and produces not, Is he who gains riches, and not by right; In the midst of his days he leaves them, And at his end he is nothing.
12 A high throne of glory, from the beginning, Is the place of our sanctuary.
13 The hope of Israel art thou, Jehovah; All who thee forsake shall be ashamed: They who turn aside shall on the earth be written; For they have forsaken The fountain of living waters, even Jehovah.
14 Heal me, O Jehovah, And I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For my praise art thou.
15 Behold they say to me, — “Where is the word of Jehovah? let it now come.”
16 But I hastened not to be a pastor following thee, And the day of grief I desired not, thou knowest: What went forth from my lips, Before thy face has it been.
17 Be not to me a terror; My protector art thou in the day of evil.
18 Ashamed let them be who persecute me, And let not me be ashamed; Terrified let them be, And let not me be terrified: Bring upon them the day of evil, And with a double breach break them.
19 Thus said Jehovah to me, — Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, through which the kings of Judah enter, and through which they go 20 out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; and say to them, — Hear the words of Jehovah, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter in through these 21 gates, Thus saith Jehovah, — Take heed to yourselves, And bring not a burden on the Sabbath-day, Yea, bring it not through the gates of Jerusalem;
22 Nor bring a burden from your houses On the Sabbath-day, nor do any work, But sanctify the Sabbath-day, As I commanded your fathers;
23 Though they heard not nor inclined their ear, But hardened their neck, So as not to hear nor receive correction:
24 And it shall be, if by hearing Ye will hear me, saith Jehovah, So as not to bring a burden Through the gates of the city on the Sabbath-day, And if ye sanctify the Sabbath-day By doing on it no work;
25 Then shall enter through the gates of this city Kings and princes, sitting on David’s throne, Riding in chariots and on horses, They and their princes, the men of Judah And the inhabitants of Jerusalem, And inhabited shall be this city perpetually:
26 And come shall they from the cities of Judah, And from the circuits of Jerusalem, And from the land of Benjamin, And from the plain, and the mountain, and the south, Bringing burntoffering and sacrifice, And oblation and incense, And bringing praise, to the house of Jehovah. (2:388)
27 But if ye will not hearken to me, So as to sanctify the Sabbathday, And not to bring a burden, nor enter Through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath-day; Then will I kindle a fire in its gates, And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, And it shall not be extinguished.
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, —
2 Rise and go down to the potter’s house, and I will cause thee to hear my words.
3 And I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he was making a work on the stone:
4 And the vessel was marred, which he made of the clay in the hand of the potter; and he again made another vessel, as it seemed good in the eyes of the potter to make.
5 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, — 6 Cannot I as this potter do to you, O house of Israel? saith Jehovah. Behold, as the clay is in the hand of the potter, So are ye in my hand, O house of Israel.
7 Suddenly will I speak of a nation and a kingdom, To pull down and to eradicate and to destroy:
8 If that nation turn from its evil, For which I spoke against it; Then will I repent of the evil Which I had thought of doing to it.
9 Suddenly also will I speak of a nation and a kingdom, To build up and to plant:
10 But if it do evil before mine eyes, So as not to hearken to my voice; Then will I repent of the good Which I had said that I would do to it. (2:398)
11 And now, I pray, say to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, — Thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, I frame for you an evil, And I think for you a thought; Return ye then, every one from his evil way, And make right your ways and your doings.
12 And they said, — It is all over; For after our own thoughts will we walk, And we will do, every one, The wickedness of his own evil heart.
13 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, — Ask, I pray, among the heathens, Who hath heard such a thing? A monstrous thing hath the virgin of Israel done.
14 Will any one leave the snow of Libanus from the rock of the field? Will waters brought from another place, And cold streams, be relinquished? (2:408)
15 For forgotten me have my people; In vain do they offer incense, Since they have made them to stumble In their ways — the paths of ages, That they might walk in paths, In a way not trodden;
16 To make their land a desolation, A perpetual hissing: Whosoever shall pass through it Shall be astonished and shake his head.
17 By the east wind will I scatter them Before the face of the enemy; The back and not the face will I shew them In the day of their calamity.
18 And they said, — Come, and let us think thoughts against Jeremiah; For perish shall not the law from the priest, Nor counsel from the wise, Nor the word from the prophet: And let us smite him with the tongue, And not attend to any of his words.
19 Hearken, O Jehovah, to me, And hear the voice of those who contend with me.
20 Shall evil be rendered for good? For they have digged a pit for my soul: Remember that I stood before thee To speak good for them — To turn away from them thy wrath.
21 Therefore give their children up to famine, And deliver them into the hands of the sword, And let their wives be bereaved and be widows, And their men be smitten to death, And their youths be smitten with the sword in battle:
22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, When thou bringest on them an army suddenly; For they have dug a pit to take me, And snares have they hid for my feet.
23 And thou, Jehovah, who knowest their counsels To be against me for death, Be not propitious to their iniquity, And their sin from thy sight blot not out, But let them stumble before thee; In the time of thy wrath deal thus with them.
1 Thus saith Jehovah, — Go and get a potter’s vessel, even with the elders of the people and with the elders of the priests;
2 And enter into the valley of Hinnom, which is at the entrance of the oriental gate, and proclaim there the words which I shall speak to thee:
3 And thou shalt say, Hear the word of Jehovah, ye kings of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, — Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, — Behold I bring an evil on this place, The which whosoever hears, tingle shall his ears:
4 Because they have forsaken me, And have alienated this place, And have made incense in it to foreign gods, Whom they have not themselves known, Nor their fathers, nor the kings of Judah, And have filled this place With the blood of innocents:
5 And they have built high places to Baal, To burn their sons with fire, For a burnt-offering to Baal; Which I have not commanded nor spoken of, And which came not into my mind.
6 Therefore behold the days shall come, saith Jehovah, When this place shall no more be called Tophet, Nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, But, The valley of slaughter:
7 And void will I make the counsel of Judah And of Jerusalem in this place, And lay them prostrate by the sword before their enemies, And by the hand of those who seek their life; And I will give their carcasses for meat To the birds of heaven and to the beasts of the earth;
8 And will set this city For an astonishment and for hissing; Whosoever shall pass through it shall be astonished, And shall hiss on account of all her stroke:
9 And I will feed them with the flesh of their sons, And with the flesh of their daughters; And they shall eat, every one the flesh of his friend, In the tribulation and straitness, By which their enemies shall straiten them, And those who seek their life.
10 Then shalt thou break the bottle in the presence of the men who shall go with thee;
11 And thou shalt say to them, — Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — So will I break this people and this city, As one breaks an earthen vessel, Which can no more be repaired: And in Tophet shall they be buried, For there will be no other place to bury them: 12 Thus will I do to this place, Saith Jehovah, and to its inhabitants, I will even make this city like Tophet;
13 For the houses of Jerusalem, And the houses of the kings of Judah, Shall be, like the place of Tophet, unclean, Even all the houses, on whose roofs They have made incense to all the host of heaven, And poured a libation to foreign gods.
14 Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, where Jehovah had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court of the house of Jehovah, and said to the whole people, — 15 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, — Behold, I will bring upon this city And upon all her towns, all the evil Which I have pronounced against her; Because they have hardened their neck, That they might not hear my words.
1 And Pashur the son of Immer the priest, (and he was a governor in the Temple of Jehovah,) heard Jeremiah prophesying these words:
2 And Pashur smote Jeremiah the Prophet, and put him in the prison which was in the higher gate of Benjamin, opposite the house of Jehovah.
3 And it happened the day after, that Pashur brought out Jeremiah from prison; and Jeremiah said to him, — Not Pashur has Jehovah called thy name, But terror on every side:
4 For thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, I will make thee a terror To thyself and to all thy friends; And fall shall they by the sword of thine enemies, While thine eyes are looking on; And all Judah will I deliver Into the hand of the king of Babylon; And he shall carry them into Babylon, And shall smite them with the sword:
5 And I will give up all the strength of this city, And all its labor and its every precious thing; And all the treasures of the kings of Judah Will I give up into the hands of their enemies; And they shall spoil them and take them away, And they shall lead them into Babylon.
6 And thou, Pashur, and all the inhabitants of thy house, Go shall ye into captivity; Thou shalt come to Babylon, and there die, And there shalt thou be buried and thy friends, To whom thou hast falsely prophesied.
7 Thou hast deceived me, Jehovah, and I was deceived; Thou hast constrained me and didst prevail; I am become a scorn all the day, All make a mock of me;
8 For from the time I have spoken, I cried aloud against violence, And devastation have I proclaimed: Because the word of Jehovah became to me A reproach and derision all the day, 9 Therefore I said, I will not mention him, Nor speak any more in his name: But it became in my heart as a burning fire, Closed up in my bones; And I was wearied with forbearing, And I did not prevail.
10 For I heard the slander of many, Terror on every side, “Report ye, and we will report to him:” All my friends watch for my haltings — “He may go astray, then we shall prevail against him, And take our revenge on him.”
11 But Jehovah is with me as a terrible giant; Therefore my persecutors shall fall and not prevail; They shall be greatly ashamed, for they shall not succeed; It will be a perpetual reproach Which shall not be forgotten.
12 But thou, Jehovah of hosts, Art he who provest the righteous, Who seest the reins and the heart; I shall see thy vengeance on them, For to thee have I opened my cause.
13 Sing ye to Jehovah, praise ye Jehovah, For he has rescued the soul of the distressed From the hand of the wicked.
14 Cursed be the day on which I was born; The day on which my mother bare me, Let it not be blessed:
15 Cursed be the man who told my father, Saying, “Born to thee is a male child,” Who with joy made him joyful;
16 And let that man be as the cities, Which Jehovah destroyed and repented not; And let him hear a cry in the morning, And a tumult at noontide.
17 Why hast thou not slain me from the womb? That my mother might be my grave, Or her womb a perpetual conception?
18 Why from the womb did I come forth, That I might see trouble and sorrow; That my days might be consumed in reproach!
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, when king Zedekiah sent to him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying, 2 Inquire now for us of Jehovah, for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon makes war with us, if Jehovah will deal with us according to his wondrous works, that he may ascend from us.
3 And Jeremiah said to them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah, — 4 Thus saith Jehovah, God of Israel, — Behold, I prohibit all the warlike instruments Which are in your hands, with which ye fight Against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans, Who besiege you without the walls; And I will gather them into the midst of this city:
5 And fight will I myself against you With an extended hand and with a strong arm, Yea, in wrath and fury and great indignation;
6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, Both man and beast; By a great pestilence shall they die.
7 And afterwards Jehovah said, — I will deliver Zedekiah the king of Judah. His servants also and the people, Even those who shall remain in the city, From the pestilence, and the sword, and the famine, Into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, And into the hand of their enemies, And into the hand of those who seek their life; And he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; And he will not spare them, Nor forgive, nor shew mercy.
8 To this people also shalt thou say, — Thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, I set before you The way of life and the way of death:
9 He who abides in this city shall die By the sword, or by famine, or by pestilence; But he who goeth out and dwells With the Chaldeans who besiege you, Shall live, and his life shall be for a prey:
10 For I have set my face against this city, For evil and not for good, saith Jehovah; Into the hand of the king of Babylon shall it be given, And he shall burn it with fire.
11 And as to the house of the king of Judah, Hear ye the word of Jehovah;
12 O house of David, thus saith Jehovah, — In the morning execute ye judgment, And free the spoiled from the hand of the oppressor, Lest go forth as fire my indignation, And burn, and there be none to extinguish it, — Because of the wickedness of their doings.
13 Behold, I am against thee, inhabitant of the valley — The rock in the plain, saith Jehovah, Who say, “Who shall descend to us? And who shall enter our habitations?”
14 I will even visit upon you The fruit of your doings, saith Jehovah; And I will kindle a fire in its forest, And it shall consume all around it.
1 Thus saith Jehovah, Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, 2 And say, — Hear the word of Jehovah, king of Judah, Who sittest on the throne of David, Thou, and thy servants, and thy people, Who enter in through these gates:
3 Thus saith Jehovah, Do judgment and justice, And rescue the spoiled from the hand of the oppressor; The stranger, the orphan, and the widow, Defraud not; exercise no violence, Nor shed innocent blood in this place.
4 For if obeying ye obey this word, Then shall enter through the gates of this house Kings, sitting for David on his throne, Riding in chariots and on horses, — He himself, and his servants, and his people:
5 But if ye will not obey these words, By myself have I sworn, saith Jehovah, That a waste shall this house become.
6 For thus saith Jehovah of the house of the king of Judah, Gilead to me art thou, the head of Lebanon; Surely I will make thee a desert, As cities which are not inhabited:
7 And I will prepare against thee destroyers, Every man and his instruments, And they shall cut down thy choice cedars, And cast them into the fire.
8 And pass shall many nations through this city, And say shall each to his friend, “Why hath Jehovah done thus to this great city?”
9 And they shall say, “Because they have forsaken The covenant of Jehovah their God, And bowed down before alien gods, and served them.”
10 Weep ye not for the dead, nor bewail him; Weeping, weep for him who migrates, For return shall he no more, That he may see the land of his nativity:
11 For thus saith Jehovah concerning Shallum The son of Josiah the king of Judah, Who reigns instead of Josiah his father, — When he shall have gone forth from this place He shall not return here any more:
12 For in the land where they shall lead him away There shall he die, And this land shall he see no more.
13 Woe to him who builds not with justice his house, And not with judgment his chambers; Who makes his neighbor to serve him for nothing, And pays him not for his work;
14 Who says, “I will build for myself A large house and wide chambers;” And he perforates for himself windows, And covered it is with cedar, And painted with vermilion.
15 Shalt thou reign because thou inclosest thyself in cedar? Thy father, did he not eat and drink? When he did judgment and justice, It was then well with him:
16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy, It was then well with him; Was not this to know me? saith Jehovah:
17 For thy eye and thy heart are not Except on thy covetousness, And on shedding innocent blood, And on rapacity and oppression, to do them. 18 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah the king of Judea, They shall not bewail him, — “Ah, my brother! Ah, sister!” They shall not bewail him, — “Ah, Lord! Ah, his glory!”
19 With the burial of an ass shall he be buried, Drawn out and cast forth Beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Ascend into Lebanon and cry, And on Bashan lift up thy voice, And cry all around, For destroyed are all thy lovers.
21 I spake to thee in thy tranquillity, Thou saidst, “I will not hear:” It has been thy manner from thy youth That thou didst not hear my voice.
22 Thy pastors shall the wind consume, And thy lovers, into exile shall they go: Surely ashamed shalt thou then be, And blush for all thy wickedness.
23 Thou hast set thy seat on Lebanon, Thou hast made thy nest among the cedars: How gracious wilt thou be When come on thee shall sorrows, The pain as of one in travail!
24 Live do I, saith Jehovah; Were Coniah the son of Jehoiakim the king of Judah A sealing ring on my right hand, I would thence pluck thee off:
25 And I will deliver thee Into the hand of those who seek thy life, And into the hand of those whose face thou dreadest, Even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar The king of Babylon, And into the hand of the Chaldeans:
26 And I will cast thee and thy mother who bare thee Into a foreign land where ye were not born, And there shall ye die;
27 And into the land they set their mind to return, Thither they shall not return.
28 Is this man Coniah a despised and broken statue? Is he a vessel in which there is no delight? Why are they east forth, he and his seed, And thrown to a land which they have not known?
29 Land! land! land! hear the word of Jehovah, — 30 Thus saith Jehovah, Write ye this man childless, A man who shall not prosper in his days; Nay, none of his seed shall prosper, Sitting on the throne of David, And ruling any more in Judah.
1 Woe to the pastors who destroy and scatter The flock of my pastures! saith Jehovah;
2 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Concerning the pastors who feed my people, — Ye have scattered my flock and driven them away, And ye have not visited them; Behold, I will visit upon you The wickedness of your doings, saith Jehovah:
3 But I will gather the remnant of my sheep From all the lands to which I shall drive them, And cause them to return to their own folds, And they shall become fruitful and multiply;
4 And I will raise up over them pastors Who shall feed them; And they shall no more fear nor dread, Nor shall they fail, saith Jehovah.
5 Behold, the days are coming, saith Jehovah, That I will raise up to David a righteous branch, And reign shall a king, And prudently shall he act; He will do judgment and justice in the land.
6 In his days saved shall be Judah, And Israel shall dwell in confidence: And this is the name by which they shall call him, JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
7 Therefore, behold, the days will come, saith Jehovah, In which it shall no more be said, “Live does Jehovah,” Who brought the children of Israel from the land of Egypt;
8 But rather, “Live does Jehovah,” who has brought up And led the seed of the house of Israel From the land of the north, and all the lands To which I had driven them; And they shall dwell in their own land.
9 On account of the prophets, Broken is my heart within me, Disjointed are all my bones; I am become like a drunken man Who has been overcome by wine, On account of Jehovah, And on account of the words of his holiness;
10 For with adulterers the land is filled: For on account of perjury mourned has the land, Dried up have the pastures of the desert; And their course has been evil, And their strength not right.
11 For both prophet and priest have acted wickedly; Even in my house have I found Their wickedness, saith Jehovah.
12 Therefore their way shall be to them slippery; In darkness shall they stumble and fall therein; For I shall bring on them evil, The year of their visitation, saith Jehovah.
13 In the prophets of Samaria have I seen fatuity, They prophesied by Baal, And made my people Israel to go astray:
14 But in the prophets of Jerusalem Have I seen depravity; By adultery and walking in falsehood They even strengthen the hands of the wicked, That they may not turn, each from his wickedness: They shall be all to me as Sodom, And its inhabitants as Gomorrah.
15 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts Concerning these prophets, — I will feed them with a deadly poison, And give them waters of gall to drink; For from the prophets of Jerusalem Has gone forth impiety through all the laud.
16 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — Hear ye not the words of the prophets Who prophesy to you; They make you to be vain; A vision of their own heart do they speak, And not from the mouth of Jehovah;
17 Who say to those who despise me, Spoken has Jehovah, “Peace shall be to you;” And to all who walk in the wickedness of their own hearts They say, “Come upon you shall not evil;
18 For who hath been in the counsel of Jehovah, And seen and heard his word? Who hath listened to his word and heard it?”
19 Behold the whirlwind of Jehovah! With fury it goeth forth; Even the impending whirlwind; On the head of the ungodly shall it fall:
20 Turn back shall not the anger of Jehovah Till he has done and confirmed The thoughts of his own heart: In the extremity of days Ye shall fully understand this.
21 I sent not the prophets, yet they have run; I spoke not to them, yet they have prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my counsel, Surely they would have made my people hear my words, And turned them from their evil way, And from the wickedness of their doings?
23 Am I a God at hand, saith Jehovah, And not a God afar off?
24 Can a man hide himself in coverts That I could not see him? saith Jehovah; Do not I fill the heavens and the earth? saith Jehovah.
25 I have heard what the prophets say Who prophesy falsely in my name, Saying, “I have dreamed, I have dreamed.”
26 How long will it be in the heart of the prophets To prophesy falsehood, Yea, of the prophets of the deceit of their own heart!
27 Who think to make my people forget My name by their own dreams, Which they relate, each to his friend, As forgotten my name have their fathers through Baal.
28 The prophet who hath a dream, He will relate a dream; And he with whom is my word, He will speak my word of truth: What is the chaff to the wheat? saith Jehovah.
29 Is not my word like fire? saith Jehovah, And like the hammer that breaks the stone?
30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith Jehovah, Who steal my words, each from his friend:
31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith Jehovah, Who elevate their own tongue, And say, “It is the word:”
32 Behold, I am against those Who prophesy false dreams, saith Jehovah; And who relate them, and deceive my people By their lies and their levity, Though I sent them not, nor commanded them: And they will not profit this people, saith Jehovah.
33 But if ask thee will this people, Or a prophet, or a priest, saying, “What is the burden of Jehovah?” Then shalt thou say to them, “What burden? — I will forsake you, saith Jehovah.”
34 And the prophet, and the priest, and the people, Who shall say, “The burden of Jehovah,” I will even punish that man and his house.
35 Thus shall ye say, every one to his friend, And every one to his brother, “What has Jehovah answered?” Or “What has Jehovah spoken?”
36 But the burden of Jehovah mention no more; For the burden of each shall be his word: For ye have corrupted the words of the living God, Of Jehovah of hosts, our God.
37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, — “What has Jehovah answered thee?” Or “What has Jehovah spoken?”
38 But if ye will say, “The burden of Jehovah;” Therefore Jehovah saith thus, — Because ye say, “The burden of Jehovah,” Though I sent to you, saying, Ye shall not say, “The burden of Jehovah.”
39 Therefore, behold, I will wholly take you away, And will cast you off, and this city Which I gave to you and to your fathers, From my presence; And I will bring upon you a perpetual reproach, And a perpetual disgrace, Which shall not be forgotten.
1 Jehovah shewed me a vision, and, behold, two baskets of figs set before the Temple of Jehovah, after Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim the king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, and the artificer, and the engraver, from Jerusalem, and led them away to Babylon:
2 One basket of figs very good, like early figs, and another basket of figs very bad, which could not be eaten, being so bad.
3 And Jehovah said to me, “What seest thou, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs, good figs, very good; and bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, being so bad.”
4 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, 5 Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, As these good figs, so will I acknowledge the captivity of Judah, which I sent from this place to the land of the Chaldeans, for good:
6 And I will set my eye upon them for good, and will restore them to this land; and I will build them up and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up;
7 And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Jehovah; and they shall be to me a people, and I will be to them a God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.
8 But as to the bad figs, which cannot be eaten, being so bad, surely thus saith Jehovah, so will I render Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue at Jerusalem, those who remain in this land and those who dwell in the land of Egypt;
9 And I will set them for a commotion, for an evil to all kingdoms of the earth, for a reproach, and a terror, and a taunt, and a curse in all places where I shall drive them;
10 And I will send among them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until they be consumed from the face of the land which I gave to them and to their fathers.
1 The word which came by Jeremiah to all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah, (this was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon,)
2 Which Jeremiah the prophet spake to all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, — 3 From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon the king of Judah, to this day, (this is the twenty-third year,) hath Jehovah spoken to me, and I have spoken to you, rising up early, but ye have not hearkened:
4 And Jehovah sent to you all his servants the prophets, rising up early and sending, (but ye hearkened not, nor inclined your ear to hear,)
5 Saying, — Return ye, I pray, each from his evil way, And from the wickedness of your doings, And dwell in the land which Jehovah gave To you and to your fathers from age to age:
6 And walk ye not after alien gods, To serve them and to bow down before them; And provoke me not by the work of your hands, And I will not do you evil.
7 But ye hearkened not to me, saith Jehovah; For ye provoked me by the work of your hands, To do evil to you.
8 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — Because ye have not hearkened to my words, 9 Behold, I will send for and take All the families of the north, saith Jehovah, And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; And I will bring them to this land And to its inhabitants, And to all these nations around; And I will destroy them, And make them an astonishment, And a hissing, and perpetual desolations;
10 And I will cause to cease among them The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, The voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, The sound of millstones, and the light of the candle.
11 And this whole land shall be a waste and a wonder; And serve shall these nations The king of Babylon seventy years.
12 And it shall be, when fulfilled shall be seventy years, That I shall visit on the king of Babylon, And on his people, saith Jehovah, Their iniquity, — and upon the land of Chaldea, And I will make it perpetual desolations:
13 And I will bring on that land all my words, Which I have spoken concerning it, All that is written in this book, Which Jeremiah has prophesied of the nations:
14 For they shall rule over strong nations, And over mighty kings; And I will render to these according to their doing, And according to the work of their hands.
15 For thus said Jehovah, the God of Israel, to me, Take the cup of the wine of this wrath from my hand, and give it to drink to all the nations to whom I shall send thee, 16 That they may drink and be incensed, and become distracted on account of the sword which I shall send among them.
17 And I took the cup from the hand of Jehovah, and gave it to drink to all the nations to whom Jehovah had sent me, — 18 To Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah, even to its kings and to its princes, to make them a waste, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a curse, as at this day, — 19 To Pharaoh the king of Egypt, to his servants, and to his princes, and to all his people, 20 And to the promiscuous multitude, and to all the kings of the land of Uz, and to all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and to Askelon, and to Gaza, and to Ekron, and to the remnant of Ashdod, — 21 To Edom, and to Moab, and to the children of Ammon, 22 And to all the kings of Tyre, and to all the kings of Sidon, and to all the kings of the island beyond the sea, 23 And to Dedan, and to Tema, and to Buz, and to all the extreme ones in a corner, 24 And to all the kings of Arabia, and to all the kings of the mingled race who dwell in the desert, 25 And to all the kings of Zimri, and to all the kings of Elam, and to all the kings of the Medes, 26 And to all the kings of the north, those who are near, as well as those who are afar off, every one shall be against his brother, — and to all kingdoms of the earth, which are upon the face of the earth; and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.
27 And thou shalt say to them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Drink ye and be drunken, and vomit and fall, and rise not on account of the sword which I send among you.
28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say to them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Drinking ye shall drink;
29 For behold, upon the city on which my name is called, I begin to bring evil, and shall ye be treated as innocent? ye shall not be treated as innocent; for I am calling for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth, saith Jehovah.
30 Thou shalt also prophesy to them all these words, and say to them, — Jehovah from on high shall roar, And from his holy habitation utter his voice; Roaring he shall roar on his dwelling, A shout like that of vintagers shall he respond Against all the inhabitants of the earth:
31 Reach shall the sound to the extremity of the earth, For a contention has Jehovah with the nations, A dispute has he with all flesh; The wicked will he give to the sword, saith Jehovah.
32 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, And a great tempest shall be raised From the extremities of the earth;
33 And the slain of Jehovah in that day shall be From one end to the other end of the earth: They shall not be lamented, nor gathered, nor buried; As dung on the face of the earth shall they be.
34 Howl, ye pastors, and cry, And roll [in the dust,] ye choice of the flock; For fulfilled are your days For the slaughter and your breakings; And ye shall fall like a precious vessel:
35 And perish shall flight from the pastors, And escape from the choice of the flock.
36 The voice of the cry of the pastors! And the howling of the choice of the flock! For destroyed has Jehovah their pastures;
37 Perished also are the peaceful tents, Through the indignation of the wrath of Jehovah.
38 He has left, as a lion, his tabernacle; For reduced is their land to a waste Through the wrath of the Oppressor, And through the indignation of his wrath.
1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, this word came from Jehovah, saying, 2 Thus saith Jehovah, Stand in the court of the house of Jehovah, and speak to all the cities of Judah, who come to worship in the Temple of Jehovah, all the words which I have commanded thee to speak to them; diminish not a word:
3 If peradventure they will hear, and turn, each from his evil way, then will I repent of the evil which I think of doing to them on account of the wickedness of their doings.
4 Thou shalt then say to them, Thus saith Jehovah, If ye will not hear me to walk in my law, which I have set before you, 5 To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send to you, rising up 6 Early and sending, (but ye have not hearkened,) then will I make this house like Shiloh, and this city will I make a curse to all the nations of the earth.
7 And the priests, and the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Jehovah.
8 And it was when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that Jehovah had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests, and the prophets, and all the people apprehended him, saying, “Dying thou shalt die;
9 Why hast thou prophesied in the name of Jehovah, saying, ‘Like Shiloh shall this house be, and this city shall be desolate without, an inhabitant?’” (And all the people were assembled against Jeremiah in the Temple of Jehovah.)
10 And the princes of Judah heard of these things, and went down from the king’s house to the house of Jehovah, and sat at the entrance of the new gate of the Temple of Jehovah.
11 Then said the priests and the prophets to the princes, and to all the people, saying, “This man is worthy of death; for he has prophesied against this city as ye have heard with your ears.”
12 And Jeremiah said to all the princes, and to all the people, saying, — Jehovah hath sent me to prophesy against this house, and against this city all the words which ye have heard:
13 And now make good your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of Jehovah your God, and Jehovah will repent of the evil which he hath pronounced against you.
14 And as for me, behold I am in your hand; do to me as may seem good and right in your eyes:
15 But know assuredly, that if ye slay me, ye will bring innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city, and on its inhabitants; for in truth Jehovah hath sent me to you, to speak all these words in your ears.
16 And the princes, and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man is not worthy of death; for in the name of Jehovah our God hath he spoken to us.”
17 Then rose up men from the elders of the land, and said to the whole assembly of the people, saying, — 18 Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah the king of Judah, saying, — “Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — Sion as a field shall be plowed, And Jerusalem shall become heaps, And the mount of the house like the heights of the forest.”
19 Killing, did Hezekiah the king of Judah, and all Judah, kill him? did he not fear Jehovah? and did he not supplicate the face of Jehovah? and Jehovah repented of the evil which he had spoken against them: but we are doing a great evil against our own souls.
20 But there was also a man who prophesied in the name of Jehovah, Uriah the son of Shemaiah, from Kirjath-jearim; and he prophesied against this city, and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah:
21 When the King Jehoiakim and all the chief men and the princes heard his words, then the king sought to slay him; but Uriah heard and feared, and he fled and went into Egypt.
22 And the King Jehoiakim sent men into Egypt, even Elnathan the son of Achbor, and men with him into Egypt:
23 And they brought Uriah up from Egypt, and brought him to the King Jehoiakim, who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.
24 Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was not delivered into the hand of the people to be slain.
1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, — 2 Thus said Jehovah to me, Make for thee bands and yokes, and put them on thy neck;
3 Then send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the children of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of the ambassadors, who shall come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah the king of Judah:
4 And thou shalt give them a message to their masters, saying, — Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Thus shall ye say to your masters, — 5 I made the earth, man also and beast, Which are on the face of the earth, By my great power and my extended arm; And given it have I to whom it seemed good to me:
6 And now given have I all these lands Into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar The king of Babylon, my servant; And also the beast of the field Have I given to him to serve him:
7 And serve him and his son, And his son’s son, shall all nations, Until the time of his land shall come, And also of himself; yea, serve him Shall many nations and great kings.
8 And it shall be as to the nation and kingdom, Who will not serve him, even Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, And who will not put their neck Under the yoke of the king of Babylon, With the sword, and famine, and pestilence, Will I visit that nation, saith Jehovah, Until I consume them by his hand.
9 And you, hearken not to your prophets, And to your diviners, and to your dreamers, And to your augurs, and to your sorcerers, Who speak to you, saying, — “Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon;”
10 For they prophesy falsely to you, That they might move you far from your own land, And that I might cast you away and ye perish:
11 But the nation which shall bring its neck Under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave it in its own land, saith Jehovah; And it shall cultivate it and dwell in it.
12 To Zedekiah also, the king of Judah, I spoke according to all these words, saying, — Bring your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, And serve him and his people, and ye shall live.
13 Why should ye perish, thou and thy people, By the sword, and famine, and pestilence, As Jehovah has spoken of the nation, Which will not serve the king of Babylon:
14 And hearken not to the words of the prophets, Who speak to you, saying, — “Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon;” For falsely do they prophesy to you;
15 For I have not sent them, saith Jehovah, But they prophesy in my name falsely, That I might drive you out, And that ye might perish, ye, And the prophets who prophesy to you.
16 To the priests also and to all the people spake I, saying, — Thus saith Jehovah, — Hearken not to the words of your prophets, Who prophesy to you, saying, — “Behold, the vessels of the house of Jehovah Shall now soon be restored from Babylon;” For falsehood do these prophesy to you:
17 Hearken ye not to them; Serve the king of Babylon and ye shall live; Why should this city become a desolation?
18 But if they be prophets, And if the word of Jehovah be with them, Let them now intercede with Jehovah of hosts, That the vessels which remain in the house of Jehovah, And in the house of the king of Judah, And in Jerusalem, may not go to Babylon.
19 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts of the pillars, and of the sea, and of the bases, and of the residue of the vessels which are left in this city, 20 Which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon did not take away, when he led captive Jeconiah the king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;
21 yea, thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, of the vessels which remain in the house of Jehovah, and in the house of the king, and in Jerusalem;
22 To Babylon shall they be carried, and there shall they be until the day in which I shall visit them, saith Jehovah, and bring them up and restore them to this place.
1 And it was in that year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet, who was of Gibeon, spoke to me in the Temple of Jehovah, in the presence of the priests, and of all the people, saying, 2 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.
3 Further, when two years shall pass, I will restore to this place all the vessels of the house of Jehovah which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has taken away from this place and carried to Babylon:
4 And Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim the king of Judah, and all the captives of Judah, who have gone to Babylon, will I restore to this place, saith Jehovah; for I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.
5 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people, who were standing in the house of Jehovah;
6 Yea, Jeremiah the prophet said, Amen, may Jehovah do so, may Jehovah confirm thy words which thou hast prophesied as to the restoration of the vessels of the temple, and of all the captives from Babylon to this place.
7 Nevertheless, hear thou now this word which I declare in thy hearing, and in the hearing of all the people;
8 The prophets who have been before me and before thee from the beginning, and prophesied against many nations and great kingdoms, have prophesied of war, and of evil, and of pestilence:
9 The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word shall come to pass, that prophet shall be known that Jehovah has sent him in truth.
10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the band from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it;
11 And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, — Thus saith Jehovah, In this manner will I break off the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.
12 And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet broke off the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, saying, — 13 Go and speak to Hananiah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, Thou hast broken the bands of wood; but make for thee instead of them bands of iron:
14 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, A yoke of iron have I laid on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and they shall serve him; and I have also given to him the beasts of the field.
15 Jeremiah the prophet said also to Hananiah the prophet, Hear, I pray, Hananiah; Jehovah hath not sent thee, and thou hast made this people to trust in falsehood:
16 Therefore, thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will cast thee away from the face of the earth; die shalt thou this year, because thou hast spoken revolt against Jehovah.
17 And Hananiah the prophet died in that year, in the seventh month.
1 These are the words of the epistle which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to the whole people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had led away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, 2 After Jeconiah the king, and the queen had gone forth, and the chief men, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the artificers also, and the engravers, from Jerusalem, — 3 By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and of Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah the king of Judah had sent to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, to Babylon,) saying, — 4 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, to the whole captivity whom I have led captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, — 5 “Build ye houses, and inhabit them; plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
6 Take wives, and beget sons and daughters; Take also wives for your sons, And give your daughters in marriage to husbands, And let them bear sons and daughters; And increase there and be not diminished:
7 And seek the peace of the city, To which I have removed you; And pray for it to Jehovah, For in its peace shall be your peace.”
8 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, — Let not your prophets who are in the midst of you, Nor your diviners, deceive you; And attend not to your dreams which ye dream:
9 For they falsely prophesy to you in my name; I have not sent them, saith Jehovah.
10 For thus saith Jehovah, — For when completed in Babylon Shall be seventy years, I will visit you, And will rouse up for you my good word, That I may bring you back to this place:
11 For I know my thoughts, Which I think of you, saith Jehovah, — Thoughts of peace and not of evil, To give you the end and the expectation.
12 And ye shall call on me and go forward; And pray to me, and I will hear you:
13 And ye shall seek me, and shall find me; Because ye will seek me with the whole heart.
14 And I will be found by your saith Jehovah, And will restore your captivity, And will gather you from all nations, And from all places, where I have driven you, Saith Jehovah, and I will bring you back To the place whence I have expelled you.
15 As ye have said, “Raise for us will Jehovah prophets in Babylon;”
16 Therefore thus saith Jehovah to the king who sits on the throne of David, and to the whole people who dwell in this city, to your brethren who have not gone forth with you into exile, — thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — 17 Behold, I will send upon them the sword, The famine, and the pestilence, And will make them like worthless figs, Which, being so bad, cannot be eaten:
18 Yea, I will pursue them with the sword, The famine, and the pestilence, And will set them for a commotion To all the kingdoms of the earth, For a curse and for an astonishment, And for a hissing and for a reproach, Among all the nations to whom I shall drive them;
19 Because they hearkened not to my words, saith Jehovah, Which I sent to them by my servants the prophets, Rising up early and sending; And ye hearkened not, saith Jehovah.
20 Hear ye also the word of Jehovah, the whole captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon;
21 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy to you in my name a lie, — Behold, I will deliver them into the hand Of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, And he shall kill them before your eyes:
22 And taken from them shall be a curse By all the captivity of Judah in Babylon, saying, — “Let Jehovah make thee like Zedekiah and Ahab, Whom the king of Babylon burnt in the fire:”
23 Because they have done villainy in Israel, And prostituted the wives of their friends, And spoke a word in my name falsely, Which I had not commanded them; But I know, and am witness, saith Jehovah.
24 And as to Shemaiah, the Nehelamite, thou shalt thus say, — 25 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, — Because thou hast sent in my name letters to the whole people, who are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, — 26 Jehovah hath made thee a priest in the room of Jehoiada the priest, that ye might be the rulers of the house of Jehovah over every one that is insane and prophesies, that thou mightest put him in prison and in manacles:
27 And thou — wherefore hast thou not reproved Jeremiah, the Anathothite, who prophesies to you?
28 Even because he hath sent to us in Babylon, saying, — “Long is the time, build ye houses and inhabit them;
29 Plant gardens and eat the fruit of them.” (Now Zephaniah had read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet:)
30 Therefore the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying, — 31 Send to the whole captivity, saying, — Thus saith Jehovah of Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, When I had not sent him, And has made you to trust in falsehood;
32 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, — Lo I will visit Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his seed; There shall not be to him a man To dwell in the midst of this people; And he shall not see the good, Which I shall do to my people, saith Jehovah; Because he has spoken rebellion against Jehovah.
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, — 2 Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, saying, — Write thee all the words which I have spoken to thee in a book;
3 For, be- hold, the days are coming, saith Jehovah, when I shall restore the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith Jehovah; and I will restore them to the land which I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
4 Even these are the words which Jehovah hath spoken of Israel and Judah, — 5 Surely thus saith Jehovah, — A voice of trembling have we heard, Of fear and not of peace.
6 Ask and see, can a male bring forth? Why have I seen all men With their hands on their loins as a woman in travail? Turned also are all faces into paleness.
7 Alas! for great that day, none like it, Even a time of distress to Jacob; Yet from it shall he be saved:
8 And it shall be in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, That I will break the yoke from thy neck, And thy bands will I burst asunder, And no more force thee to serve shall strangers;
9 But serve shall they Jehovah their God, And David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
10 And thou Jacob my servant, fear not, saith Jehovah, And be not thou, Israel, afraid; For behold I will save thee from far, And thy seed from the land of their captivity, And dwell shall Jacob, and rest, and be secure, And none shall terrify him:
11 For I shall be with thee, saith Jehovah, to save thee; For I will make an end of all the nations, Among whom I shall scatter thee; Yet of thee I will not make an end: But I will chastise thee in moderation, And I will not wholly cut thee off.
12 For thus saith Jehovah, Grievous thy bruise, desperate thy wound!
13 No one undertakes thy cause; For a cure, medicines and healing thou hast not.
14 All thy friends forget thee, they ask not for thee; For with the stroke of an enemy have I struck thee, With the chastisement of the cruel, On account of the multitude of thine iniquity, Because prevailed have thy sins.
15 Why criest thou because of thy bruise? Heavy is thy sorrow: For the multitude of thine iniquity. Because thy sins have prevailed, Have I done these things to thee.
16 Therefore, all who devour thee shall be devoured, And all thine enemies shall go into captivity, And they who plunder thee shall become a plunder, And all who spoil thee shall be a spoil:
17 For I will bring a healing to thee, And from thy wounds will I heal thee, saith Jehovah; Because an outcast have they called thee, Sion, Whom no one careth for.
18 Thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, I will restore the captivity of Jacob’s tents, And his dwellings will I pity; And built shall be the city on its heaps, And the palace in its own place shall stand:
19 And go forth from them shall praise and the voice of joy; And I will increase them, and they shall not be lessened; And I will honor them, and they shall not be degraded;
20 And his children shall be as at the beginning, And his assembly before me shall be established, And I will visit all his oppressors:
21 And his valiant man shall be from himself, And his ruler from his midst shall come forth; And I will bring him nigh, and he shall come to me; For who is he who forms his heart, That he may come to me, saith Jehovah!
22 And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
23 Behold as a tempest shall Jehovah’s wrath go forth, As an involving tempest; On the head of the ungodly shall it settle:
24 Not return shall the fury of Jehovah’s wrath, Till he performs it, and till he effects the thoughts of his heart; In the latter days ye shall understand this.
1 At that time, saith Jehovah, Will I be a God to all the families of Israel; And they shall be my people.
2 Thus saith Jehovah, — Found favor in the desert Hath a people who had escaped the sword, By advancing till he gave rest to Israel.
3 Of old Jehovah appeared to me: Nay, with perpetual love have I loved thee; Therefore have I prolonged to thee mercy.
4 I will yet build thee, And built shalt thou be, virgin of Israel; Thou shalt yet be adorned with thy tabrets, And go forth with the choir of players;
5 Thou shalt yet plant vineyards On the mountains of Samaria; Plant shall planters and eat the fruit.
6 For the day shall be, when they shall cry, The watchmen, on Mount Ephraim, — “Arise, and let us ascend into Sion, To Jehovah our God.”
7 For thus saith Jehovah, — Exult for Jacob with joy, And shout at the head of the nations, Publish, give thanks, and say, “Save, Jehovah, thy people, the remnant of Israel.”
8 Behold, I will bring them from the land of the north, And gather them from the ends of the earth; Among them shall be the blind and the lame, The pregnant, and she that travaileth; Together a great company shall they return thither.
9 With weeping shall they come, And in mercies will I lead them; I will lead them to streams of water, In a straight way, where they shall not stumble: For I will be to Israel a father, And Ephraim, my first-born is he.
10 Hear the word of Jehovah, ye nations, And tell it in islands afar off, and say, — “He who scattered Israel will gather him, And will watch him as a shepherd his flock:”
11 For redeem Jacob will Jehovah, And free him from the hand of one stronger than himself;
12 And come shall they, and shout on the height of Sion; And flow together shall they to the bounty of Jehovah, For corn and wine and oil, And for the young of the flock and the herd; And their soul shall be as a watered garden, And they shall mourn no more.
13 Then rejoice shall the virgin in the dance, And the youth and the aged together; And I will turn their mourning to joy, And comfort them and cheer them after their sorrow;
14 And I will fill the soul of the priests with fatness, And my people with my goodness shall be satiated, saith Jehovah.
15 Thus saith Jehovah, — A voice on high is heard, The lamentation of bitter weeping; Rachel, weeping for her children, Refused comfort for her children, because they are not, 16 Thus saith Jehovah, Hold thy voice from weeping, And thine eyes from tears; For a reward shall be to thy work, saith Jehovah, And return shall they from the land of the enemy:
17 Yea, there will be a hope in the latter end, saith Jehovah; For return shall thy children to their own border.
18 Hearing I have heard Ephraim when exiled, — “Thou hast chastised me, and I was instructed, Like a bullock not trained; Turn thou me, and I shall be turned, For thou, Jehovah, art my God.
19 Verily, after thou hadst turned me, I repented; And after I knew myself, I smote my thigh; I was ashamed and even confounded, Because I bore the reproach of my youth.”
20 Is Ephraim a son dear to me — Is he a son delighted in Even from the time I spoke to him? Remembering I will still remember him; Therefore sounded for him have my bowels; Pitying I pitied him, saith Jehovah.
21 Set up titles for thee, raise for thee heaps,: Fix my heart on the pathway, On the way thou hast walked; Return, virgin of Israel, return to these thy cities.
22 How long wilt thou wander, rebellious daughter! For create does Jehovah a new thing on the earth — A woman shall surround a man.
23 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, — They shall again say this word in the land of Judah, And in the cities, when I restore their captivity, — “Bless thee let Jehovah, The habitation of righteousness, the mount of holiness.”
24 And dwell in it shall Judah and all his cities, Also husbandmen, and they shall go with the flock:
25 For I will water the thirsty soul, And every hungry soul will I fill.
26 I then awoke and saw, And my sleep had been sweet to me.
27 Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, That I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah, With the seed of man and with the seed of beast:
28 And it shall be, that as I have watched over them, To root up and to break down, And to break in pieces and to destroy and to afflict; So will I watch over them, To build and to plant, saith Jehovah.
29 In those days they shall no more say, — Our fathers have eaten a sour grape, And the children’s teeth are blunted;
30 But every man, in his iniquity shall he die; Every man, eating a sour grape, Blunted shall be his teeth.
31 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, That I will make with the house of Israel, And with the house of Judah, a new covenant:
32 Not according to the covenant I made With their fathers, in the day I took their hand, To bring them out from the land of Egypt; Because void have they made that covenant, Though I ruled over them, saith Jehovah.
33 But this is the covenant which I will make With the house of Israel, after those days, saith Jehovah, — I will put my law in their inward parts, And on their heart will I write it; And I will be to them a God, And they shall be to me a people:
34 And teach shall no one any more his neighbor, And no one his brother, saying, — “Know ye Jehovah;” for all shall know me, From the least to the greatest of them, saith Jehovah; For I will forgive their sins, And their iniquities will I remember no more.
35 Thus saith Jehovah, — He who hath set the sun for light by day, And the courses of the moon and stars for light by night, Who moves the sea and its waves roar, — Jehovah of hosts is his name:
36 If removed shall be these ordinances From my presence, saith Jehovah, Then also the seed of Israel shall cease To be a nation before me continually:
37 Thus saith Jehovah, — If measured can be the heavens above, Or searched the foundations of the earth below, Then also will I reject the whole seed of Israel For all that they have done, saith Jehovah.
38 Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, That built shall be the city of Jehovah From the tower of Hananeel to the corner gate;
39 And go forth shall the measuring line from before it, Even to the hill Gareb, and surround Goatha, 40 And all the valley of carcasses and ashes, And all the fields to the brook Kedron, Even to the corner gate of the horses eastward: Being holiness to Jehovah, it shall not be cut off, Nor destroyed any more for ever.
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah in the tenth year of Zedekiah, king of Judah; this was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar:
2 And then the army of the king of Babylon besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the palace of the king of Judah;
3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Why hast thou prophesied, saying, — “Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he wilt take it:
4 And Zedekiah, king of Judah, shall not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans; for delivering I will deliver him into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;
5 And to Babylon will he bring Zedekiah, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith Jehovah: when ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.”
6 And Jeremiah said, the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, — 7 Behold, Hanameel, the son of Shallum thine uncle, will come to thee and say, “Buy thee my field which is in Anathoth, for thine is the right of affinity to buy.”
8 And Hanameel, my uncle’s son, came to me, as Jehovah had spoken, into the court of the prison, and said, “Buy, I pray thee, my field which is in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin, for thine is the right of inheritance, and thine the redemption; buy it for thyself.” Then I knew that it was the word of Jehovah;
9 And I bought the field from Hanameel, my uncle’s son, who was in Anathoth, and I weighed money to him, seven shekels and ten pieces of silver:
10 When I had written in a book and sealed it, and had taken witnesses and weighed the money in a balance;
11 Then I took the book of the purchase, the sealed according to the law and statute, and the open;
12 And gave the book of the purchase to Baruch, the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, before the eyes of Hanameel, my uncle’s son, and before the eyes of the witnesses who were written in the book of the purchase, and before the eyes of all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison;
13 And I commanded Baruch in their presence, saying, 14 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Take these books, the book of purchase, the sealed and the open book, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue for many days;
15 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, They shall again buy houses and fields and vineyards in this land.
16 And I prayed to Jehovah, after I gave the book of the purchase to Baruch, the son of Neriah, saying, — 17 “Ah! Lord Jehovah! behold thou hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and by thine extended arm;
18 There is nothing difficult for thee: thou shewest mercy to thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them:
19 God, strong, mighty! Jehovah of hosts is his name; great in counsel, mighty in work, whose eyes are open on all the ways of the children of men, to render to every one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings;
20 Who hast wrought signs and wonders in the land of Egypt even to this day, and in Israel and among men; and hast made thyself a name as at this day;
21 And hast brought forth thy people Israel from the land of Egypt by signs and wonders, and with a strong hand and an extended arm, and with great terror;
22 And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;
23 And they entered in and possessed it, but they have not hearkened to thy voice nor walked in thy law; all that thou hast commanded them to do they have not done; therefore hast thou made all this evil to befall them.
24 “Behold, the mounts have come to the city to take it, and the city is given to the hand of the Chaldeans, who war against it by means of the sword, the famine, and the pestilence; and what thou hast spoken has happened; and behold thou seest it.
25 Yet thou, Lord Jehovah, hast said to me, Buy thee the field for money, and make witnesses to attest, when yet the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.”
26 And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying, —
27 Behold, I Jehovah, am the God of all flesh, Will anything be hard for me?
28 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold I give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take it;
29 And enter in shall the Chaldeans who war against the city, and shall set this city on fire and burn it, and the houses on the roofs of which they have burned incense to Baal, and poured out libations to alien gods, in order to provoke me.
30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have been only doing evil before me from their childhood; for the children of Israel have been only provoking me by the work of their hands, saith Jehovah.
31 For to provoke my wrath and my indignation has this city been to me from the day they built it to this day, to cause me to remove it from my presence, 32 For all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to wrath, — they, their kings, their princes, their priests and prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
33 For they turned to me the back and not the face; and when I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, they hearkened not so as to receive correction:
34 And they have set their abominations in the house on which my name is called, to pollute it;
35 And have built high places to Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass to Molech, which I commanded them not, nor did it come to my mind, to do this abomination so as to make Judah to sin.
36 And now, therefore, thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which ye say, “Given it is into the hand of the king of Babylon, by the sword, and famine, and pestilence;”
37 Behold I will gather them from all the lands to which I shall have driven them in my wrath, and fury, and great indignation, and will restore them to this land, and make them dwell in safety;
38 And they shall be to me a people, and I will be to them a God.
39 And I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me continually, that it may be well with them and with their children after them;
40 And I will make with them a perpetual covenant, so as not to depart from them to do them good; and my fear will I put in their hearts, that they may not depart from me;
41 And I will rejoice over them in doing them good, and will plant them in this land in truth, with all my heart, and with all my soul.
42 For thus saith Jehovah, As I have brought on this people all this great evil, so will I bring on them all the good which I have declared concerning them:
43 And bought shall be fields in this land of which ye say, “Forsaken it is by man and beast, and given into the hand of the Chaldeans.”
44 Fields with money shall they buy, writing in a book and sealing, and attesting by witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and through the circuits of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in cities on the mountains, and in cities on the plains, and in the cities of the south; for I will restore their captivity, saith Jehovah.
1 And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah a second time, when he was as yet a captive in the court of the prison, saying, — 2 Thus saith Jehovah that made it, Jehovah who formed it to establish it? Jehovah is his name, — 3 Call to me and I will answer thee, And declare to thee great things And hidden things which thou knowest not, 4 For thus, saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, — As to the houses of this city, And as to the houses of the kings of Judah, Which have been thrown down By the warlike engines and by the sword;
5 They come to fight with the Chaldeans, Even to fill them (houses) with the carcasses of men, Whom I have smitten in my wrath and indignation. And because I hid my face from this city On account of all its wickedness, — 6 Behold I will bring to it restoration and healing. And I will heal them and open for them An abundance of peace and truth;
7 And I will restore the captivity of Judah And the captivity of Israel, And build them as at the beginning;
8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, By which they have sinned against me, And will forgive all their iniquities, By which they have sinned against me, And by which they have acted wickedly towards me:
9 And it shall be for me a name of joy, A praise and glory, among all nations of the earth, Who shall hear of all the good which I shall do to them, And fear shall they and tremble for all the good And all the peace which I shall give them.
10 Thus saith Jehovah, — Yet heard in this place, of which ye say — “Desolate it is, without man and without beast Even in the cities of Judah And in the streets of Jerusalem, Which are reduced to solitude, without man, And without an inhabitant, and without a beast,” — 11 Shall be the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, The bridegroom’s voice and the voice of the bride, The voice of them who say, “Praise Jehovah of hosts, For good is Jehovah, for his mercy is for ever,” — Of them who shall bring the sacrifice of praise Into the house of Jehovah; For I will restore the captivity of the land As at the first, saith Jehovah.
12 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — There shall yet be in this place, Desolate, without man and beast, And in all its cities, the habitation Of shepherds making their flock to lie down:
13 In the cities of the mountain and the cities of the plain, And in the cities of the south and in the land of Benjamin, And around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, Shall sheep yet pass under the hands Of a numberer, saith Jehovah.
14 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, That I will confirm my good word, Which I have spoken to the house of Israel, And to the house of Judah:
15 In those days and at that time I will make to grow to David a branch of righteousness, And he will do judgment and righteousness in the land.
16 In those days saved shall be Judah, And Jerusalem shall dwell in safety; And this is the name by which she shall be called, Jehovah our Righteousness.
17 For thus saith Jehovah, — Not fail to David shall a man To sit on the throne of the house of Israel;
18 And to the priests, the Levites, not fail shall a man, To offer before me burnt-offerings, To burn an oblation and to sacrifice continually.
19 And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying, — 20 Thus saith Jehovah, If void ye can make My covenant as to the day, And my covenant as to the night, That the day and night should not be in their seasons;
21 Then void shall be made my covenant With David my servant, That he should have no son to reign on his throne, And with the Levites, the priests, my ministers.
22 As the hosts of the heavens cannot be numbered, Nor the sand of the sea be measured; So will I multiply the seed of David my servant, And of the Levites my ministers.
23 And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying, — Hast thou not seen how this people speak, saying, — “There are two families whom Jehovah has chosen, But he has rejected them;”
24 And my people have they despised, So as no more to regard them as a nation.
25 Thus saith Jehovah, If I have not settled My covenant with the day and the night, And the laws of the heavens and the earth, Then I will reject the seed of Jacob And of David my servant, So as not to take of his seed to be rulers Over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: For I will restore their captivity And will shew mercy to them.
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and his whole army, and all the kingdoms of the earth, which were under his dominion, and all the nations, made war against Jerusalem and all the cities, saying, — 2 Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Go and say to Zedekiah, the king of Judah, yea, say to him, Thus saith Jehovah, Behold I deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire;
3 And thou shalt not be saved from his hand, for thou shalt surely be taken, and into his hands shalt thou be delivered, and thine eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and his mouth shall speak to thy mouth, and to Babylon shalt thou go.
4 Yet hear the word of Jehovah, thou Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith Jehovah of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword;
5 In peace shalt thou die, and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings, who were before thee, so shall they burn thee, and, “Ah! Lord!” shall they lament for thee: for the word have I spoken, saith Jehovah.
6 And Jeremiah the prophet spake to Zedekiah king of Judah all these words in Jerusalem, 7 When the armies of the king of Babylon were fighting against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah, which remained, even Lachish and Azekah; for these remained of the cities of Judah, being fortified cities.
8 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, after King Zedekiah made a covenant with all the people, who were in Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty to them, — 9 That every one should let his servant and every one his maid, a Hebrew and a Hebrewess, go free, so that no one among the Jews might make his brother to serve.
10 And hear did all the princes and all the people, who had come to the covenant to let each his servant and each his maid go free, so as not to make them any more to serve, and they obeyed and dismissed them.
11 But they changed afterwards, and remanded their servants and maids whom they had set free, and forced them to be servants and maids.
12 Then came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, — 13 Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, — I made a covenant with your fathers in the day when I brought them from the land of Egypt, from the house of servants, saying, — 14 At the end of seven years ye shall let free every one his brother, and Hebrew, who had been sold to thee and served thee six years, yea, thou shalt let him depart free from thee; but your fathers hearkened not to me nor inclined their ear.
15 But ye have turned this day and have done what is right in mine eyes, by proclaiming liberty, every one to his neighbor, and ye have made a covenant before me in the house on which my name is called.
16 But ye have gone back and have profaned my name, and ye have remanded every one his servant and every one his maid, whom ye had set free to follow their own will, and forced them to be servants and maids.
17 Therefore, thus saith Jehovah, Ye have not hearkened to me in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor; behold, I proclaim as to you, saith Jehovah, liberty to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will give you for a commotion to all the kingdoms of the earth;
18 Yea, I will give the men who have transgressed my covenant, who have not confirmed the words of the covenant which they had made before me by the calf which they cut into two parts, and passed between its parts, 19 Even the princes of Judah and the princes of Jerusalem, the chiefs and the priests and all the people, who passed between the parts of the calf;
20 Yea, I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life; and their carcasses shall be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth;
21 And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life, even into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which have gone up from you.
22 Behold, I will command, saith Jehovah, and will make them to return to this city; and they shall take it and burn it with fire, and make the cities of Judah a waste without an inhabitant.
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, saying, — 2 Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak to them, and bring them into the house of Jehovah, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.
3 Then I took Jaazaniah, the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, even the whole house of the Rechabites;
4 And brought them into the house of Jehovah, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was nigh the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah, the son of Shallum, the keeper of the treasury;
5 And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine and cups; and I said to them, Drink wine.
6 But they said, We will not drink wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, Ye shall not drink wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever;
7 And houses ye shall not build, nor sow seed, nor plant, a vineyard, nor have any such thing; but ye shall dwell in tents all your days; that ye may live many days in the land where ye are strangers.
8 And we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, as to all the things which he commanded us, that we should not drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters;
9 Nor build houses to dwell in, nor have a vineyard, or a field, or seed;
10 But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all things which Jonadab our father hath commanded us.
11 But it was that, when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came up into the land, we then said, Come, let us enter into Jerusalem from the face of the army of the Chaldeans, and from the face of the army of the Syrians; and we have dwelt in Jerusalem.
12 Then came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah, saying, — 13 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Go and tell the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction, so as to obey my words? saith Jehovah:
14 Confirmed are the words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons, that they should not drink wine, for they have drunk none to this day, but they have obeyed the commandment of their father: but I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking, yet ye have not obeyed me;
15 And I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending, saying, Return, I pray you, every one from his evil way, and make right your doings, and walk not after foreign gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye inclined not your ear nor obeyed me.
16 Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the command of their father, which he had commanded them, while this people have not obeyed me, — 17 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring on Judah, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, all the evil which I have pronounced against them; for I have spoken to them, and they have not hearkened; and I have called them, but they have not answered.
18 And to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Because ye have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father, and have kept all his commandments, and have done according to all the things which he had commanded you;
19 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, There shall not fail a man from Jonadab the son of Rechab to stand before me continually.
1 And it was in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, — 2 Take thee a roll of a book and write in it all the words which I have spoken to thee concerning Israel and concerning Judah, and concerning all the nations, from the day in which I have spoken to thee, from the days of Josiah, even to this day.
3 It may be that the house of Judah will attend to all the evil which I purpose to do to them, so that they may return, every one from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.
4 And Jeremiah called Baruch, the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of Jehovah, which he had spoken to him, in a roll of a book.
5 And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up, I cannot go to the house of Jehovah;
6 But go thou and read in the roll what thou hast written from my mouth, the words of Jehovah, in the ears of the people, in the house of Jehovah, on a fast day; and also in the ears of all Judah, who come from their cities shalt thou read them.
7 It may be that they will prostrate themselves before Jehovah, and return every one from his evil way; for great is the indignation, and great is the wrath which Jehovah has spoken against this people.
8 And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all the things which Jeremiah the prophet had commanded him, reading in the book the words of Jehovah in the house of Jehovah.
9 And it was that in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, in the ninth month, they proclaimed a fast before Jehovah to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem.
10 And Baruch read in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah, in the chamber of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entrance of the new gate of the house of Jehovah, in the ears of all the people.
11 And Micah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of Jehovah from the book;
12 And he went down to the king’s house, to the scribe’s chamber; and, lo, all the princes were sitting there, Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes.
13 And Micah declared to them all the words which he had heard when Baruch read in the book in the ears of the people.
14 And all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, unto Baruch, saying, The roll in which thou didst read in the ears of the people, take in thine hand and come: and 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.
16 And it was that when they heard all the words, they feared every one as to his neighbor, and said to Baruch, Declaring we shall declare to the king all these words.
17 And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words from his month?
18 And Baruch said to them, With his mouth he pronounced these words to me, and I wrote them on a book with ink.
19 Then the princes said to Baruch, Go and hide thyself, thou and Jeremiah, and let no one know where ye be.
20 And they went to the king into the court, but laid up the volume in the chamber of Elishama the scribe; and they related all the words in the ears of the king;
21 And the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe: and Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes who stood before the king.
22 And the king was sitting in the winter-house, in the ninth month, and there was a fire-hearth burning before him:
23 And it was that when Jehudi had read three or four pages, he cut it with a penknife, and cast it into the fire which was in the firehearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire which was in the fire-hearth.
24 But neither the king nor any of his servants feared, nor rent their garments, when they heard all these words.
25 Nevertheless Elnathan, and Delaiah, and Gemariah, interceded with the king, that he should not burn the roll; but he hearkened not to them.
26 And the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe, and Jeremiah the prophet: but Jehovah hid them.
27 Then came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah, after the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch had written from the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, — 28 Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words which were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim, the king of Judah hath burned:
29 And to Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, shalt thou say, Thus saith Jehovah, Thou hast burned this book, saying, Why hast thou written in it, saying, The king of Babylon shall surely come and shall destroy this place, and cause to cease from it man and beast?
30 Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, He shall have none to sit on the throne of David; and his dead body shall be cast forth to the heat by day, and to the frost by night;
31 And I will visit on him and on his seed, and on his servants, their iniquity; and I will bring on them, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah, all the evil which I have denounced on them: but they hearkened not.
32 Then Jeremiah took another roll and gave it to Baruch, the son of Neriah, the scribe, who wrote in it from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, had burnt in the fire; and added to them were many words of the same kind.
1 And king Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, reigned instead of Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, made king in the land of Judah:
2 But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, hearkened to the words of Jehovah, which he spake by the Prophet Jeremiah.
3 And king Zedekiah sent Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Pray now to Jehovah our God for us.
4 Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people, and they had not yet put him in the house of the prison;
5 And the army of Pharaoh had come forth from Egypt, and the Chaldeans besieging Jerusalem had heard of them and had gone from Jerusalem.
6 Then the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the Prophet, saying, — 7 Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me, Behold, the army of Pharaoh, which has come forth for your aid, shall return to the land of Egypt;
8 And the Chaldeans shall return and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with fire.
9 Thus saith Jehovah, Deceive not yourselves, saying, Going the Chaldeans shall go away from us, for they shall not go away.
10 For were you to smite the whole army of the Chaldeans, who fight against you, and there remained of them wounded men, they would rise up, each from his tent, and burn this city with fire 11 And it was that after the army of the Chaldeans had gone up from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah went forth from Jerusalem, to go to the land of Benjamin, that he might withdraw himself there among the people.
13 When he was at the gate of Benjamin, the captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, who laid hold on Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans:
14 And Jeremiah said, It is false, I am not falling away to the Chaldeans; but he did not hearken to him. And Irijah laid hold on Jeremiah and brought him to the princes.
15 And the princes were incensed against Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in the house of prison, in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they made that the house of prison.
16 When Jeremiah came into the dungeon and into the cells, and had been there many days, 17 Then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out; and the king asked him privately and said, Is there a word from Jehovah? and Jeremiah said, There is: and he hath said, Into the hand of the king of Babylon shall thou be delivered.
18 And Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, What sin have I done against thee and thy servants and this people, that ye have delivered me into the house of prison?
19 And where are your prophets who have prophesied to you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you nor against this land?
20 And now hear, I pray thee, O lord my king; let my humble prayer be acceptable to thee, cause me not to return into the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I should die there.
21 And King Zedekiah commanded, and they put Jeremiah in the court of the prison, and gave him a crust of bread daily, from the street of the bakers, until all the bread of the city was consumed: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
1 And Shephatiah, the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah, the son of Pashur, and Jucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur, the son Malchiah, heard the words which Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying, — 2 Thus saith Jehovah, He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, famine, or pestilence; but he who goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; and his life shall be to him a prey, and he shall live.
3 Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, this city shall surely be delivered into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and they shall take it.
4 And the princes said to the king, Let this man, we pray thee, die; for he thus weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of the people, by speaking to them according to these words: for this man seeketh not the peace of this people but their ruin.
5 And King Zedekiah said to them, Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.
6 And they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah, the son of Hammelech, which was in the court of the prison; and they let Jeremiah down with cords; and there was no water in the dungeon, but mire, and Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
7 Now Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, an eunuch, heard that they had east Jeremiah into the dungeon; and the king was sitting in the gate of Benjamin;
8 And Ebedmelech went forth from the king’s house and spake to the king, saying,
9 O lord my king, these men have acted wickedly, in all that they have done to Jeremiah the Prophet, in throwing him into the dungeon, where if left alone he must die with hunger; for there is no more bread in the city.
10 Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take with thee hence thirty men, and bring up Jeremiah the Prophet from the dungeon before he die.
11 And Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the king’s house, even to a place under the store-room, and took from thence rags torn and worn out, and let them down by cords to Jeremiah in the dungeon.
12 And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, said to Jeremiah, Put now these torn and worn-out rags under thine arm-holes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.
13 Then they drew up Jeremiah by the cords, and raised him up from the dungeon; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
14 And King Zedekiah sent and took Jeremiah the Prophet with him to the third entrance, which is in the house of Jehovah; and the king said to Jeremiah, “I ask thee a word; hide not a word from me.”
15 And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, If I tell thee, slaying, wilt thou not slay me? and if I give thee counsel thou wilt not hearken to me.
16 And Zedekiah the king swear to Jeremiah in secret, saying, Live doth Jehovah, who made us this soul, I will not slay thee, and I will not deliver thee unto the hand of those who seek thy life.
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, If going thou wilt go forth unto the chiefs of the king of Babylon, live shall thy life, and this city shall not be burned with fire, but live shalt thou and thy house:
18 But if thou wilt not go forth to the chiefs of the king of Babylon, delivered shall be this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and burn it shall they with fire, and thou shalt not escape from their hand.
19 And King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, I fear the Jews who have gone over to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hands and reproach me.
20 Then Jeremiah said, They will not deliver thee: hearken, I pray thee, to the voice of Jehovah which I announce to thee, and it shall be well with thee, and live shall thy soul:
21 But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word which Jehovah has shewn to me, — 22 Behold, even all the women who remain in the house of the king of Judah, shall go forth to the chiefs of the king of Babylon; and behold, they shall say, “Persuaded thee and prevailed over thee have thy familiar friends; fixed are thy feet in the mire, turned backward.”
23 And all thy wives and thy children shall they bring out to the Chaldeans, and thou shalt not escape from their hand, for by the hand of the king of Babylon shalt thou be taken, and this city wilt thou burn with fire.
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die:
25 But if the princes hear that I have spoken with thee, and come to thee and say to thee, Tell us now what thou hast spoken to the king, hide nothing from us, and we will not kill thee, and what the king hath said to thee;
26 Then shalt thou say to them, I humbly prayed the king that he would not make me to return to the house of Jonathan to die there.
27 And all the princes came to Jeremiah and asked him; and he told them according to those words which the king had commanded; and they said no more, for the conversation had not been heard.
28 And Jeremiah dwelt in the court of the prison to the day when Jerusalem was taken: and it happened according to what he had said that Jerusalem was taken.
1 In the ninth year of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon and 2 All his army to Jerusalem, and besieged it; in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth of the month, the city was broken into;
3 And all the chiefs of the king of Babylon entered and sat in the middle gate, even Nergal-sharezar, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, and the rest of the chiefs of the king of Babylon.
4 And it was that when Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and all the men of war, saw them, they fled and went forth from the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and went forth by the way of the desert.
5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them, and took Zedekiah in the desert of Jericho; and they took him and brought him to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, to Riblah, in the land of Hamath, and he dealt judicially with him.
6 And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes; and all the nobles of Judah did the king of Babylon slay:
7 And he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with chains, to bring him to Babylon.
8 And the house of the king, and the houses of the people, the Chaldeans burned with fire, and the walls of Jerusalem they pulled down:
9 But the residue of the people who had remained in the city, and the deserters who had gone over to him, even the residue of the people who had been left, Nebuzar-adan, the prince of the executioners, removed to Babylon.
10 But the poor of the people, who had nothing, Nebuzar-adan, the prince of the executioners, left in the land of Judah, and gave them in that day vineyards and fields.
11 Now Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had given a charge respecting Jeremiah by Nebuzar-adan, the prince of the executioners, saying, 12 Take him, and set thine eyes on him, and do him no harm; but as he shall say to thee do thou to him.
13 And Nebuzar-adan, the prince of the executioners, sent, and Nebushasban, Rab-saris and Nergal-sharezar, Rab-mag, and all the chiefs of the king of Babylon, 14 Yea, they sent and took Jeremiah from the court of the prison, and delivered him to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to lead him home; and so he dwelt among the people.
15 But the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah when he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying, 16 Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold I bring my words on this city for evil and not for good; and they shall be before thy face that day:
17 But I will deliver thee in that day, saith Jehovah, and thou shalt not be delivered into the hand of the men, the face of whom thou fearest;
18 For I will surely rescue thee, by the sword thou shalt not fall, and thy life shall be for a prey to thee, because thou hast trusted in me, saith Jehovah.
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, after Nebuzaradan, the prince of the executioners, had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him; for he had been bound with chains among all the captivity of Jerusalem and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon.
2 But the prince of the executioners took Jeremiah, and said to him, — 3 Jehovah thy God hath spoken this evil as to this place: and Jehovah hath brought it and done as he had spoken, because ye have sinned against Jehovah and hearkened not to his voice; therefore hath this evil come upon you.
4 Now, as to thee, be- hold, I have loosed thee this day from the chains which were on thine hands; if it be good in thine eyes to come to Babylon, come, and I will set mine eyes on thee; but if it be evil in thine eyes to come to Babylon, forbear: behold, the whole land is before thee; according to what is good and right in thine eyes to go, thither go.
5 (And he had not yet returned,) return then to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath set over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people, or go to whatever place it seemeth good in thine eyes to go. And the prince of the executioners gave him meat and a reward, and dismissed him:
6 And Jeremiah went to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, to Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people who had been left in the land.
7 When all the princes of the forces who were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had set Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, over the land, and that he had committed to him men, and women, and children, and the poor of the land, who had not been removed to Babylon;
8 Then came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth; and Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
9 And Gedaliah, the son of Shaphan, swear to them and to their men, saying, Fear not to serve the Chaldeans, but submit yourselves and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you:
10 And I, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah, to stand before the Chaldeans who may come to us; and gather ye wine, and summer-fruits, and oil, and put into your vessels, and dwell in the cities which ye have taken.
11 When also all the Jews which were in Moab, and among the children of Ammon, and in Edom, and those in all countries, heard that the king of Babylon had dismissed a remnant of Judah, and had set over them Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan;
12 Then all the Jews came from all those places whither they had been driven, yea, they came to the land of Judah, unto Gedaliah, to Mizpah; and they gathered wine and summer-fruits in great abundance.
13 And Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the leaders of the forces, who had been in the field, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, and said to him:
14 “Knowing, dost thou know that Baalis, the king of the children of Ammon, hath sent Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, to smite thy life?” But Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, believed them not.
15 And Johanan, the son of Kareah, said privately to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, I will now go and will smite Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and no one shall know: why should he smite thy life, and all Judah, who are gathered unto thee, be dispersed, and the remnant of Judah perish?
16 But Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, said to Johanan, the son of Kareah, By no means do this thing; for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.
1 And it happened in the seventh month that Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed, and the chiefs of the king, even ten men, came with him to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, to Mizpah, and did eat bread there together in Mizpah.
2 Then Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, rose up, and the ten men who were with him, and smote Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword; yea, they slew him whom the king of Babylon had set over the land:
3 And the Jews who were with him, even with Gedaliah, in Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, men of war, did Ishmael smite.
4 And it was the following day, after he had killed Gedaliah, and no man knew it, 5 That men came from Shechem, and from Shiloh, and from Samaria, fourscore, having their heads shaven, and their garments rent, and having cut themselves, with an oblation and incense, to offer them in the house of Jehovah.
6 And Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, went out from Mizpah to meet them, walking along and weeping; and it was that when he met them, he said to them, Come to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam.
7 And it was that when they had come to the midst of the city, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, slew them, nigh the middle of the trench, he and the men who were with him.
8 But ten men were found among them who said to Ishmael, Slay us not; for we have hidden stores in the field, wheat, and barley, and oil, and honey; and he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.
9 Now the trench into which Ishmael cast all the carcasses of the men whom he had smitten along with Gedaliah, was that which King Asa had made on account of Baasha, the king of Israel; this did Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, fill with the slain.
10 Then Ishmael took captive all the remnant of the people who were in Mizpah, even the king’s daughters, and all the people who had been left in Mizpah, whom Nebuzar-adan, the prince of the executioners, had committed to the care of Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam; yea, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, took them and went, that he might pass over to the children of Ammon.
11 But Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the leaders of the forces who ere with him, heard of all the evil which Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had done;
12 And they took all the men, and went forth to right with Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and found him at the great waters which are in Gibeon.
13 And it was that when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the leaders of the forces who were with him, they rejoiced:
14 And all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah, turned, and returned, and went with Johanan, the son of Kareah;
15 But Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, escaped with eight men from Johanan, and went to the children of Ammon.
16 And Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the leaders of the forces who were with him, took all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after he had smitten Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, strong men, men of war, and women, and children, and eunuchs, whom he had recovered from Gibeon;
17 And they went and dwelt in Geruth-Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, that they might proceed to enter into Egypt, 18 On account of the Chaldeans, for they feared them, because Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had smitten Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had set over the land.
1 Then came near all the leaders of the forces and Johanan, the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah, the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, 2 And said to Jeremiah the prophet, — Let our petition, we pray thee, be acceptable to thee; pray now for us to Jehovah thy God in behalf of this remnant, for we are left a few out of many, as thine eyes see us;
3 And let Jehovah thy God shew us the way in which we are to walk, and the thing which we are to do.
4 And Jeremiah said to them, I have heard; behold, I will pray to Jehovah your God according to your words; and it shall be that whatsoever word Jehovah shall answer you, I will declare it to you; I will hide nothing from you.
5 Then they said to Jeremiah, Let Jehovah be between us a faithful and true witness, except we do according to all the words which Jehovah thy God shall send to us:
6 Whether good or evil, the voice of Jehovah our God, for which we send thee to him, will we obey: for well will it be with us, when we obey the voice of Jehovah our God.
7 And it was that at the end of ten days the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah;
8 And he called Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the leaders of the forces, who were with him, and all the people, from the least to the greatest;
9 And said to them, — Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to lay humbly your prayer before him, 10 If dwelling ye will dwell in this land, then will I build you and not pull you down, and plant you and not pluck you up; for I repent of the evil which I have brought on you.
11 Fear not the face of the king of Babylon, whose face ye do fear; fear him not, saith Jehovah, for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand;
12 And I will shew mercies to you, and he will have mercy on you, and cause you to dwell in your own land.
13 But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, nor obey the voice of Jehovah your God, 14 Saying, No, but to the land of Egypt will we go, where we shall not see war, and the sound of the trumpet we shall not hear, and for bread we shall not hunger, and there will we dwell.
15 Now, therefore, hear the word of Jehovah, ye remnant of Judah, for thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, If setting ye set your face to enter into Egypt, and ye go there to sojourn, 16 Then it shall be that the sword which ye fear, shall overtake you there, even in the land of Egypt, and the famine which ye dread shall lay hold on you there, even in the land of Egypt, and there ye shall die:
17 And all the men who have set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there, shall die by the sword, or by famine, or by pestilence; and not one of them shall remain or escape from the evil which I shall bring on them.
18 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, As my wrath and mine indignation have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so mine indignation shall be poured out on you when ye go into Egypt: and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall no more see this place.
19 Jehovah hath spoken against you, ye remnant of Judah: go not into Egypt; knowing, know ye that I have made a protest to you this day.
20 For ye deceived your own souls, when ye sent me to Jehovah your God, saying, Pray for us to Jehovah our God, and according to all that Jehovah our God shall say, so declare to us and we will do so.
21 And I have declared to you this day, but ye have not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah your God, and according to all the things for which he hath sent me to you.
22 And now knowing, know ye, that by the sword and by famine and by pestilence shall ye die in the place to which ye desire to go, that ye may sojourn there.
1 And it was that when Jeremiah had finished to speak to all the people all the words of Jehovah their God, for which Jehovah their God had sent him to them all, even for these words, 2 Then Azariah, the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, said, speaking to Jeremiah, Falsehood dost thou speak; Jehovah our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not to Egypt to sojourn there;
3 But Baruch, the son of Neriah, rouses thee against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, to slay us and to remove us to Babylon.
4 So Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the leaders of the forces and the whole people, did not hearken to the voice of Jehovah, to dwell in the land of Judah:
5 But Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the leaders of the forces, took the remnant of Judah, who had returned from all the nations, to which they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah, 6 Even the men, and the women, and the children, and the king’s daughters, and every soul which Nebuzar-adan, the prince of the executioners, had left with Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son Shaphan, and with Jeremiah the prophet, and with Baruch, the son of Neriah;
7 And they went into the land of Egypt; for they did not obey the voice of Jehovah; and they came as far as Tahpanhes.
8 And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, — 9 Take in thine hand great stones, and hide them in the clay in the brick-kiln, which is by the gate of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;
10 And thou shalt say to them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will send and bring Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne on these stones, which I have hid, and he shall spread his tent over them;
11 And he shall come and smite the land of Egypt, those for death to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and those for the sword to the sword;
12 And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive, and roll up the land of Egypt as a shepherd rolls up his garment; and he shall go forth thence in peace:
13 And he shall break in pieces the statues of Beth-shemesh, which is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of Egypt shall he burn with fire.
1 The word which came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwelt in the land of Egypt, who dwelt at Migdol and at Tahpanhes, and at Memphis, even in the land of Pathros, saying, — 2 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, ye have seen all the evil which I have brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah; and behold they are a waste this day, and no one dwells in them, 3 Because of the wickedness which they had done to provoke me, by going to burn incense and to serve foreign gods, whom they had not known, neither they nor their fathers:
4 And I sent to them all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending, saying, Do not, I pray you, the thing of this abomination, which I hate;
5 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their car to turn from their wickedness and not to burn incense to foreign gods.
6 Then my indignation and my wrath were poured out and were kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste as at this day.
7 And now, thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Why do ye this great evil against your own souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, even from the midst of Judah, so as to leave you no remnant remaining, 8 To provoke me by the works of your hands, by burning incense to foreign gods in the land of Egypt, to which ye are gone to dwelt there, that ye may be cut off, and that ye may be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?
9 Have ye forgotten the evils of your fathers and the evils of the kings of Judah, and the evils of their wives, and your own evils, and the evils of your wives, which they did in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem:
10 And they have not humbled themselves to this day, nor have they feared, nor walked in my law and in my statutes, which I had set before you and before your fathers.
1 l Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I set my face against you for evil, even to cut off all Judah;
12 And I will take the remnant of Judah, who have set their face to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed in the land of Egypt; they shall fall by the sword, by famine shall they be consumed, from the least to the greatest; by the sword and by famine shall they die, and they shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach:
13 And I will visit them who dwell in Egypt, as I visited Jerusalem, with the sword, and famine, and pestilence.
14 And there shall be none to escape among the remnant of Judah who have come to sojourn here, even in the land of Egypt, and to return to the land of Judah on returning to which they set their minds to dwell there, for they shall not return except those who have escaped.
15 Then all the men answered Jeremiah, even they who knew that their wives burned incense to foreign gods, and all the women who stood by, a great company, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, saying, — 16 As to the word which thou hast spoken to us in the name of Jehovah, we will not hearken to thee;
17 But we shall do whatsoever that goeth forth from our mouth, to burn incense to the frame-work of heaven, and to pour out libations to it, as we did, we and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and we were satisfied with bread, and were happy, and saw no evil:
18 But from the time we left off to burn incense to the frame-work of heaven, and to pour out libations to it, we have been destitute of every- thing, and have been consumed by the sword and famine.
19 And when we burned incense to the frame-work of heaven, and poured out libations to it, did we without our men make cakes to it to worship it, and pour out libations to it?
20 Then said Jeremiah to all the people, to the men, and to the women, even to all the people who had returned to him the answer, saying, — 21 The incense which ye burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and all the people of the land, hath not Jehovah remembered it?
22 And hath it not come to his mind? Nay, Jehovah could no longer bear you for the wickedness of your doings, for the abominations which ye did; and reduced is your land to a waste, and is become an astonishment and a curse, as it appears at this day:
23 Because ye burned incense and sinned against Jehovah, and hearkened not to the voice of Jehovah, nor walked in his law, and statutes, and testimonies, therefore hath this evil happened to you, as it appears at this day.
24 Jeremiah said again to all the people and to all the women, — Hear the word of Jehovah, all ye Judah who are in the land of Egypt, — 25 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Ye and your wives have spoken with your mouth and fulfilled with your hands, saying, Doing we shall do our vows which we have vowed, to burn incense to the frame-work of heaven and to pour out libations to it: confirming ye will confirm your vows, and doing ye will do your vows.
26 Therefore hear the word of Jehovah, all ye Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt, Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith Jehovah, that my name shall no more be called upon by the mouth of any man of Judah, saying, “The Lord Jehovah liveth in all the land of Egypt.”
27 Behold I will watch over them for evil and not for good, and consumed shall be all the men of Judah, who are in the land of Egypt, by the sword and by famine, until they be consumed:
28 And they who shall escape from the sword and return from the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, shall be few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who have entered into the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose word shall stand, mine or theirs.
29 And this shall be a sign to you, saith Jehovah, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that standing my words shall stand against you for evil, — 30 Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will deliver Pharaoh-Hophra into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I delivered Zedekiah, the king of Judah, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, his enemy, and who sought his life.
1 The word which Jeremiah the prophet spake to Baruch, the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book from the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, saying, — 2 Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, concerning thee, O Baruch:
3 Thou hast said, Woe now to me! for Jehovah hath added grief to my sorrow; I am wearied with my sighing, and rest have I not found.
4 Thus shalt thou say to him, Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, what I builded I pull down, and what I planted I pluck up, even this whole land;
5 And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek not; for behold I am bringing evil on all flesh, saith Jehovah; and I will give thee thy life as a prey in all the places whither thou wilt go.
1 The word of Jehovah which came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning all the nations:
2 Of Egypt, concerning the army of Pharaoh-Necho, the king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates, at Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah:
3 Prepare ye the buckler and shield, And move on to battle;
4 Tie the horses, and go up, ye horsemen; Stand in your helmets, Brighten the lances, put on the coats of mail.
5 Why have I seen them broken, turned backward! Even their valiants have been smitten, And by flight have they fled and looked not back; Terror is on every side, saith Jehovah;
6 Let not the swift flee away, Nor the valiant escape: In the north, on the bank of the river Euphrates, Shall they stumble and fall.
7 Who is this that like a river riseth up, Like floods swelling, its waters!
8 Egypt like a river riseth up, And like floods swelling, its waters; For he saith, I will go up and cover the land, I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.
9 Go up, ye horses; toss, ye chariots; Go forth, ye the valiant; The Ethiopians and Lybians, who hold the shield, And the Lydians, who hold and stretch the bow.
10 But this is the day of the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, The day of vengeance, to avenge on his adversaries; And devour shall the sword and be satiated, And inebriated shall it be with their blood; For a sacrifice hath the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, In the land of the north, by the river Euphrates.
11 Go up to Gilead, and take rosin, Thou virgin, daughter of Egypt! In vain dost thou multiply medicines; There is no healing for thee.
12 Heard have the nations of thy disgrace, And by thine outcry filled is the earth; For the valiant against the valiant has stumbled, And both have fallen together.
13 The word which Jehovah spake to Jeremiah the prophet respecting the coming of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, to smite the land of Egypt:
14 Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, Publish in Noph, in Tahpanhes say, — Stand and prepare thyself, For devoured hath the sword those around thee.
15 How scattered are thy valiants! They stood not, for Jehovah hath driven them.
16 He hath multiplied; they stumbled, Yea, fell, each on his friend: And they said, “Rise, and let us return To our people, and to the land of our nativity, From the face of the wasting sword.
17 They cried there, Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, Is a king of trouble; He hath passed over the set time.
18 Live do I, saith the king, Jehovah of hosts is his name; For as Tabor is in the mountains, And as Carmel is by the sea, so will he come.
19 Thy furniture of transmigration prepare, Thou inhabitant of Egypt; For Noph shall be a solitude, Yea, it shall be wasted, without an inhabitant.
20 A beautiful heifer is Egypt; Distress from the north cometh, it cometh.
21 Her mercenaries also in the midst of her Are like the bullocks of the stall; For these also shall turn their backs, They shall flee together, they shall not stand; For the day of calamity is come upon them, The time of their visitation.
22 Her voice shall be like that of the serpent; For with power shall they come, And with axes shall they come against her, Like hewers of wood.
23 Cut down shall they thy forest, saith Jehovah, That it may not be investigated; For they have multiplied more than locusts, And they are without number.
24 Ashamed is the daughter of Egypt, Delivered into the hand of the north people.
25 Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, hath said, Behold, I will visit the multitude of No, Pharaoh also, and Egypt, And her gods and her kings, Even Pharaoh and those who trust in him;
26 And I will give them into the hand Of those who seek their life, And into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, The king of Babylon, |And into the hand of his servants: But it shall afterwards be inhabited As in days of old, saith Jehovah.
27 But fear not thou, my servant Jacob, Nor be thou, Israel, broken in mind; For behold, I will save thee from far, And thy seed from the land of their captivity: Yea, return shall Jacob, and rest, And be secure, and none will terrify him.
28 Fear thou not, my servant Jacob, Saith Jehovah, for I am with thee; For I will make an end of all the nations To which I have driven thee; But of thee will I not make an end: Yet I will chastise thee in moderation, And will not wholly cut thee off.
1 The word of Jehovah which came to Jeremiah the prophet, concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh smote Gaza:
2 Thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, waters ascend from the north, And they shall be an overflowing flood, And shall overflow the land and all in it, The city and its inhabitants; And cry aloud shall all men, And howl shall every inhabitant of the land.
3 For the noisy sound of the hoofs of his steeds, For the commotion of his chariots, For the rumbling of his wheels, Not look shall fathers to their children, On account of the feebleness of their hands;
4 Because of the day which is come, To destroy all the Philistines, To cut off Tyre and Sidon, All the residue of their strength; For Jehovah lays waste the Philistines, The remnant of the island of Caphtor.
5 Come is baldness on Gaza, Destroyed is Ashkelon; The remnant of their valley! How long wilt thou rend thyself?
6 Ah! sword of Jehovah! How long wilt not thou rest? Hide thyself in thy scabbard, rest and be still.
7 How canst thou rest? since Jehovah Hath commanded it against Ashkelon, And against the shore of the sea; There hath he appointed it.
1 Concerning Moab: Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, — Woe upon Nebo! for it is laid waste, Ashamed, taken is Kiriathaim; Ashamed is Misgab and dismayed.
2 No more shall be the boasting of Moab over Heshbon; They have consulted an evil against her, — “Come and let us cut her off from being a nation.” Also Madmen, thou shalt be cut off, After thee shall go the sword.
3 The sound of a cry from Horonaim! A waste and great destruction!
4 Distressed is Moab; A cry have her little ones made to be heard.
5 For in the ascent to Luhith, With weeping shall ascend weeping; For in the descent to Horonaim, The enemies a cry of distress shall hear:
6 Flee ye, save your lives; And ye shall be as the juniper in the desert, 7 Therefore, because thy confidence Was in thy works and in thy treasures, Even thou shalt be taken: And go forth shall Chemosh into captivity, His priests and his princes together.
8 And come shall a waster to every city, Nor shall a city escape; Perish also shall the valley, And destroyed shall be the plain, As Jehovah hath spoken.
9 Give wings to Moab, For flying she shall fly, And her cities shall be a waste, That there will be none to inhabit them.
10 Cursed is he who doeth the work of Jehovah deceitfully, And cursed is he who restrains his sword from blood.
11 Quiet has been Moab from his childhood, And hath settled on his dregs, And hath not been changed from vessel to vessel, And to captivity he hath not gone: Therefore remained has his flavor in him, And his odor was not changed.
12 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, saith Jehovah, That I will send to him drivers, Who will drive him out; And his vessels will they empty, And his bottles will they scatter:
13 And ashamed will be Moab of Chemosh, As ashamed was the house of Israel of Bethel, The object of their confidence.
14 How say ye, “We are valiant, and men strong for war:”
15 Wasted is Moab, and from his cities they have vanished, And his young men have descended to the slaughter, Saith the King, Jehovah of hosts is his name.
16 Nigh is the destruction of Moab to come, And her calamity greatly hastens. Be ye moved for him all who are around him, And all ye who know his name, say, — “How has the strong staff been broken, the beautiful rod!”
17 Come down from glory, and dwell in thirst, Thou inhabitant, the daughter of Dibon!
18 For the waster of Moab comes up against thee, The destroyer of thy fortresses.
19 On the way stand and look, Thou inhabitant of Aroer. Ask the fugitive, and her who has escaped, “Say, what hath happened?”
20 Ashamed is Moab, for he is broken. Howl ye, and cry out, And proclaim in Arnon that Moab is laid waste.
21 Judgment also shall come on the plain country, On Holon, and on Jahazah, and on Mephaath, 22 And on Dibon, and on Nebo, and on Beth-diblathaim, 23 And on Kiriathaim, and on Beth-gamul, and on Beth-meon, 24 And on Kerioth, and on Bozrah, And on all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near 25 Cut, off is the horn of Moab, And his strength is broken, saith Jehovah.
26 Make him drunk, for against Jehovah hath he magnified himself; And roll himself shall Moab in his own vomit; And he also shall be a derision;
27 For has not Israel been a derision to thee? Has he been found among thieves? For since thou hast spoken of him, thou hast been excited.
28 Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, Ye inhabitants of Moab: And they shall be as a dove, Which makes a nest in the passages, Beyond the mouth of the cleft.
29 Heard have we of the pride of Moab; Very proud is his haughtiness, And his pride, and the loftiness of his heart.
30 I know, saith Jehovah, his insolence, And his lies are not stable they shall not do so 31 Therefore for Moab will I howl, And to all Moab will I cry aloud; I will mutter to the men of the city of potsherd.
32 With the weeping of Jazer Will I weep for thee, vine of Sibmah: Thy shoots have passed over the sea, Even to the sea came Jazer: On thy summer-fruits and on thy vintages Has fallen a waster.
33 And taken away shall be joy and exultation, From the fruitful field, from the land of Moab; And the wine from the presses will I make to cease: He will not tread with shouting, shouting, There will not be shouting.
34 At the cry of Heshbon, to Elealeh, to Jahaz, Will they send forth their voice, From Zoar to Horonaim; An heifer three years old is Moab; Verily even the waters of Nimrim shall be dried up.
35 And I will cause to cease from Moab, saith Jehovah, Him who offers on the high place, And who burns incense to his gods 36 Therefore my heart for Moab Shall make a sound like pipes, And my heart for the men of the city of potsherd Like pipes shall make a sound; For the treasures he had made have perished.
37 For on every head shall be baldness, And to every beard, a shaving, And on all hands, incisions, and on loins, sackcloth.
38 On all the roofs of Moab, And in all her streets, shall be mourning altogether; For I will break Moab like a vessel In which there is no pleasure, saith Jehovah.
39 How Moab is broken! they will howl; How has he turned his back! he is ashamed: Yea, Moab is become a derision, And a terror to all around.
40 For thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, as an eagle will he fly, And extend his wings over Moab:
41 Taken are the cities, the strongholds are seized, And the heart of the men of Moab shall be in that day As the heart of a woman in distress.
42 And broken shall Moab be, so as not to be a people, Because against Jehovah hath he exalted himself.
43 Terror, and the pit, and the snare, shall be on thee, Inhabitant of Moab, saith Jehovah:
44 He who flies from terror shall fall into the pit, And he who ascends from the pit shall be taken in the snare; For I will bring upon her, upon Moab, The year of their visitation, saith Jehovah.
45 Under the shadow of Heshbon shall they stand, Who from violence shall flee: But fire shall go forth from Heshbon, And a flame from the midst of Sihon; And it shall consume the corner of Moab, And the extremities of the sons of tumult.
46 Woe to thee, Moab! Perished have the people of Chemosh! For driven have been thy sons into captivity, And thy daughters into exile.
47 But I will restore the captivity of Moab In the latter days, saith Jehovah. Thus far the judgment of Moab.
1 Concerning the children of Ammon: Thus saith Jehovah, — Hath Israel no children? hath he no heir? Why doth their king inherit Gad, And his people dwell in its cities?
2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, saith Jehovah, That I will cause to be heard the trumpet of war At Rabbah, of the children of Ammon; And she shall be a heap of desolation, And her daughters shall be burned with fire, And possess his possessors shall Israel, saith Jehovah.
3 Howl thou, Heshbon, for laid waste is Ai; Cry aloud, ye daughters of Rabbah. Gird on sackcloth, lament, Run here and there by the fences; For their king, into captivity is he gone, And his priests and his princes with him.
4 Why gloriest thou in thy deep valleys? Flown down has thy valley, rebellious daughter! Who trusted in her hidden places, Saying, Who can come to me?
5 Behold, I will bring on thee terror, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, from all around thee; And ye shall be driven out, each one before him, And there will be none to gather the dispersed.
6 But I will afterwards restore The captivity of the children of Ammon, saith Jehovah.
7 Concerning Edom: Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — Is there not wisdom any more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the intelligent? Overflowing has been their wisdom!
8 Flee, ye inhabitants of Dedan, Who have turned and made deep your dwelling; For the ruin of Esau will I bring on him, At the time of his visitation.
9 If vintagers had come to thee, Would they not have left some grapes? If thieves in the night, would they not have destroyed What would suffice them?
10 But I will uncover Esau, I will disclose his hidden things, So that he cannot be concealed: Plundered shall be his seed, And his brethren and his neighbors; And he shall be no more.
11 Leave thy orphans, I will nourish them; And thy widows, let them trust in me.
12 For thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, those to whom it was not their judgment To drink the cup, shall surely drink, And shalt thou be exempted? Thou shalt not be exempted, For drinking thou shalt drink it.
13 For I have by myself sworn, saith Jehovah, That a waste, a reproach, a desert, And a curse, shall Bozrah become; And all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.
14 A hearing have we heard from Jehovah, And a messenger to the nations has been sent, — “Be ye gathered and come against her, And rise ye up to the battle.”
15 For behold, small made I thee among the nations, Contemptible among men:
16 Deceived thee has thy terror, the pride of thine heart; Thou who dwellest in the fissures of rocks, Who occupiest the heights of mountains: Though thou raisest high, as an eagle, thy nest, Thence will I draw thee down, saith Jehovah.
17 And Edom shall become a waste; Every one passing by her shall be astonished, And shall hiss on account of all her strokes.
18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah And of their neighboring cities, saith Jehovah, Dwell there shall no man, Nor shall a son of man abide there.
19 Behold, as a lion from the swelling of Jordan, Will he ascend to the habitation of strength: After having made him to rest, I will make him flee from her; And who is the chosen one whom I shall set over her? For who is as I am? And who will protest against me? And who is the shepherd that before me will stand?
20 Therefore, hear ye the counsel of Jehovah, Which he hath counseled against Edom, And his thoughts which he hath thought Against the inhabitants of Teman; Surely draw them forth shall the least of the flock, Surely destroyed over them shall be their dwellings.
21 At the sound of their fall, tremble shall the earth, The cry of their voice shall at the Red Sea be heard.
22 Behold, as an eagle will he ascend and fly, And will spread his wings over Bozrah; And the heart of the valiant men of Edom in that day Shall be like the heart of a sorrowful woman.
23 Concerning Damascus: Ashamed is Hamath and Arpad; Because they heard a bad report, they melt away, Like a turbulent sea which cannot rest.
24 Weakened is Damascus, she turns to flight, Terror hath laid hold on her, Anguish and pangs have seized her, As a woman in travail.
25 How is not forsaken the city of praise — The city of my joy?
26 Yet fall shall her young men in her streets, And all the men of war shall be cut off In that day, saith Jehovah of Hosts.
27 For I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, And it shall consume the palaces of Ben-hadad.
28 Concerning Kedar, and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had smitten: Thus saith Jehovah, — Arise ye, ascend against Kedar, And destroy the children of the east.
29 Their tents and their flocks shall they take away, And their curtains and all their vessels; Their camels also shall they take to themselves, And they shall cry to them, “Terror is on every side.”
30 Flee ye, depart far away, (Though deep have they made to dwell The inhabitants of Hazor, saith Jehovah; ) For consulted against you hath Nebuchadnezzar, The king of Babylon, a counsel, And he hath purposed against you a purpose.
31 Arise ye, ascend against a secure nation, That dwelleth in confidence, saith Jehovah; It hath neither gates nor bars, it dwelleth alone.
32 And their camels shall became a prey, And the abundance of their cattle a plunder; And I will scatter them to every wind, Even the utmost corners; And from all the sides thereof Will I bring their destruction, saith Jehovah.
33 And Hazor shall be the habitation of dragons, A perpetual desolation; Dwell there shall no man, Nor shall a son of man abide in her.
34 The word which came to Jeremiah, the prophet, against Elam, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, saying:
35 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, The chief part of their strength;
36 And I will bring against Elam four winds From the four quarters of the heavens; And I will scatter them to these four winds, And there shall not be a nation To which some fugitives from Elam shall not come.
37 For I will terrify Elam before their enemies, And before those who seek their life; And I will bring on them the evil Of the indignation of my wrath, saith Jehovah; And I will send after them the sword Until I shall have consumed them;
38 And I will erect my throne in Elam, And destroy thence the king and the princes, saith Jehovah.
89 But it shall be in the latter days That I will restore the captivity of Elam, saith Jehovah.
1 The word which Jehovah spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet:
2 Tell ye among the nations, proclaim, Raise up also a banner, proclaim, conceal not; Say ye, “Taken is Babylon, Confounded is Bel, broken is Merodach, Confounded are her images, broken are her idols.”
3 For ascend against her shall a nation from the north, Which will turn her land to a waste, So that there will be no dweller in it, man or beast; They have fled, they have departed.
4 In those days and at that time, saith Jehovah, Come shall the children of Israel And the children of Judah together; Going and weeping they shall come, And Jehovah their God will they seek.
5 To Sion will they ask the way, hither their faces, — “Come ye and let us join ourselves to Jehovah, By a perpetual covenant, not to be forgotten.”
6 A lost sheep have been my people; Their pastors have made them to wander; On the mountains they strayed, From mountain to hill they went, They forgot the place of their lying down.
7 All who found them devoured them, And their adversaries said, “We sin not, Because they have sinned against Jehovah, The habitation of justice, And the hope of their fathers, even Jehovah.”
8 Flee ye from the midst of Babylon, And from Chaldea go forth, And be as he-goats before the flock.
9 For, behold, I will rouse and bring against Babylon, An assembly of great nations from the land of the north, And they shall set in order against her; Thence taken will she be; Their arrows, like those of a skillful valiant man, They shall not return in vain.
10 And Chaldea shall be a prey, And all who plunder her shall be satiated, saith Jehovah, 11 Surely ye rejoiced and exulted When ye plundered mine heritage; Ye became fat as a heifer well fed, And neighed like strong horses.
12 Ashamed greatly shall be your mother, Blush shall she who bare you; Behold, the last of nations shall she be, A desert, a waste, a solitude!
13 Because of the indignation of Jehovah She shall not be inhabited, And shall be an entire waste; All who pass by Babylon shall be astonished, And shall hiss for all her strokes.
14 Set in order against Babylon around; All ye who bend the bow, Shoot at her, spare not the arrows, For against Jehovah hath she sinned.
15 Cry ye aloud against her around; She hath given her hand, Fallen have her foundations, Demolished have been her walls, Because it is the vengeance of Jehovah; Vengeance take ye on her; as she has done, do to her.
16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, And him who handles the sickle in the time of harvest: From the face of the wasting sword Every one shall look to his own people, Every one to his own land shall flee.
17 A scattered flock hath Israel been, Lions have driven him out; The first who devoured him was the king of Assyria, And this last hath broken his bones, Even Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.
18 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel — Behold, I will visit the king of Babylon and his land, As I visited the king of Assyria:
19 And I will restore Israel to his folds, And he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, And on mount Ephraim and Gilead; And satisfied shall be his soul.
20 In those days and at that time, saith Jehovah, Sought will be the iniquity of Israel, and there will be none; And the sin of Judah, and it shall not be found: For I will pardon those whom I shall reserve.
21 On the land of the exasperating ascend, And against the inhabitants of visitation, Slay and destroy after them, saith Jehovah; And do all that I have commanded thee.
22 A sound of battle in the land and a great ruin!
23 Now has the hammer of the whole earth Been cut off and broken in pieces! How has Babylon become a waste among the nations!
24 I set a snare for thee, therefore taken wert thou, Babylon, though thou knewest not: Thou wept found, and hence taken, Because against Jehovah thou didst contend.
25 Opened hath Jehovah his treasure, And brought forth the instruments of his wrath; For this is the work of the Lord, the Jehovah of hosts, In the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come ye against her from the extremity, Open her repositories, tread her as heaps, Destroy her wholly, that there may be to her no remnant.
27 Slay all her bullocks, Let them descend to the slaughter Woe to them, for their day is come, The time of their visitation.
28 The voice of these who flee and escape From the land of Babylon! To announce in Sion the vengeance of Jehovah our God, The vengeance of his temple.
29 Summon against Babylon the mighty, All who bend the bow; Besiege her around, that there may be no escape; Render to her according to her work, According to all she has done, do ye to her; For against Jehovah has she acted proudly, Against the Holy One of Israel.
30 Therefore fall shall her young men in her streets, And all her men of war shall be destroyed In that day, saith Jehovah.
31 Behold, I am against thee, the proud one, Saith the Lord, the Jehovah of hosts; For come is thy day, the time of thy visitation.
32 And stumble shall the proud and fall, And there will be no one to raise him up; And I will kindle a fire in his cities, And it shall consume all round him.
33 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — Oppressed have been the children of Israel And the children of Judah together; And all who led them captives have prevailed against them, They have refused to let them go.
34 Their Redeemer is strong, Jehovah of hosts is his name, Their cause pleading he will plead, So as to destroy the land, And to make to tremble the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 A sword on the Chaldeans, saith Jehovah! And on all the inhabitants of Babylon! And on all her princes and on her wise men!
36 A sword on her diviners! and they shall become foolish; A sword on her valiant men! and they shall be terrified;
37 A sword on her horses! and on her chariots! And on her multitude, in the midst of her! They shall be as women; A sword on her treasures! and they shall be plundered;
38 A drought on her waters! and they shall be dried up: For it is the land of carved images, And in idols they glory.
39 Therefore dwell there shall wild birds with wild beasts, And dwell there shall the daughters of ostriches; And it shall not be inhabited any more for ever; It shall not be an habitation to all generations.
40 As in God’s overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, And of their neighboring cities, saith Jehovah, Dwell there shall no man, For shall a son of man abide there.
41 Behold, a people cometh from the north, Even a great nation and many kings Shall be roused from the sides of the earth.
42 On the bow and the shield shall they lay hold, Cruel shall they be, and will shew no mercy; Their voice like the sea shall roar, And on horses shall they ride, Prepared as a man for battle Against thee, daughter of Babylon.
43 Heard has the king of Babylon a report of them, And feeble became his hands; Anxiety laid hold on him, And anguish, like a woman in travail.
44 Behold, as a lion from the swelling of Jordan Will he ascend to the strong habitation: After having made him to rest, I will make him flee from her; And who is the chosen one whom I shall set over her? For who is as I am? And who will protest against me? And who is the shepherd that before me will stand?
45 Therefore hear ye the counsel of Jehovah, Which he hath counseled against Babylon; And his thoughts which he has thought Against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely draw them forth shall the least of the flock, Surely destroyed over them shall be their dwellings.
46 At the sound of Babylon being taken, tremble shall the earth, And a cry among the nations shall be heard.
1 Thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, I will raise a destroying wind against Babylon, And against boasters of wisdom, my adversaries;
2 And I will send against Babylon winnowers, And they shall winnow her and empty her land; For they shall be against her around in the day of evil.
3 As to him who bends the bow, And him who raises himself up in his coat of mail, — Spare ye not her young men, Destroy all her army
4 And fall shall they wounded, in her land, And pierced through in her streets.
5 For not widowed is Israel, nor Judah By his God, by Jehovah of hosts: But rather their land is filled with sin On account of the Holy One of Israel.
6 Flee ye from the midst of Babylon, And save ye, every one his life, Lest ye perish in her iniquity; For it is the time of Jehovah’s vengeance, A reward will he render to her 7 A golden cup has Babylon been In Jehovah’s hand, inebriating the whole earth; From her wine have the nations drunk, Therefore have the nations become mad.
8 Suddenly has Babylon fallen, and is broken; Howl ye for her, take rosin for her wound, It may be that she can be healed!
9 We have tried to heal Babylon, But she was not healed; Leave her, and let us depart, Every one to his own land; For to the heavens has reached her judgment And has risen up to the clouds.
10 Brought forth has Jehovah our righteousness; Come ye and let us declare in Sion The work of Jehovah our God.
11 Polish the arrows, prepare the shields, Rouse will Jehovah the spirit of the kings of Media; For as to Babylon his thought is to destroy her. For it is Jehovah’s vengeance, the vengeance of his temple.
12 On the wails of Babylon raise the standard, Increase the watch, set the watchmen, Set in order the ambushes: For as Jehovah has thought, so will he do What he hath spoken concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 Thou that dwellest among great waters, Who aboundest in treasures, Come is thine end, the measure of thy cupidity.
14 Sworn hath Jehovah by himself, — Surely I will fill thee with men as with locusts, Who will shout over thee with the vintageshouting, — 15 (Even) he who made the earth by his power, Who hath constituted the world by his wisdom, And by his knowledge extended the heavens, 16 At whose voice there is abundance of waters in the heavens, Who raises vapors from the extremity of the earth, Who makes the lightnings and the rain, And brings out the wind from his treasures.
17 Infatuated is every man become by his knowledge, Put to shame shall be every founder by the graven image, For a lie is the molten image, And there is no breath in them:
18 Vanity are they, the work of illusions; At the time of their visitation they shall perish.
19 Not like these is the portion of Jacob; For the former of all things is He, And the rod of his inheritance is Israel; Jehovah of hosts is his name.
20 A hammer hast thou been to me, weapons of war; And by thee have I broken nations in pieces, And by thee destroyed kingdoms:
21 Yea, by thee have I broken in pieces The horses and their riders, And by thee have I broken in pieces The chariots and their riders2 22 And by thee have I broken in pieces Men and women, And by thee have I broken in pieces Old men and children, And by thee have I broken in pieces Young men and maidens, 23 And by thee have I broken in pieces The shepherds and their flocks, And by thee have I broken in pieces The husbandmen and their yokes of oxen, And by thee have I broken in pieces The captains and the rulers.
24 But I will render to Babylon And to all the inhabitants of Chaldea, All the evils which they have done in Sion, Before your eyes, saith Jehovah.
25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith Jehovah, Which destroyest all the earth; And I will extend my hand over thee, And will roll thee down from the rocks, And will make thee a burnt mountain:
26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, Nor a stone for foundations; For perpetual wastes shalt thou be, saith Jehovah.
27 Raise a banner in the land, Sound a trumpet among the nations, Prepare the nations against her, Assemble against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Of Minni and of Ashkenaz; Set up against her a leader, Bring forth the horse as the horrible locust;
28 Prepare against her the nations, The kings of Media, her captains and her princes, And all the land of its dominion.
29 And tremble shall the land and be in pain, For confirmed as to Babylon shall be the thoughts of Jehovah: To set the land of Babylon a waste, So as to have no inhabitant.
30 Ceased have the valiant men of Babylon to fight, They sat down in their fortresses; Fail did their valor, they became women, Burnt were her dwellings, broken her bars.
31 A runner to meet a runner ran, And a messenger to meet a messenger, To announce to the king of Babylon That taken was the city at its extremity;
32 And the fords were taken, And the pools were burnt with fire, And the men of war were broken in pieces.
33 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, — The daughter of Babylon shall be like a threshing-floor, (Come will) the time of treading her; Yet a little while and come will her harvest.
34 Devoured me, broken me in pieces, Hath Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon; He hath set me an empty vessel, He hath swallowed me like a dragon, He hath filled his belly with my delicacies, He hath cast me off.
35 My plunder and my flesh be on Babylon, Shall the inhabitant of Sion say; My blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea, Shall Jerusalem say.
36 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, I will plead thy cause, And avenge thy vengeance, For I will make dry her sea, And will dry up her fountain:
37 And Babylon shall become heaps An habitation of dragons, A wonder and a hissing, without an inhabitant.
38 They will roar as lions, They will roar as whelps of lions.
39 In their heat will I make their feasts, And make them drunk, that they may exult And sleep a perpetual sleep, And not awake, saith Jehovah.
40 I will bring them as lambs to the slaughter, As rams and hegoats.
41 How has Sheshach been taken! And captured, the praise of the whole land! How has Babylon become a waste among nations!
42 Come up over Babylon has the sea, With the multitude of its waves is she covered.
43 Her cities shall be a waste, And a land of desert, and a land of drought, Pass through it shall no man, And dwell in it shall no son of man.
44 And I will visit Bel in Babylon; And I will draw what he hath swallowed out of his month: And flow to him together shall nations no more: Even the wall of Babylon hath fallen.
45 Go out from the midst of her, my people, And save ye, every one his life, From the indignation of Jehovah’s wrath.
46 And let not faint be your heart, And fear ye not the rumor heard in the land; Come in one year shall a rumor, And afterwards in another year, a rumor; — And violence shall be in the land, And a ruler after a ruler.
47 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, That I will visit the images of Babylon; And her whole land shall be ashamed, And all her slain, they shall fall in the midst of her.
48 And rejoice over Babylon shall heaven and earth, And all the things that are in them; When from the north shall come to her Destroyers, saith Jehovah.
49 As Babylon made to fall the slain of Israel, So for Babylon they shall fall, the slain of all the land.
50 Ye who have escaped from the sword, Depart, stand not still; From afar remember Jehovah, And let Jerusalem come to your minds.
51 We are ashamed, because we have heard reproach; Shame hath covered our faces, because strangers came Into the sanctuaries of the house of Jehovah.
52 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, saith Jehovah, That I will visit her graven images, And in the whole land groan shall the wounded.
53 Though Babylon ascended into heaven, And though in the height she fortified her strength, From me would come to her wasters, saith Jehovah.
54 The voice of a cry from Babylon! And a great crashing from the land of the Chaldeans!
55 For Jehovah will lay waste Babylon, And will destroy from her the voice of boasting: And sound shall their waves like great waters, Sent forth shall be the sound of their voice.
56 For come to her, to Babylon, is a waster, And taken are her valiant men, Broken is their bow; For the God of retributions is Jehovah, Recompensing he will recompense.
57 And I will inebriate her princes and her wise men, And her captains, and her rulers, and her valiant men: And they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, And shall not awake, saith the King, Whose name is Jehovah of hosts.
58 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — The wall of Babylon, though wide, Shall yet surely be demolished; And her gates, though high, Shall yet be consumed with fire: Thus labored have the people for nothing, And the nations for the fire, and wearied themselves.
59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah, the son of Neraiah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went for Zedekiah, the king of Judah, to Babylon, in the fourth year of 60 his reign; and Seraiah was a quiet prince: and Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come on Babylon, even all 61 These words which had been written against Babylon; and Jeremiah said to Seraiah, — “When thou comest to Babylon and hast seen it, then read 62 All these words, and say, — ‘O Jehovah, thou hast spoken against this place, to destroy it, so that there should be no inhabitant in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall become perpetual desolations.’ 63 And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt tie a stone 64 To it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, and shalt say, — ‘Thus sink shall Babylon, and shall not rise from the evil which I shall bring on her, though they may weary themselves.’ Thus far the words of Jeremiah.
1 Twenty-one years old was Zedekiah when he began to reign, and eleven years reigned he in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
2 And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all the things which Jehoiakim had done:
3 And on account of the indignation of Jehovah against Jerusalem and Judah, until he cast them away from his presence, Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
4 And it was in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it, and built against it a fortress on every side.
5 And the city was besieged till the eleventh year of Zedekiah.
6 In the fourth month, on the ninth of the month, the famine prevailed in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land:
7 And the city was broken in upon, and all the men of war fled, and went out of the city by night, by the way of the gate, between two walls, which were near the king’s garden; (and the Chaldeans were near the city around:) and they went out by the way of the desert.
8 And the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they took Zedekiah in the deserts of Jericho; for all his army were scattered from him.
9 They then took the king, and brought him to the king of Babylon in Riblah, to the land of Hamath; who pronounced judgment upon him.
10 And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; and all the princes of Judah he also slew in Riblah:
11 But he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with chains; And the king of Babylon brought him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day in which he died.
12 Now, in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, (that year was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon,) Nebuzar-adan, the prince of the soldiers, who stood before the king of Babylon, came into Jerusalem, 13 And burnt the house of Jehovah and the house of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house he burnt with fire:
14 And all the walls of Jerusalem around they destroyed, even the whole army of the Chaldeans, which was with the prince of the soldiers.
15 And some of the poor of the people and the rest of the people who had remained in the city, and the fugitives who had fled over to the king of Babylon, and the remainder of the multitude, Nebuzar-adan, the prince of the soldiers, led away captive.
16 But some of the poor of the land, Nebuzar-adan, the prince of the soldiers, left to be vinedressers and husbandmen.
17 And the brass pillars which were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the brazen sea which was in the house of Jehovah, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried away all their brass to Babylon.
18 The pots also, and the shovels and the snuffers and the basons and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass, with which they ministered, they took away.
19 And the dishes and the pans and the basons and the pots and the candlesticks and the spoons and the bowls, some of which were all of gold and some were all of silver, the prince of the soldiers took away.
20 The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve oxen of brass, which were under the bases which Solomon had made in the house of Jehovah, there was no weight as to the brass of all these vessels.
21 As to the pillars, the height of each pillar was eighteen cubits, and a thread of twelve cubits surrounded it, and its thickness was four fingers; it was hollow.
22 And the chapiter which was over it was brass, and the height of one chapiter was five cubits, and net-work and pomegranates were on the chapiter around; all these were of brass; and like these were the second pillar and the pomegranates.
23 And there were pomegranates, ninety-six on one side; all the pomegranates on the net-work around were one hundred.
24 The prince of the soldiers took away also Seraiah, the chief priest, and Zephaniah, the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:
25 And from the city he took away one eunuch, who had been set over the men of war: and seven men of those who attended the king, who were found in the city, and a scribe, the chief of the army, who gathered to the army the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the midst of the city.
26 And Nebuzar-adan, the prince of the soldiers, took them away and brought them to the king of Babylon in Riblah:
27 And the king of Babylon smote them and slew them in Riblah, in the land of Hamath; and he removed Judah from his own land.
28 These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Jews;
29 In the eighteenth of Nebuchadnezzar, he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred and thirty-two souls;
30 In the three-and-twentieth year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, the prince of the soldiers, carried away Jews, seven hundred and forty-five souls; — all the souls were four thousand and six hundred.
31 And it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, that Evil-merodach, the king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, and brought him forth from prison;
32 And he spake 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 garments, and ate bread before him always, all the days of his life.
34 And his portion, a perpetual portion was given him by the king of Babylon every day, until the day he died, all the days of his life.
PRAISE TO GOD.
FOOTNOTES
ftE121 Rather “make.” The verb ˆtn, to give, means often to make, to constitute; and such is its meaning evidently here. As the figs were bad, unfit for eating; so God would make Zedekiah, the princes, etc., like them. The previous words, “yea, thus saith Jehovah,” would be better included in a parenthesis: 8. But like the bad figs, which cannot be eaten, they being so bad, (yea, thus saith Jehovah,) so will I make Zedekiah, etc. — Ed.
ftE122 “Vexation,” as rendered by the Vulg., and in several places in our version, is the best word. The word which follows is of a similar import, “for evil,” that is, annoyance. The verse is as follows, — 9. And I will make them a vexation, an evil, To all the kingdoms of the earth, — A reproach and a proverb, A taunt and an execration, In all the places where I shall drive them.
The word for “taunt” is rendered in other places “a byword:” it denotes what is sharp and cutting. They were to be objects and subjects of these things. Being a vexation and an evil, or an annoyance to others, they would become objects of reproach and execration, and subjects of proverbs and of taunts. See a note on Jeremiah 15:4; vol. 2 — Ed.
ftE123 The “sword” means war, and by war they were led captive. But their consumption in captivity is not what is here related; but their removal from their own land, and the means employed for that purpose. He had spoken before of what they would become in exile; but here he goes back as it were to describe their misery at the time of their captivity; they would be removed from their own land either by captivity, signified by the sword, or by famine, or by pestilence. — Ed.
ftE124 This is not quite correct: the verbs are not the same, though in some moods and tenses they are formed the same; the one is bç, and the other is bçy — Ed.
ftE125 “Over or on the land,” etc., rather than “against;” for it is literally, “I will cause them to come over this land,” etc. So is the Vulg. — Ed.
ftE126 The three words are by the Sept. and Arab. rendered “extinction — hissing — perpetual reproach;” by the Vulg., “astonishment — hissing — perpetual solitudes;” by the Targ., “waste — astonishment — perpetual desolations;” and by the Syr., “astonishment — hissing — waste for ever.” The first word, hmç, means first, waste or desolation, and then what waste occasions, wonder or astonishment. It evidently means the latter here, as desolation is expressed by the last word; it is so rendered by the Vulg. the Syr., and in our version and by Blayney and others. The two words are again found together in the eleventh verse. Here the order, as often is the case, is inverted; the effect is first mentioned, then the cause: the cause of astonishment and hissing would be the desolations. — Ed.
ftE127 As this verse is connected with the foregoing, the w would be better rendered for, — 10. For I will make to cease from among them The voice of exultation and the voice of joy, The voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, The voice of the millstone, and the light of the lamp.
The time for grinding was the morning; the earliest thing in the morning was this work, and was done every day. The time for the light of the lamp was the evening; when this disappears, it is an evidence that there are no inhabitants. — Ed.
ftE128 As the first word means waste or desolation, and means nothing else, and as the second word means astonishment as well as desolation, the rendering of our version, and of Calvin, must be right. As it is commonly the case, their order is here inverted, being different from the order in which they are found in verse ninth. — Ed.
ftE129 Had the book been intended, the rça, which, would have been followed by a pronoun after the verb with the preposition b, in, prefixed to it; for this is the idiom of the language. All the versions render the phrase, “whatever Jeremiah prophesied,” etc. — Ed.
ftE130 A reference to Jeremiah 27:7, will enable us to understand this passage. The words are alike. “Many nations and great kings” in that verse mean the conquerors of the king of Babylon; and so they mean the same here, no doubt. “All the nations” in the preceding verse were “all the families of the north,” mentioned in Jeremiah 25:9, who were subject to the king of Babylon; and “them” at the beginning of this verse are these nations, which are here spoken of as being subjected to bondage or to servitude, while in Jeremiah 27:7, the king of Babylon himself is mentioned.
The verb rb[, when followed by b, means invariably to enslave, to reduce to bondage, to bring into subjection, or to subdue. Then the verse should be thus rendered, — For make them, even these, to serve, Shall many nations and great kings;
And I will render to them according to their work, According to the doing of their own hands. This is the meaning given by the Targ.; the Vulg. and the Syr. render the verb incorrectly, though in both the pronoun them is made to refer to the nations in the preceding verse. — Ed.
ftE131 I conceive that the sentence may be thus rendered, —
Take the cup of the wine of fury, even this, from my hand.
So do Gataker and Venema render the sentence, referring “this” to the cup and not to “fury.” The word for “fury” is heat; it means hot, boiling, or burning wrath, — rendered “fury” by the Vulg. and Syr., — “malediction” by the Targ., and “unmixed” (the cup of this unmixed wine) by the Sept. — Ed.
ftE132 Literally, “whom I send thee to them;” which the Sept. have rendered almost word for word, πρὸς a[ (έθνη)-πρὸς αὐτούς; but the first, πρὸς is not in the original. This was an attempt to transplant the peculiarity of one language to another, which is often the ease with the Septuagint. The Welsh is literally the same with the Hebrew. — Ed.
ftE133 The Versions vary as to these two verbs: the best rendering is, —
And they shall drink and reel; And they shall be distracted on account of the sword, Which I shall send among them.
Blayney’s version is nearly the same, “drink and stagger and be out of their wits;” but it is better to connect “the sword” with the latter verb only. — Ed.
ftE134 Blayney assents to this conjecture, and not without some reason: he considers that God’s words are broken off at the end of Jeremiah 25:16, and are not resumed till the latter part of Jeremiah 25:26, where God again continues his words thus,
“and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.” All the intermediate verses he includes in a parenthesis, and regards them as written either by Baruch or by the Prophet himself after the destruction of Jerusalem, when his prophecies were compiled: and this accounts for the words, “as at this day.” But Gateker rejects this view, and considers this prophecy to have been announced after the Chaldean irruption in the third or fourth year of Jehoiakim, referred to in Daniel 1:1. The devastation then produced was great, and finally completed in the reign of Zedekiah. — Ed.
ftE135 Gataker observes that servants, princes, and people are mentioned together with the king, in order to preclude every hope of escape; for the king might have been removed, and the country left without being much disturbed. — Ed.
ftE136 Venema and Blayney connect these words with the former verse, and consider that the mixed people in Egypt are meant; and this is most probable. So the Sept. “and all that are mixed with them.” The Syr. is, “and all the borders of it,” that is Egypt. The Vulg. is a paraphrase, “and the whole generally.” — Ed.
ftE137 The kings of Judah and the kings of other countries are found also mentioned; and the reason seems to be, that the calamities threatened to them did not come at once on one generation, but gradually on successive generations. Such was the case with respect to Judah, and also with other kingdoms; successive attacks were made until they were at last wholly subjugated.
As we find in Isaiah 23:2, the people of Tyre called “the inhabitants of the isle,” we may render the verse thus, — 22. And all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon, even all the kings of the isle which is by the side of the sea.
This repetition was made on account of the power and wealth of Tyre, a place thought impregnable. See Isaiah 23. — Ed.
ftE138 See Note in volume 1.
ftE139 This is not quite correct. Dedan — there are two of this name mentioned, Genesis 10:7, and Genesis 25:3; the latter is probably meant here. Tema was one of Ishmael’s race, Genesis 25:15. See also Job 6:19, and Isaiah 21:14. — Buz was one of Nachor’s posterity, Genesis 22:21; and of this family was Elihu, the most remarkable of Job’s friends; he was a Buzite. Job 32:1-6. — Ed.
ftE140 Blayney considers Zimri to be the same with Zimran, one of Abraham’s sons by Keturah, and he and his brethren were sent to “the east country.” (Genesis 25:2, 6.) The Zameroeni, mentioned by Pliny as inhabiting some part of Arabia, were probably the descendants of Zimri. — Ed.
ftE141 Both Venema and Gataker regard this as one of the vagaries of the Rabbins, though countenanced by Jerome. Various have been the reasons assigned for calling Babylon Sheshach. Some derive the word from çyç, which means in Syriac, to dwell, to rest, and consider ˚ a formative letter; and then they render it “a great habitation.” Others derive it from an Arabic root which means to be swift or to advance swiftly — the character of the sun or fire, which was deified. The third party say, that it signifies a feast, like the Saturnalian, which the Chaldeans σακέαν; for it was during a feast that Babylon was taken, so that there was thus an intimation given of this by calling him the king of this feast. See Jeremiah 51:39.
But the most probable account is that given by Gataker, that Babylon was thus called from an idol in great repute in the city, named Sheshach or Shach, and that it was on the festival of this idol that the city was taken. This accounts for this name being given to it, when its destruction is especially referred to. Mishael, which terminated with God’s name, was changed into Meschach, or rather Mishach, which contained the name of the Babylonian idol. (Daniel 1:7.) — Ed ftE142 It is better, as in Jeremiah 25:16, to connect “the sword” with this last verb: the verse then would read thus, — 27. And say thou to them, thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Drink ye and be drunken, vomit also and fall; and ye shall not rise up before the sword which I shall send among you.
The representation is, that they would be so drunken as not to keep on their legs, and that having fallen they would not be able to rise to make any resistance to the attack made upon them. — Ed ftE143 Or we may render the words literally as they are, —
Drink ye, — ye shall drink.
The first verb is an imperative, and the second is in the future tense, and may be rendered, “ye must drink,” for the future may thus be often rendered. — Ed.
ftE144 The literal rendering is, “which is called my name on it:” and the Sept. tried to imitate the Hebrew idiom by retaining “on it,” inconsistently with the Greek idiom; but the Vulg. retains the character of the Latin, and renders the phrase, “on which my name is called.” The Welsh, according to its idiom, is literally the Hebrew. — Ed.
ftE145 Literally it is, — “And ye — shall ye, being acquitted, be acquitted? ye shall not be acquitted.” The reference is to a judicial process, which is distinctly mentioned in the 31st verse (Jeremiah 25:31). — Ed.
ftE146 Or “against his habitation,” or “resting-place,” as rendered by Blayney; “his place,” is the Sept.; and ““his habitation,” is the Syr. The Vulg. is Jerome’s version. — Ed.
ftE147 This verse seems to refer only to the Jews, and the following to the nations, as to their doom. God is represented in the latter part of this verse as responding to the shout of all the nations against his own people, — Roaring he will roar against his own habitation; A shout like that of treaders of grapes Will he respond to all the inhabitants of the earth.
This rendering prevents the necessity of giving an unusual meaning to la, as it is commonly done. Coccius takes this view of the passage. — Ed.
ftE148 The terms are legal terms, —
31. Gone has the sound to the extremity of the earth; For a contention had Jehovah with the nations, Into judgment hath he entered with all flesh; The wicked — he gave them to the sword, saith Jehovah.
The past is evidently used for the future. “The sound” then was to go forth, and for the reasons here assigned, — God would have a dispute with all, would try the matter as it were by a judicial process, and would give up the condemned, the wicked, to the sword. The object of this representation is very correctly stated by Calvin. — Ed.
ftE149 This word is omitted by the Sept., and Calvin’s rendering is that of the Vulg., and it is a verb like the former in the Syr. and the Targ. On the contrary, the two words are nouns, and ought to be so rendered, — 34. Howl, ye pastors, and cry, And roll yourselves in the dust, ye illustrious of the flock, Because fulfilled are your days For the slaughter and for your dispersions; And ye shall fall like a precious vessel.
The word rpab, “in the dust,” is connected with the verb here used in Jeremiah 6:26, and in Ezekiel 27:30, and it is supplied here by the Vulg. and the Targ. The line is rendered by the Sept., — And mourn, ye rams of the flock.
But the verb has no other sense but that of rolling, though the other word may be rendered “rams,” as it is in the masculine gender.
Venema gives the following version, — Howl, ye pastors, and cry aloud, And sprinkle yourselves with dust, ye illustrious of the flock; For fulfilled are your days to be sacrificed; And there shall be your breakings, And ye shall fall like a precious vessel.
He considers the first and the fourth line as connected, and the second and the third; the pastors were to be broken, and the illustrious of the flock to be slain in sacrifice. There is certainly a congruity in the parts thus viewed. — Ed.
ftE150 So the Targ. renders the sentence, “For the Lord hath destroyed their people.” — Ed.
ftE151 The word rendered “tents” means sometimes dwellings, or habitations, and sometimes pastures; and it is thus variously translated in our version, according to what the context requires. As “pastures” are mentioned in the previous verse, tents, or habitations, would be the best word here, and more suitable to the verb that is used, which means to reduce to silence, or to level, that is, with the ground, and hence to demolish. The rendering of the Vulg. is “fields — arva,” but of the Syr. and Targ. “habitations.” Venema and Blayney have “folds,” which are probably the habitations intended. — Ed.
ftE152 Literally it is, “through the burning of the wrath of Jehovah.” The word “fury,” by which it is often rendered, is by no means suitable. The Versions vary: “the wrath of indignation” is the Sept.; “the wrath of fury” the Vulg., “boiling wrath” the Sept.; and “the fury of wrath” the Targ. The same words occur at the end of the next verse. — Ed.
ftE153 Another view is taken by many, that God is compared to a lion forsaking his covert for the sake of prey; so Crotius, Gataker, Lowth, Henry, and Adam Clarke. Scott seems to agree with Calvin’s view; which seems to be favored by what follows, “for become has their land a waste,” etc.; though this may comport also with the other view, for this may have been stated as a proof that God had gone forth as a lion seeking his prey; that is, to destroy them. — Ed.
ftE154 There are several MSS. which have brj, sword, for ˆwrj, burning or indignation, and so the Sept. and the Targ.; and “the oppressing sword,” hnwyh brj, is found in two other places in Jeremiah, 46:16, and Jeremiah 1:16. It is to be also observed, that ˆwrj is very seldom used but in connection with ãa, and we have it again in the next clause. The true reading then most probably is brj. The verse would then be as follows, — 38. Left hath he like a lion his covert; For their land hath become a desolation Through the oppressing sword, And through the burning of his wrath.
The yk might be rendered “therefore,” instead of “for;” and thus the meaning would be more evident. See Jeremiah 25:30-31, where “the roaring” as of a lion, and the “sword,” are both mentioned; and this confirms the view here given. In the two last lines, “the oppressing” or “devastating sword” is first referred to, — the visible effect, and then “the burning of his wrath” — the cause; an order often to be seen in the Prophets. — Ed.
ftE155 Indeed his message does not seem to have been to the priests nor to the false prophets, but to the people who came to worship, as though it was useless to address them. There are none in so hopeless a state as unfaithful and corrupt priests and false prophets; the people led astray by them may be restored, but their own case is almost past hope. This appears to be intimated here; for they are passed by, while the people are addressed. — Ed.
ftE156 As it stands opposed to add, to subtract or take away would be the most suitable term. Such is the word used by the Sept., the Vulg., and the Syr.; the Targ. is diminish, the word of our version. — Ed.
ftE157 I render the verse as follows, —
3. It may be they will hear and turn every one from his way that is evil; then I will repent as to the evil which I purpose to bring on them for the evil of their doings.
Here is “evil for evil,” the evil of punishment for the evil of sin. The word is often used in these two senses. It is changed in the Sept., κάκων and πονήρων; and in the Vulg., “malum” and “malitia.” “Thus evil,” says Gataker, “begetteth evil, a just retaliation of evil for evil. The evil of iniquity and the evil of penalty are as the needle and the thread; the one goeth before and maketh way for the other; and when one hath found a passage it draweth on the other.” — Ed.
ftE158 It is better to commence the parenthesis after the word “prophets;” the three verses I render thus, — 4. And say to them, Thus saith Jehovah, If ye will not hear me, so as to
5. walk in my law, which I have set before you, by hearkening to the words of my servants the prophets, (whom I have been sending to you, even rising up early and sending; but ye did not hearken;)
6. then will I make this house like Shiloh, and this city will I make a urse to all the nations of the earth.
The Vulg. and the Syr. are in effect the same as above. — Ed.
ftE159 It appears better to connect this sentence with the following verse, in this manner, —
10. While the whole people were assembled against Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah, then the princes of Judah heard these things, and went up from the king’s house into the house of Jehovah, etc.
This seems to be the beginning of another section. The w repeated ought often to be thus rendered, while or when, and then; and indeed in our language, then may be sometimes omitted. Were it here rendered and in both instances, the meaning would be the same, only the connection appears more evident when rendered as above; the report of the people congregated against Jeremiah reached the princes — Ed.
ftE160 The present Hebrew text is, “the new gate of Jehovah.” “House,” before Jehovah, is found in many MSS., and is given by all the Versions, except the Sept., where Jehovah as well as house, is left out. The true reading no doubt is, “the house of Jehovah.” It was called “the new gate,” says Gataker, because it had been renewed by Jotham. See 2 Kings 15:35. It is rendered “the eastern gate” by the Targ. It was in the porch of this gate, according to some, that the great consistory sat. — Ed.
ftE161 The words literally are, “The judgment (or sentence) of death is to this man,” or, belongs “to this man,” that is, is deserved by him. They were now, it seems, before the court of justice, the princes sat as magistrates or judges; and this was the accusation brought by the priests and prophets; they had no power themselves of passing the sentence, they only declared him as worthy of death. — Ed.
ftE162 The words are, —
13. And now make good your ways and your doings, etc.;
or, But now, etc. It reads better than “therefore,” as in our version, borrowed from the Vulg. The Sept. is “and,” and the Targ. also. “Amend” of our version, is the Syr.; “make good” is the rendering of the other early versions. He mentions what is posterior first; to hear God’s voice is in order previous to the making good our ways; but this is according to the practice often adopted by the prophets. — Ed.
ftE163 “And upon this city,” etc., according to our version and all the early versions and that of Calvin; but the preposition is different, and might be rendered “against:” by killing him, they must have brought the guilt of innocent blood on themselves as perpetrators, and against the city and its inhabitants as having allowed and countenanced such a deed. — Ed ftE164 “Meet,” in our version, is not the correct word; the term signifies what is just and right. The Sept. renders the phrase very loosely, “as it is expedient and as it is best for you.” The Vulg. is nearly the original, “what is good and right in your eyes;” literally it is, “as good and as right in your eyes.” — Ed ftE165 The phrase literally is, “Not to this man the judgment of death.” So nearly is the Sept. and the Vulg., “There is not to this man the judgment of death.” Our version is the Syr. — Ed ftE166 Some render the phrase thus, “Sion, being a field, shall be plowed;” having become a field, it would be plowed. There is in this case no need of k, as, to be placed before “field;” nor is there a different reading either here or in Micah, though it is supplied in the early versions, except the Syr., which has, “Sion shall be reduced to a field.” — Ed.
ftE167 The words literally are, “Then rose up men from the elders of the land.” — Ed.
ftE168 The Keri reads hkym, and is countenanced by several MSS., and is no doubt the true reading, and not hykym, as in the present received text. Ed.
ftE169 Both the Sept. and the Syr. and also the Targ. give the meaning, but not the proper word, “And the Lord abstained from the evils,” etc. — Ed.
ftE170 There are two other views taken of this subject; some say that the second example, that of Uriah, was introduced by the writer of the narrative, whether Jeremiah himself or Baruch, and that this was mentioned to shew, that according to this precedent, Jeremiah would have been killed, had it not been for the interposition of Ahikam. This is the view taken by Gataker and Blayney.
But what appears most consistent with the whole passage is the view given by Venema; he considers that the 17th verse (Jeremiah 26:17) has been removed from its place between the 19th and the 20th (Jeremiah 26:19-20), and that the “princes” mentioned the case of Micah in favor of Jeremiah, and that “the elders of the land” adduced the case of Uriah against him, and that notwithstanding this it is at last added, that Ahikam, one of the princes, succeeded in his deliverance. That chapters have been transposed in this book is indubitable; the same thing may also have happened as to verses.
Then the passage would read thus, — 16. Then said the princes and all the people to the priests and to the prophets, “Against this man there is no judgment of death, for in
18. the name of Jehovah hath he spoken to (or against) us. Micah the Morasthite was a prophet in the days of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Sion, being a field, shall be plowed, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house like the heights of
19. a forest.’ Slaying, did Hezekiah, the king of Judah, and all Judah, slay him? did he not fear Jehovah and intreat the favor of Jehovah? then Jehovah repented as to the evil which he had pronounced against them; but we are doing a great evil against our own souls.”
17. Then rose up men from the elders of the land and spoke to the
20. whole assembly of the people, saying, “But there was also a man, who prophesied in the name of Jehovah, Uriah, the son of Shemaiah,” etc. etc.
This arrangement makes the whole narrative plain, regular, and consistent. The conclusion comes in naturally, that notwithstanding the adverse speech of the “elders” Jeremiah was saved by the influence of Ahikam, one of the princes. — Ed.
ftE171 To avoid what may seem a tautology in this verse, Blayney renders the word for Egypt, adversaries, — “But Jehoiakim the king sent adversaries, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him, into Egypt.” Were the words rendered literally, the repetition would not appear different from many that we meet with; “Then sent the king Jehoiakim men into Egypt with Elnathan the son of Achbor, even men with him into Egypt.” The repetition seems to have been intended to shew that there was a strong force, and not one man, sent to take the Prophet, and that this force was to go even as far as Egypt. The version of the Sept. is, “And the king sent men into Egypt;” the Vulg. and the Targ. are the same with our version; but the Syr. is, “And the king Jehoiakim sent a certain Egyptian, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and some with him, into Egypt.”
It is singular that in one MS. the word µylgrm, searchers, spies, is found instead of µyrxm, rendered often Egypt, though it comes from a root which means to bind close, to environ, to beset; and so as a hyphil participle it would be besetters, or catchers — in modern language, bumbailiffs, which is a corruption for bound bailiffs. This meaning would exactly suit the passage, “Then the king Jehoiakim sent men, catchers, with Elnathan the son of Achbor, even these men with him into Egypt.” — Ed.
ftE172 This was his son Gedaliah, and not himself. — Ed ftE173 The manner in which Calvin accounts for this prophecy being so long kept hid is ingenious; but modern authors are not satisfied. Lightfoot says, that Jeremiah was ordered to make these yokes in Jehoiakim’s time to signify the subjection of Judah to the king of Babylon, but that he was ordered to send them to foreign kings in the reign of Zedekiah. The first verse is omitted in the Sept.; the Greek version as given by Theodoret, has “Jehoiakim,” and so the Vulg. and the Targ., but the Syr. and Arab. have “Zedekiah;” and there are three Hebrew MSS. in which the same is found. What seems most decisive is the beginning of the next chapter, where Hananiah comes forward in “the fourth year” of Zedekiah and breaks the yoke of Jeremiah. Gataker, Henry, Lowth, Scott, and Blayney, are all inclined to think that the mistake originally was that of the scribe. — Ed.
ftE174 The fourth verse in our version is not correct, “And command them to say to their masters,” it ought to be, “And command them as to their masters (or lords,) saying,” — ; for the Hebrew will not admit of such a transposition. — Ed.
ftE175 Whenever the pronouns are set down in Hebrew, they are emphatic: the beginning of this verse ought to be rendered, “I myself,” or “made have I, even I, the earth, the man also and the beast that are on the face of the earth,” (not as in our version, “upon the ground,”) etc. The last clause, “and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me,”
according to Calvin and our version, ought rather to be, “and I will give it to whom it shall seem right in my eyes.” So Venema and Blayney; and it is according to the Sept., though the other versions are the same with our own. The verb indeed is in the past tense, but it is preceded by w conversive. Then follows the next verse, “And now I — given have I all these lands,” etc. The fifth verse contains a general declaration of truth; God made the earth, and would give it to whom he pleased: the sixth includes his determination as to all these lands; he had given them to Nebuchadnezzar. — Ed.
ftE176 Some give this view as to the beasts of the field, that not only towns and cultivated lands would be given up to Nebuchadnezzar, but also hills and mountains, deserts and forests, which were inhabited by wild beasts, and that this was said in order to shew that a complete possession of their lands, and of all things within them, would be given to that king, not excepting the wild beasts. — Ed.
ftE177 It seems that there were two besides, who exercised for a time regal power, but they were not the descendants of Nebuchadnezzar. — Ed.
ftE178 This is rendered differently, “until the time of his land, even his, shall come.” So the early versions, and so Venema and Blayney. — Ed.
ftE179 Here Calvin has followed the Vulg.; but our version gives the true meaning. See note on Jeremiah 25:14. The two clauses may be thus translated, “Until the time of his land, even his, shall come; then reduce him (or it, that is, land) to subjection, shall many nations and mighty kings.” Such substantially is the version of Venema and of Blayney, and also of Piscator and Junius. — Ed ftE180 The five names here mentioned are thus explained by Venema, —
1. Prophets — who claimed divine inspiration;
2. Diviners — who prognosticated by means of lots and arrows;
3. Dreamers — who pretended that they had divine dreams;
4. Astrologers — who foretold events by the clouds and stars:
5. Sorcerers — who pretended to have familiar converse with some spirit.
Parkhurst considers the second, diviners, as a general term, meaning those who divined either by dreams or stars, or familiar spirits; and he renders the fourth word cloudmongers, though he considers that they prognosticated by the stars, as well as by meteors, thunder, lightning, and probably by the flight of birds; but he regards the last word as meaning those who pretended to discover hidden and future things by magical means. How completely heathenized were the Jews become! they believed all these Pagan delusions rather than the infallible oracles of God! and yet these were things expressly forbidden in their law. — Ed.
ftE181 This is more suitable than our version: the verse may be rendered thus, — 10. For falsely do they prophesy to you, so as to remove you away far from your own land; for I will drive you away and ye shall perish, (that is, from the land.)
The word rqç may often be rendered adverbially. That w may sometimes be rendered for, is evident: he threatens expulsion and ruin in case they listened to false prophesying; then, in the next verse, he promises continuance in the land to the obedient, “But the nation that brings its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serves him, I will make that to settle on its land, saith Jehovah, that it may cultivate it and abide in it.” — Ed.
ftE182 This is an imperative in Hebrew, and live, but in all the early versions it is in the future tense, as rendered here by Calvin. The meaning is the same. — Ed.
ftE183 No doubt we may extend this promise to spiritual life, but here it means living in the land of Canaan, as opposed to the perdition or expatriation in Jeremiah 27:10. — Ed ftE184 As in Jeremiah 27:12, so here the verb is in the imperative mood, but in all the early versions as rendered here. — Ed.
ftE185 Both the Sept. and Vulg. give the first meaning, to meet with, and not the second, to intercede with, and thus convey no sense whatever. The Syr. uses the word, pray, “let them pray the Lord,” etc. See Genesis 23:8; Job 21:15. — Ed.
ftE186 Or foundations, those on which the sea or pillars stood. See I Kings 7:27-37. — Ed.
ftE187 A clear instance of the affirmative sense of this particle, for the
passage can admit of no other, though the versions, except the Syr., retain its causal sense. — Ed.
ftE188 Was he thus conscious, or given up to believe a lie? Was he led by ambition to act a part, or a conscientious bigot under the delusive influence of the evil spirit? In either case he was the servant of Satan; and are there not many like him still in the world? — Ed ftE189 Gataker mentions various attempted solutions of this difficulty, the one stated here; another, that eleven years, the extent of his reign, being divided into three parts, the three first and the beginning of the fourth might be deemed the beginning of his reign; and a third, which he prefers, that the fourth year refers not to Zedekiah, but to the Sabbatical year, it was the fourth in that cycle; and it appears that according to chronologers the destruction of Jerusalem happened on a Sabbatical year, the fourth in the eighteenth jubilee. In this case the first year of Zedekiah being the fourth after a Sabbath-year, his eleventh would correspond with the next period of their kind, allowance being made as to the commencement of the year in which he began to reign. Blayney adopts the second solution. Perhaps it would be best to take “beginning,” as Scott does, as meaning the early or former part of his reign.
ftE190 Hananiah was, as some think, a priest, for Gibeon in the tribe of Benjamin was one of the cities allotted to the priests; he was, no doubt, by profession, a prophet, he is so called throughout by Jeremiah. There was among the Jews, from early times, an order of men called prophets; they were not all endued with the gift of prophecy, but were trained up in seminaries for the purpose, to be the interpreters of the law and teachers of the people. See 1 Samuel 19:20; 2 Kings 2:3; 6:1. Hananiah was probably a prophet of this kind, and was on this account called a prophet by Jeremiah; but he appears here in another character, as a prophet endued with the spirit of prophecy. The scribes in the New Testament seem to have been the teaching prophets of the Old.
ftE191 It is better rendered in our version, “Within two full years;” literally, “in during (that is, in the space of) two full years:” not at the end, but within two years. He took the range of two years, without specifying any particular time — Ed.
ftE192 The tense here is not correctly given, the words are, “For I will break
the yoke of the king of Babylon; and so are all the Versions. — Ed.
ftE193 More than twenty MSS. read b[r, “famine,” which may be considered as the true reading, though all the Versions favor the other.
It is rather difficult to render this verse. Calvin here repeats the word “prophesied,” which perhaps would be the best construction. There is a w before “prophesied” in the text, which connects it with “have been.” I would then render it as follows, — 8. The prophets, who have been before me and before thee from the beginning, and have prophesied concerning many lands and against mighty kingdoms, have prophesied of war, and of famine, and of pestilence.
There were prophets who did not prophesy “concerning many lands,” etc.; he refers not to these, but to those who had done this. — Ed.
ftE194 It is not the past but the future tense is used here, “The prophet, who shall prophesy of peace,” etc.; so the versions, except the Vulg. In the former verse Jeremiah speaks of what all the previous prophets had predicted, that is, of war, famine, and pestilence, as to various kingdoms, and Judah no doubt as forming a part of them. Now, in this verse he seems to say, that if a prophet should be found speaking a different language, contrary to that of all former prophets, the event alone, the fulfillment of his prophecy alone could prove him a true prophet. He intimates that as Hananiah said things contrary to all former prophets, he was not to be believed until what he said came to pass. The verse may be thus rendered, — 9. The prophet who shall prophesy (or who prophesies) of peace, when the word of that prophet shall come, he will be known as the prophet whom Jehovah hath sent in truth.
The first word, “the prophet,” is a nominative case absolute, many instances of which are found in Hebrew. — Ed.
ftE195 It appears that the true reading has been retained here only by the Sept. when the verb “make” is given in the first person; the difference is only the addition of y; then the sentence would be, —
The yokes of wood thou hast broken, But I have made for them yokes of iron.
Or if the vau be considered conversive, the line would be, — But I will make for them yokes of iron.
The exigency of a passage is one of our best guides. — Ed.
ftE196 The last clause of this verse is not here explained. Calvin’s version is, “revolt hast thou spoken against Jehovah;” the Vulg., “against the Lord hast thou spoken;” the Syr., “iniquity hast thou spoken before the Lord;” and the Targ., “perverseness hast thou spoken before Jehovah.” Blayney’s version is, “thou hast spoken prevarication concerning Jehovah.” Gataker renders it the same with Calvin, and explains it thus, — “Because by thy lying tales thou hast heartened and encouraged men to stand out against God’s word, and against his admonitions and menaces by his prophets.” Henry gives the same view.
Blayney says that, hrs properly signifies declining or turning aside from the straight path, the path of truth and right, and that here it means the presumption of uttering as a revelation from God what a man knew to be not so. The same phrase occurs in two other places, Deuteronomy 13:5; Jeremiah 29:32. The la here before
Jehovah is l[ in several MSS.; but the prepositions are sometimes the same. The rendering that would suit the three places would be the following: — “For of turning aside hast thou spoken contrary to Jehovah,” that is, to his expressed will or command. The meaning might be thus conveyed, — “for thou hast encouraged disobedience contrary to the express command of God.” — Ed.
ftE197 So it is rendered by the Sept., Vulg., and Targ.; but “epistle,” or letter, by the Syr. The word properly means a narrative; but as that is included in a book or in a letter, it is often used for both. It is rendered “book” in our version in Exodus 24:7; and “letter” in 2 Samuel 11:14. — Ed.
ftE198 Rather, “old men;” literally it is, “to the remainder of the aged of the transmigration.” Age, and not authority, seems to be intended, though Grotins thinks they were the members of the Sanhedrim. The word commonly rendered “captivity,” and when a verb, “to lead captive,” means properly to be removed, to migrate, and transitively, to remove, to carry away, to transfer, to translate. The idea of captivity is not included in it, though sometimes implied. — Ed.
ftE199 Here in the original ends the preceding Lecture; but as this chapter has no connection with the foregoing, the prayer which occurs here has been removed to the end of the last chapter. — Ed.
ftE200 The Targ. has “scribes;” the Sept. and Syr., “false prophets;” and the Vulg., “prophets.” They were probably teachers, and not those higher prophets who were favored with visions, and sent forth by God to deliver special messages. — Ed.
ftE201 Rendered “governess” or lady — “domina,” by the Vulg.; but “queen” by the Sept., the Syr., and the Targ. It was a title most commonly given to the queen-mother. — Ed.
ftE202 The Versions have “eunuchs,” but the Targ., “princes.” The word means an officer or an attendant on a sovereign. It is rendered “officer” in Genesis 37:36; and “chamberlain” in Esther 2:3. That such officers were often eunuchs there can be no doubt, but the word does not designate such a thing. — Ed.
ftE204 To, “seek the peace of the city” was, no doubt, to promote it by their efforts, to be careful in preserving it. To “seek the land,” in Deuteronomy 11:12, was to care for it; “not to seek the day,” in Job 3:4, was not to regard it. Hence, to “seek the peace of the city,” was to care for, or regard it, so as to do everything to promote it. It is said of Mordecai that he was “seeking the wealth (rather, the good) of his people.” (Esther 10:3) His whole conduct was a proof of this. To “seek one’s hurt,” as in Psalm 38:12, was not to pray for it, but to use all means to effect it. Therefore the first sense given by Calvin is the right one. — Ed.
ftE205 It is literally, “whom I have removed,” or transplanted; “moved from home,” is the Sept.; “transferred,” the Vulg.; “made to migrate,” the Targ. — Ed.
ftE206 To pray for the peace of a city or country, and for the health or eternal salvation of rulers, is very different from wishing success to their ambitious, rapacious, or sanguinary undertakings; though this distinction is not generally attended to.” — Scott.
ftE207 All the ancient versions, and the Targ. too, render this clause, “Your dreams which ye dream.” To dream a dream is a common phraseology in Hebrew. There is no instance of the noun here for dreams, in which it means dreamers, as Blayney renders it; the marginal reading in our version in Jeremiah 27:9, is no doubt correct, as the word is in every other passage rendered “dreams;” and the word is in another form when it means “dreamers,” see <19C601>Psalm 126:1. The last word is not found but here in the Hiphil form; but this form has not invariably a causative meaning, nor does it seem to have it here. Then the clause would be, “neither attend to your dreams which you are dreaming.” — Ed.
ftE208 The words literally are, “When at the mouth (or extremity) of fillings (or, of fulfilments) in Babylon shall be seventy years,” etc., that is, when seventy years shall be completed, the whole number or measure being filled up. Blayney’s version is, “Surely when seventy years have been completed at Babylon.” But yk here is not rendered “surely,” but “when,” by the Targ. and the ancient versions. — Ed.
ftE209 The Vulg. is the same, “suscitabo — I will awaken,” etc.; and so the Sept. and the Targ.; but the Syr. is, “I will ratify,” or confirm. The primary meaning of µq is to rise, and in Hiphil, as here, to cause to rise, that is, to rouse, to awaken; its secondary meaning is, to stand, and in Hiphil, to cause to stand, that is, to ratify or confirm. The first idea is the most striking: the word of promise was as it were lying down and dormant for seventy years, and now it was to be roused up: “I will rouse up for you the very word of mine, the good.” This is the literal rendering, except we take the secondary meaning of the verb, which is also very suitable, “I will ratify for you,” etc. — Ed.
ftE210 The word for “thoughts” might often be rendered “purposes,” as it is sometimes in our version. The thoughts of God are his purposes. So here: “For I — I know the very purposes which I am purposing respecting you, saith Jehovah, — purposes of peace and not for evil, to restore you to this place.” God, in saying, “to this place,” represented himself as dwelling at Jerusalem, in the temple, where he had promised his presence.
In mentioning purposes and not purpose, the intention probably was to shew its firmness and certainty. The Hebrews sometimes used the plural number in order to enhance the meaning, as “wisdoms” for perfect wisdom, in Proverbs 9:1. Then the meaning of the word would be, “the very sure purpose;” and in a version, the meaning, and not the word literally, ought to be given. — Ed.
ftE211 These two words are omitted in the Sept.; “the end and patience,” is the Vulg.; “the end and hope,” the Targ.; “the hope,” only, the Syr. It is better to retain the words apart than to unite them, as many have done: “the end” was that of their troubles and exile, and “the expectation” was that of a return to their own country, — two things completely distinct though cotemporaneous: “To give you the end (of your exile) and the expectation (of a return,)” that is, the fulfillment of it. It is a metonymy, expectation is put for its object, or the thing expected. — Ed.
ftE212 The two first verbs are wanting in the Sept. and the Targ., and the second in the Syr. The Vulg. is according to our version, which is literally the Hebrew: and there are no various readings. It is difficult to understand the meaning here of the second verb, go, or proceed. Some give this meaning, “And ye shall call upon me and shall go to your country; and ye shall pray to me, and I will hearken to you.” But the sense most suitable appears to be the following, — “ And ye shall call on me, and ye shall go on and intercede with me, and I will hearken to you.” The verb ˚lh is used in the sense of advancing or of going on in a course that is begun. See Genesis 26:13; Exodus 19:19. To “intercede for themselves and others, was more than to call upon God. From calling they would go on to intercede, earnestly to plead for themselves and others, and then the promise is that God would hear them. — Ed.
ftE212 The yk here is rendered “when” in our version, and in the ancient versions, except the Sept., where it is; o[ti, “for,” or because. The most usual meaning of the particle is “because;” and it may be so rendered here; for sincerity may be justly assigned as a reason why prayers are heard, without the implication of any merit. Indeed, in the very nature of things, prayer without sincerity cannot possibly be accepted.
In our version the meaning of the two verbs is reversed; the first ought rather to be rendered as meaning “to search for,” and the latter to “seek.” With the first is connected “finding,” and this implies searching, and the verb çqb means sometimes to search for what is lost. The verse should be, — “And ye shall search for me and ye shall find me, because ye shall seek me with all your heart.” To seek God means to seek his favor. They would search for him whom they had, as it were, lost, and they would find him because they would seek his favor with all sincerity; it would not be for a mercenary purpose, but for the sake of enjoying God’s favor. — Ed.
ftE213 The order found in this deserves notice; restoration is mentioned first, and then the means necessary for the purpose, the gathering of the people from all places; “I will restore your captivity,” or captives, “and I will gather,” etc. The concluding sentence is, “where I have removed you from there;” where, and from there, instead of whence. — Ed.
ftE214 Gataker approves of this and says, evidently referring to Calvin, “So an interpreter of prime note rendereth it.” That yk is sometimes an iliative is generally admitted; and here the connection cannot otherwise be seen. There is a large gap after the 15th verse (Jeremiah 29:15) in the Sept., the verses 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 (Jeremiah 29:16-20), are omitted, but not in the other versions nor in the Targ.; and Blayney has thereby been led to put the 15th verse out of its place and set it between the 20th and the 21st, but without sufficient reason. The connection, as shewn by Calvin, is suitable as the verse now is, and by removing it, the drift of what follows is not so clearly seen.
Another thing advanced by Blayney, though countenanced by Houbigant and Horsley, two rival innovators, is not to be admitted, — that the letter terminates at the end of the 20th verse (Jeremiah 29:20), and not at the end of the 23d (Jeremiah 29:23), and that what follows forms another letter. It is evident that what is contained in the 24th (Jeremiah 29:24) and in the following verses to the end, was written in consequence of an answer from Babylon to this letter. Compare verse 5th (Jeremiah 29:5) with the 28th
(Jeremiah 29:28). — Ed.
ftE217 “Fried” is the word used by the Sept., the Vulg., the Syr., and the Targ. The Hebrew word is found as a verb in no other passage, but as a participle applied to parched corn, Leviticus 2:14; Joshua 11. — Ed ftE218 “Iniquity” is the Sept.; “folly,” the Vulg.; “crime” or offense, the Syr.; and “disgrace,” the Targ. Vileness, or abomination, is its meaning. It is applied to the sin of prostitution, Genesis 34:7, — of stealing, Joshua 7:15, — of murder, Judith 20:6, — of sodomy, Jeremiah 19:24, — of incest, 2 Samuel 13:12, — and of base ingratitude, 1 Samuel 25:25. The most suitable term for all these places is abomination, and not “folly,” as in our version. It means what is hateful, vile, contemptible, or abominable. It refers here to what was abominably filthy — adultery; and to what was abominably wicked and presumptuous — speaking lies in God’s name. — Ed ftE219 He is called the “Nehelamite.” Some render the word “a dreamer:” but, as Blayney observes, “the termination speaks it to be a patronymic.” It refers probably to the place of his birth. — Ed.
ftE220 The Hebrew is, “that there might be overseers in the house of Jehovah for every one,” etc. He was a priest under the high-priest for this purpose. Zephaniah was second in authority, as it appears from chapter 52:24. He was probably the ruler or governor of the Temple, as Pashur was, Jeremiah 20:1. Hence the paraphrase of the Targum as to this clause, “That thou mightest be made the chief of the priests in the house of the sanctuary of the Lord for every one,” etc. Blayney thinks it probable that Zephaniah succeeded a priest called Jehoiada, in that office, who had been either deposed for bad conduct or carried away into exile. Gataker and Grotins think that the reference is to Jehoiada the priest, the zealous reformer in the reign of Jehoash, 2 Kings 11 and 12; and that Shemaiah’s object was to rouse Zephaniah to shew similar zeal for the house of God. If so, here is an instance, not uncommon, in which a good example of zeal was perverted for the purpose of encouraging zeal in exercising tyranny and suppressing the truth.
It is somewhat singular that all the ancient versions, as well as the Targum, give “overseers,” or officers, in the singular number; the Vulg. is, “That thou mightest be a commander… over every one;” the Sept., “That thou mightest be an umpire;” the Syr., “That thou mightest be a censor.” But there are no MSS. in favor of such a reading. — Ed.
ftE221 The word [nçm is rendered “frantic” by the Sept., — “mad,” by the Vulg., — “raving in lies,” by the Syr., — and “foolish,” by the Targ. As applied to prophets it means one in an ecstasy, or in raptures, whether true or false, — an enthusiast, but taken mostly in a bad sense.
The next word is in Hithpael, “self-prophesying,” or prophesying of himself, not made a prophet by God; imperfectly rendered,
“prophesying,” by the Sept., Vulg., and Syr. It may be rendered “pretending to be a prophet.” — Ed.
ftE222 The last word is found only here, and is rendered “dungeon” by the Sept., and “prison” by the Vulg., Syr., and Targ. The Samaritan version, says: Parkhurst, uses it as a verb in Exodus 14:3, in the sense of confining, shutting up. The noun, therefore, may well designate a prison. — Ed.
ftE223 The verb for prophesying is in Hithpael as before; he still represents Jeremiah as one who made himself a Prophet, — “Who of himself prophesies to you;” and not as Blayney renders the clause, “Who giveth himself out as a Prophet among you.” What he meant is, that what Jeremiah prophesied came from himself, the very thing which God ascribed to the false prophets; thus wicked men impute to the good the very sin of which they themselves are guilty. — Ed.
ftF1 “In a book:” the la before “book” is in some copies l[, as in other places when preceded by “write.” It may be more literally rendered, “on a roll;” but if la be retained, the rendering may be, “for a record,” or memorial.Venema thinks that these two chapters were written after the destruction of Jerusalem, and that as there were no people to be addressed, Jeremiah was bidden to commit to writing what he had often previously delivered by word of mouth. — Ed. ftF2 The words literally are, “For behold the days coming, saith Jehovah, when I shall restore the migration of my people, Israel and Judah, saith Jehovah; and I will restore them to the land which I gave to their fathers, and they shall inherit it.” To render w when, when preceded by a participle, is what may be done, and ought, in my view, to be commonly done. The word twbç means a migration, as given in the Targum, rather than captivity. It is rendered by the Sept. ἀποικία, removal from home. — Ed. ftF3 “That day” in this verse, and “that day” in the following verse, seem to be the same. Then ywh must not be rendered “Alas,” but “Ho!” or “Hark!” according to its most common meaning. The passage from verse the 4th (Jeremiah 30:4)to the end of this, including the beginning of the 8th (Jeremiah 30:8), may be thus rendered,4. Even these are the words which Jehovah hath said respecting Israel and respecting Judah:
5. Verily thus hath Jehovah said — (The voice of trembling have we heard, Of fear and not of peace:
6. Ask ye now and see, Does a man travail with child? How is it? I see every man With his hands on his loins like a woman in travail, And turned are all faces to paleness: )
7. Hark! for great shall be that day, none like it; Though a time of distress shall be to Jacob, Yet from it shall he be saved:
8. And it shall be in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, That I shall break, etc.. etc..
The parenthesis accounts for what is said at the end of the 7th verse (Jeremiah 30:7) and is intended as a contrast with the great day of deliverance that is promised. — Ed. ftF4
I render the verse as follows, — 8. And it shall be in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, That I shall break his yoke from thy neck, And thy chains will I burst: And make him to serve shall strangers no more: 9. But serve shall they Jehovah, etc..
The transition from the second to the third person, “thy” and “him,” and from the singular to the plural, “him” and “they,” is very common in the Prophets. On the last line in the 8th verse (Jeremiah 30:8). — Ed. ftF5 The word is stronger than “fear;” it means to be broken down in mind, to be dispirited, so as to give up all hope. The distance, mentioned in the following clause, was calculated to dispirit them, and they feared lest their children should continue in bondage. Hence it is said, “Fear not,” that is, as to a final return; and “be not dispirited,” or disheartened, with respect to the distance. The order, as is commonly the case, is reversed. — Ed. ftF6 Calvin renders bç, “dwell,” as though it came from bçy but most render it “return,” as in our version. Then, “to be at rest,” and “in a quiet state,” are not sufficiently distinct. I render the clause thus, —
And return shall Jacob and be at rest, And secure shall he be, and none making him afraid.
Security is freedom from disturbance: “he shall be prosperous,” as rendered by some, is by no means suitable. “Jacob,” being the father of the twelve patriarchs, is to be understood as including both Israel and Judah, according to the 4th verse (Jeremiah 30:4). — Ed.
ftF7 There is no verb in the first clause, “Because I with thee.” The context shews that the future is meant; then the rendering ought to be, “Because I shall be with thee;” that is, at the restoration of the people to their own land, mentioned in the preceding verse. So Calvin understood the clause, though the early versions, like our own, gave the verb in the present tense, which is by no means correct. — Ed.
ftF8 This clause is rendered by the Vulg., “that thou mayest not seem to thyself innocent;” by the Syr., “but I will not suffer thee to be wholly unpunished;” and by the Targ., “and destroying I will not destroy thee.” Both Venema and Blayney follow the meaning of the Targum; the later version is, “And will not make thee altogether desolate.” The phrase occurs in Jeremiah 25:29, and also in Exodus 34:7; Numbers 14:18; Nahum 1:3; in which places the idea of the verb is, to hold guiltless or innocent, to acquit, to let go unpunished, and not to make desolate, to cut off or to destroy. That the former is its meaning in Exodus 34:7, is evident from the explanation which follows, “holding guiltless he will not hold guiltless, visiting the iniquity of the fathers,” etc.; visiting the fathers’ iniquity proves that it is not held guiltless or suffered to go unpunished. The verb, hqn means to be free, or to count one free, from pollution, crime, guilt, or punishment. To let free from punishment, is the idea most suitable here; God would chastise them in some measure, and would not suffer them to be wholly unpunished. — Ed. ftF9 The l in Hebrew is sometimes the, κατὰ in Greek; it means, as to, with regard to; so here, — Incurable as to thy bruise, Grievous has been thy stroke.
Or we may give this rendering, inverting the order, — As to thy bruise, it is incurable; Grievous has been thy stroke.
The “bruise” occasioned by the “grievous stroke” was incurable, that is, by human means. The effect is mentioned first, “the bruise;” then the cause, “the stroke.” — Ed.
ftF10 According to Calvin, the verse reads thus, —
No one undertakes thy cause; For a cure, medicines and healing thou hast not.
This division is made by the Sept., though not by the other versions, nor the Targ. Venema adopts it. The word rwzm, rendered above “cure,” means evidently a wound. It only occurs here, and Obadiah 7, and twice in Hosea 5:13, where it is rendered “wound.” It comes from rwz, in the sense of compressing or binding up; but the noun taken passively, signifies what is compressed or bound up, and that is a wound. Then the literal rendering would be — None is pleading thy cause; As to the wound, medicatives, binding up, none to thee;
or in other words, — As to the wound, thou hast no medicatives, no binding up.
The word twapr means medicatives or medicaments, rather than medicines, as it designates here, and in most places, outward applications to wounds and bruises. The order, as in the foregoing verse, is reversed, the medicaments are put before the binding up. See Ezekiel 30:21. — Ed. ftF11 It is better to retain the literal word “lovers,” than “friends,” as rendered by the Sept., the Syr., and the Targ., though not by the Vulg. The particle l[ is commonly a preposition, but not when preceding a verb, as here; and that br is a verb here is proved by the sentence which follows, which is in apposition; and it is so rendered by Blayney. The verse may be thus rendered — 14. All thy lovers have forgotten thee, Thee they seek not: Verily with the stroke of an enemy have I struck thee, — With a violent correction; Because multiplied had thine iniquity, Grown strong had thy sins, etc.
The word for “violent,” or cruel, is so construed in the early versions;
the Targ. alone countenances our version. The last line conveys a different idea from the preceding. The verb, indeed, means strong in number as well as strong in power; but as number is expressed in the previous line, we may justly consider that power is meant here: their sins were not only many, but strong and vigorous, so strong as to resist all exhortations and all threatenings. — Ed.
ftF12 Rather “sore,” or wound. The word bakm indeed means sometimes the soreness or wound of the mind, that is, sorrow or grief; but here, no doubt, it retains its primary idea, correspondently with stroke, bruise, and wound. The Targ. retains this meaning, while the versions go all astray. Then it is, “Miserable is thy sore.” The rest of the verse is as follows, — Because multiplied had thine iniquity, Grown strong had thy sins, Have I done these things to thee. — Ed.
ftF13 What seems to be his meaning is, that as God had punished his people, therefore he would punish the nations. The versions and the Targ. render it “therefore;” but Lowth gives “yet surely;” and Blayney, “afterwards.” But we may render it “therefore,” or for this reason, as anticipative of what is contained at the end of the next verse, “Because an outcast have they called thee. Sion, whom no one seeks.” Venema, apprehending this to be the sense of the passage, supposed that the two verses have been transposed: but this kind of construction is not unfrequent in Scripture. — Ed. ftF14 The versions and the Targ. render the word for “palace,” temple; and as the former clause has “on its heap,” or, on its ruins, so in this the same preposition is used, and seems to require a similar construction, “on its former spot,” or, on its wonted place. The word fpçm denotes what is customary or usual, as well as what is right and just. Then the two lines would read thus, — And built shall be the city on its ruins, And the palace on its wonted seat shall be fixed, (or shall stand.)
But the versions and the Targ. vary the meaning of the preposition. The Vulg., with which the rest essentiall y agree, is, “And the temple according to its order, shall be founded.” Blayney renders the line thus, —
And the palace shall be established upon its (former) plan.
As in the previous line, the place is designated, it is probable that the place also is meant here. — Ed.
ftF15 The meaning of the latter verbs in these clauses is to be ascertained by the preceding verbs: “I will multiply,” or increase “them;” then the opposite to this is, “and they shall not be lessened,” or decreased: and when it is said, “I will glorify,” or honor “them,” the corresponding contrast to this is, “they shall not be degraded,” or dishonored. The first clause refers to number, and the second to honor, dignity, or renown. Then the right version would be as follows, — And I will multiply them, and they shall not be lessened, I will also honor them, and they shall not be degraded. — Ed. ftF16 It would be better to observe the order of the original, “And his assembling before me shall be confirmed,” or according, to the Vulg. and Syr., “shall continue.” The reference is to the assembling at the stated festivals. The verb means to be confirmed, to be fixed, to be made certain; so that “continue” conveys the right idea: the assembling was to be made fixed, so as to become permanent; and it is said to be before God, in order to distinguish it from any other kind of assembling· — Ed. ftF17 The Vulg. favors the meaning advocated by Calvin, “For who is this (iste) that will apply his heart to draw nigh to me, saith the Lord?” The Sept. is nearly the same, “For who is this (ou[tov) who has given his heart to tuae to me, saith the Lord?” The Syr. is, “For I will turn his heart to me, saith the Lord.” The Targ. is as follows, “For who is this who will in his heart come to my worship, saith the Lord?”
Many explanations have been given which are wholly inadmissible, having nothing in the context to support them, such as the application of these words to our Savior. They are evidently connected with the previous clause, being joined with it by “for:” they in a manner explain and qualify that clause, and may be deemed parenthetic, for the former clause and that which follows these words, are connected together, — And I will bring him nigh that he may come near to me, (For who is he who pledges his heart To come near to me, saith Jehovah!)
22. And ye shall be to me a people, And I will be to you a God.
By “him” we are to understand “Jacob,” the subject of the whole passage, and not the “governor,” who was to come from “the midst of him,” i.e., Jacob, a name by which the whole nation is here called. The promise is to bring Jacob, or the people, nigh; and then to shew that this is alone God’s work, the words in the parenthesis are introduced, and by a question, which implies the negative in the strongest manner, as though he had said, “This work, to bring you nigh, is mine alone, for no one among you pledges or engages his heart to come near to me.”
Both the Sept. and the Targ. render “him” in the first line in the plural number, “them,” i.e., the people. And the Syr., though the form of the expression is changed, yet gives the meaning of the words within the parenthesis, for the work of turning the heart is ascribed to the Lord. — Ed. ftF18 There is a mistake as to this reference, for the word is only found in Psalm 73:122. — Ed.
ftF19 This verse is literally the same, word for word, with the passage referred to here, with the exception of the word that is noticed; and yet neither the early versions nor the Targum are the same: it is singular how they differ from themselves, so that we can have no confidence in their verbal accuracy. Instead of “the pregnant tempest” in Jeremiah 23:19, we have here “the violent tempest;” it is a participle from a verb which means to agitate, to excite, to stir up; and being passive, it means what is agitated or in great commotion, and hence violent or turbulent.
Many copies have w here before r[s, as in the former passage, where it is omitted only in one copy. — Ed. ftF20 The verse is literally as follows, —
Turn not away shall the burning of Jehovah’s wrath, Until his execution and until his completion Of the purposes of his heart: In the latter days ye shall understand it.
A verb in the infinitive mood in Hebrew is used often as a noun, “his execution.” A similar form exists in Welsh, nes gwneuthur ohono. “Until he hath confirmed,” or “performed,” according to our version, is better rendered in the Vulg., “until he hath completed.” Here is the
execution and the completion. — Ed.
ftF21 The early versions and the Targum vary much as to the meaning of this and the following verse. The nearest to the Original, as a whole, is the Vulg.; the Sept. go wholly astray. Of all the expositions which have been given, that of Calvin seems the best, as it corresponds more with the Hebrew. I render the second verse thus, — Thus saith Jehovah, — Find favor in the wilderness Did the people, the remnants of the sword, When proceeding to his rest was Israel.
I take ˚wlh as a participle, the auxiliary verb being understood, as the case often is in Hebrew. Preceded by a preposition, and followed by a pronoun, [ygrh is a verb in the infinitive mood, used as a noun. Twelve MSS., says Blayney, have ˚lh a past tense in Kal: if so, then the meaning would be more striking, though somewhat elliptical, — Proceed (or advance) to his rest did Israel.
As though he had said, “The people, who escaped the sword of Pharaoh and the slaughters which happened to them, found favor during their passage through the wilderness, and notwithstanding all opposition, Israel advanced forward to his promised rest.” — Ed.
ftF22 I find nothing satisfactory as to this verse, except the explanation here given, and it is that of the Targum. The first clause is the people’s cavilling answer to what is declared in the foregoing verse. Jacob is the person introduced, as representing the people. He says, it is indeed true, — “At a remote period Jehovah appeared to me.”
Then the rejoinder to this is exactly suitable, — But with perpetual love have I loved thee, Therefore have I prolonged to thee mercy.
Or, “extended to thee mercy,” (see <19A912>Psalm 109:12,) or, “continued to thee mercy,” or, according to Blayney, “lengthened out mercy to thee.” Now there is a consistency in the whole passage, according to this view, and also in what follows, “I will again build thee,” etc. — Ed.
ftF23 See Exodus 15:20; Judges 11:34; 1 Samuel 18:6; Psalm 68:25. “Tabrets” or timbrels were carried in one hand, and beaten by the fingers of the other. It was a hoop with bits of brass, and over this hoop parchment was distended.; they were very like what are now called tambourins. — Ed.
ftF24 This verb seems not to have been rightly understood by the authors of the early versions, nor by the writer of the Targum. Their imperfect knowledge of Hebrew frequently appears. — Ed.
ftF25 The verb for “cry” is either in the past tense or in the imperative mood. As there are so many imperatives in this passage, it seems that this is an imperative too. It appears that the latter part of the last verse, this verse, and that which follows, contain what would be addressed to the people after their return. In no other way can the verbs be grammatically rendered. The whole address is as follows, — “Plant, O ye planters, and eat the fruit;
6. For come is the day: Call ye, O watchmen, on mount Ephraim, ‘Arise, and let us go into Sion, to Jehovah our God;’
7. For thus has Jehovah said, Shout ye, ‘To Jacob there is joy,’ And cry it aloud amont the chief of the nations; Publish, exultingly proclaim, and say, ‘Saved hath Jehovah thy people, The remnant of Israel.’”
The passage is a sort of an episode. What follows seems well connected with the former part of the 5th verse (Jeremiah 31:5).
“Eat the fruit,” is the meaning, and not the literal version, which can hardly be given: it is so rendered by Blayney. “Call ye,” or, proclaim, or, give the invitation. The news was to be made known “among the chief of the nations,” as it is evident from the 10th verse (Jeremiah 31:10). “Saved,” etc., so the Sept. and the Targum, and more consistent with the context than “save;” but both have “his,” i.e., God’s, instead of “thy people,” i.e., Jacob’s. The verb wllh means not only to praise, but also to boast, to exult, and here evidently to proclaim with exultation or triumph. It is rendered here “sing ye,” by the Vulg. and Syr.
It is worthy of notice, that in this episode the particulars, mentioned in the 4th verse (Jeremiah 31:4-5), and the beginning of the 5th, are referred to in their reversed order. — Ed. ftF26 The Targ. and the Versions, excepting the Vulg., give a similar meaning to these two clauses. They give the sense of “departing” to the first verb, while it commonly has the sense of “coming.” It is also in the future tense, and therefore cannot refer to the departing of the Israelites, who are meant here, for they had already gone into exile. Their return is no doubt what is spoken of, which would be attended with “weeping,” not for joy, but for their sins, as it is distinctly expressed in verses 18 and 19 (Jeremiah 31:18-19); and also with entreaties or supplications. And it is better with Venema to join the two words with “coming,” — With weeping shall they come and with supplications; I will bring them, I will lead them, By streams of water, in a straight way; They shall not stumble in it.
He promises two things, to “bring” and to “lead;” then the leading refers to the streams of water, and the bringing to the straight way; which is a kind of arrangement that is often to be met with in Scripture. Two things, especially necessary for travelers, are promised, water and a good road. “Straight” seems to apply to the surface of the road as well as to its sides; hence some render it “smooth” or even, such as would have nothing that might cause one to stumble. — Ed.
ftF27 What is here said is no doubt true: but the auxiliary verb is, “I was,” not “I shall be;” and so it is rendered by the Sept., Vulg., and Targ.; and by the Syr., I am. Then the Versions, very incorrectly, give the next clause, in which there is no verb, in the present tense, while it ought to be in the past tense, like the foregoing. The words literally are, — For I was (or, have been) to Jacob a Father, And Ephraim, my first-born he (i.e. was he.)
And to this purpose has Blayney rendered the passage. Whenever the auxiliary verb is understood, its tense must be regulated by the context. On “first-born,” see Exodus 4:22, 23, and 1 Chronicles 5:1. — Ed. ftF28 The difference between the two verbs seems to be this:, hdp is to rescue, to free, to deliver, either by force or by a ransom; but lag is to recover what one has a right to, and this also either by force or by a ransom. So that the latter implies a claim or right which is not intimated by the former, — For Jehovah will deliver Jacob, And recover him from a hand stronger than his own.
Forcible deliverance is no doubt meant here; and the latter verb is very striking, as it implies that God was vindicating his own right in extricating Jacob from the grasp of a hand stronger than his own. — Ed.
ftF29 The verb rhg rendered here, “flow together,” has another meaning, “to be enlightened” or illuminated, (see Psalm 34:5; ) and light in Scripture means comfort, delight, or enjoyment. It is so taken by the Syriac and the Targ., and more suitably to the words which follow than in the sense here given, — And they shall be comforted by the bounty of Jehovah, With corn, and with new wine, and with oil, Also with the young of the flock and of the herd; And their soul shall be like a watered garden, And they shall again hunger no more.
Or, And they shall again feel want no more. — Ed.
ftF30 The verb bad, here used, does not mean to mourn or to “sorrow,” though this is the idea given to it by the Targ. It is rendered “hunger,” by the Sept. and Vulg. According to Parkhurst, its real meaning is, “to faint or fail through weariness, hunger, or terror.” Blayney renders, “pine for hunger.” See the previous note. — Ed.
ftF31 This clause may be rendered thus, — .
For I will turn their mourning into rejoicing, And I will comfort them and cheer them above their sorrow.
That is, “I will give them comfort and joy more than the sorrow which they have had.” The preposition m, has often the meaning of above or more than. See Deuteronomy 14:2. Their sorrow had been great, but the promise here is, to give them in proportion a comfort and a joy
still greater. — Ed.
ftF32 “To be not,” according to the usage of the Scripture, means either dead or absent. See Genesis 42:36. Joseph was not, he being dead; and Simeon was not, he being absent in Egypt. To be not here refers to the absent, those driven into exile; but the passage, as quoted by Matthew, refers to such as were dead. The similarity was only in part, that is, as to the weeping. — Ed. ftF33 The quotation in Matthew is neither from the Hebrew nor from the Sept. It is substantially correct, but not verbally; the sense and not the words, seems to have been chiefly regarded by the Apostles. — Ed. ftF34 “Ramah” is found in the Sept., the Syr., and the Targ.; but “on the height,” or, on high, is the Vulg. It seems better to retain the proper name, “Ramah.” — Ed.
ftF35 Or the words may be rendered, “There is a hope for thy posterity.” So Gataker, not without reason, renders the words. The following clause explains what this “hope” was. — Ed. ftF36 The idea of “transmigrating” is alone given by the Vulg., the other versions and the Targ. have “lamenting:” and the latter is more consonant with the context, and has been adopted by almost all modern commentators. It is used in Jeremiah 15:5, in the sense of being moved or affected for another, of sympathizing or condoling. It is there in its simple form, that is, in Kal. As it is here in Hithpael, its meaning is, self-condoling, or condoling himself, — an idea which is very expressive, and is more fully explained in the next verse. — Ed.
ftF37 This is no doubt the right rendering, and not, “Thou art Jehovah my God.” So in the first commandment, the version ought to be, “I Jehovah,” or, I the Lord, “am thy God.” The meaning is not, that he is Jehovah, but that he who is Jehovah is our God. — Ed.
ftF38 The Vulg. and the Targ. favor this view of a different sense of the same verb in the second clause. The Sept. retain the same meaning. There is no need of altering the sense; indeed, another sense does not so well comport with the passage. He says that God had chastised him, and that he was chastised as an untamed, or rather untrained steer or bullock, implying that he was compelled to bear the yoke, and also that he had been brought to submit to it: hence the prayer that follows, “turn,” or rather, restore, etc. The verb rsy means to correct rather than to chastise, even to correct by the rod, or by the goad; and then to teach as the effect of correction, — Thou hast corrected me; Yea, I was corrected like a steer, not trained: Restore thou me, and I shall be restored; For thou, Jehovah, art my God.
After a confession with regard to correction, a confession that intimates that it had its proper effect, a prayer for restoration seems suitable, and that prayer is founded on the fact that Jehovah was their God. — Ed. ftF39 What Calvin teaches here is indisputable, but whether the passage warrants the view he takes of it, is another thing, though most commentators have taken the same view. The versions, especially the Vulg., seem to have suggested this explanation by giving to the verb bwç, in the former verse, the meaning of turning or conversion, instead of returning or restoring, agreeably with the whole context, see verse 17th (Jeremiah 31:17). Gataker suggested this idea; and it was afterwards fully adopted by Venema: and, according to their views I render this verse as follows, — For after I returned to myself, I repented, And after I knew myself, I smote my thigh; I was ashamed and even confounded, Because I have borne the reproach of my youth.
The Vulg. renders the first words, “After thou hast turned,” or converted “me (convertisti me; )” the Sept., “After my captivity;” the Syr., “After that I was converted;” and the Targ., “When we return to the Law.” Literally the words are, “After my returning,” which, according to the Hebrew idiom may be rendered, “After returning to myself,” as in the following line, “after my knowing,” means evidently “after knowing myself.”
The two verses contain the language of the penitent, praying for restoration to their own land: and two reasons are assigned for this prayer, — because Jehovah was their covenanted God, — and because they repented, for to such had restoration been promised: Hence for is used twice; it is therefore not right to render yk at the beginning of the 19th verse (Jeremiah 31:19), verily or surely. — Ed.
ftF40 This verse has been variously explained. The two questions are taken by Calvin and by others as strong negatives: but this is not always the ease; both h and µa are often taken as strong affirmatives. See Jeremiah 3:6; 1 Samuel 2:27; Ezekiel 20:30; Amos 6:2. This sense is what the context requires; for this verse is an answer to penitent Ephraim. Neither the Sept., nor the Vulg., nor the Syr., nor the Targ. retain the interrogatory form: but they retain the meaning, if the questions be taken affirmatively, not otherwise. The next words I render thus, — For since my words are in him, Remembering I will still remember him.
This is according to the Sept., and the general drift of the Targ. The Syr. gives another meaning, — For at the time when I speak against him, Remembering I still remember him.
There are no other versions which come so near to the original. — Ed.
ftF41 The word for “sounded,” means to tumultuate, to be agitated, to be greatly moved or disturbed. It is rendered by the Vulg., “are troubled — conturbata;” by the Syr. and Targ., “are moved.” It may be rendered “trouble” here. See Isaiah 16:1 l, where the action of the bowels is compared to the harp, not surely to its sound, but to the vibration of its cords. See also Isaiah 63:15, and Cant. v. 4. — Ed.
ftF42 Raise up for thyself heaps, Fix for thyself pillars.
Instead of µynyx many copies read µynwyx see 2 Kings 23:17; Ezekiel 39:15. That µyrwrmt cannot mean “bitternesses,” as rendered by the Vulg. and the Targ., is evident from the verb that precedes it, which means to place, to set, to fix. rmt is the palm-tree; the word then means palm-tree pillars, or pillars straight and high as the palm-tree. The remainder of the verse is as follows, — Set thy heart on the highway, The way thou didst go; Return, O virgin of Israel, return, To thy cities ascend.
The word for “highway” means a raised road, a road prepared for travelling. The “virgin” here signifies one that is of an age to be married. When Israel repented, they were in a fit state to be united to God, as
their husband. The last line is rendered according to the proposed emendation of Houbigant and approved by Horsley, hl[ instead of, hla which seems to have no meaning. — Ed.
ftF43 The verb, rendered “going about,” only occurs here in Hithpael, and once in Kal, Cant. v. 6; where it means to “withdraw,” or recede, or turn aside. And this sense of withdrawing is what is given to it here both by the Sept., the Targ., and the Syr.; but it is the withdrawing from accepting the return offered. We may give this version, —
How long wilt thou decline, (i.e., to return,) O daughter of the restoration? She had been before exhorted to return in the previous verse: she is now blamed for her unwillingness, which seems to have arisen from fear, and a sense of weakness. Then comes in most appropriately what follows, if interpreted according to the explanation of Calvin. The verb bç, the root of, hbbwçh, means more frequently to turn to, to return, than to turn away, to apostatize. — Ed.
ftF44 Whatever may be the meaning of this clause, it cannot certainly be applied to the miraculous conception of our Saviour, and for this plain reason, as Blayney observes, that the only thing the passage announces, if viewed in this light, is this, — that a woman shall conceive a male child, which is nothing new, but a common event; for the word here for “woman,” is not what signifies a virgin, but what designates only the sex; it means properly a female as distinguished from a male. Henry, as well as Blayney and Adam Clarke, agree materially with Calvin, as to the meaning of this sentence. — Ed. ftF45 The principal objection to this interpretation has been, that it was not by overcoming their enemies by force of arms that the Jews returned. The answer to this is, that this is a sort of proverbial expression, intimating that the weakest would prevail over the strongest. Besides, though the Jews returned by virtue of the edict of the king of Persia, yet they had many and strong enemies to oppose them. — Ed.
ftF46 Blaney renders the verse, thus, — .
And Judah shall dwell in it and all his cities, Husbandmen together, and they shall go about with flocks.
Like Calvin he takes “cities” for citizens; but still there is an inappropriateness in the words. I regard the word “land” as understood before “Judah,” — And dwell in it, the land of Judah, And in all his cities together, Shall husbandmen; and they shall remove with their flocks.
See Jeremiah 33:12,13,where the meaning of what is here said is made more evident “Remove,” that is, from place to place, as the word means, for the purpose of feeding their flocks. This betokened a state of liberty and of security. — Ed.
ftF47 Both the Sept. and Syr. render the first word “thirsty,” and the second, “hungry,” agreeably with the verbs which precede them. The “weary” and “sorrowful” of our version are no doubt wrong; the first, adopted from the Vulg.; and the second from the Targ. For I will water the thirsty soul, And every hungry soul will I fill.
“Soul” here means the person, the individual, — “ I will water him that is thirsty,” etc. — Ed. ftF48 It is difficult to see exactly the purport of this verse: what does “beheld,” or saw mean? May not the verb be considered as in Hophal, “I was made to see,” or, had a vision? The verb is often used in this sense: see Zechariah 3:1. Then we may give this version, — Hereupon I awoke and had a vision; And my sleep had been pleasant to me.
Visions were of two kinds, given in sleep, and given to persons awake: the previous vision was given to the Prophet while he was asleep. — Ed.
ftF49 I am disposed to render the latter part of this verse according to the Syriac, — That I will sow, as to the house of Israel and the house of Judah, The seed of man and the seed of beast.
I take ta as a preposition, which it often is. — Ed. ftF50 The words here used are the very same with those in Jeremiah 1:10, except the addition, “to afflict;” and yet neither the Targ., nor the Versions, except the Syriac, render them alike, giving in some instances the meaning of one verb to another, — a proof that they are very loose versions. — Ed. ftF51 Carm., Lib. 3, Od. 6.
ftF52 The Targum thus interprets this proverb, “The fathers have sinned, and the children have been smitten.” “Blunted,” or deprived of feeling, obstupuerunt, is both the Vulg. and the Syr. — Ed. ftF53 This clause, as quoted in Hebrews 8:9, is, “And I regarded them not,” according to the Sept. and the Syr.,. though the Vulg. is the same with our version. Houbigant says, “Read ytl[g I have rejected, I have repudiated.” The only difference is in one letter; and this word is used by Jeremiah in Jeremiah 14:19. There would thus be a perfect correspondence, “and I rejected them, saith Jehovah.”
“Which my covenant,” in the previous clause, is the Vulg.; but according to the Sept., the Syr., and the Targ., it is, “because they have broken my covenant,” etc. rça is not used, as given in our version, in connection with a noun that follows, though it is so used with pronouns. — Ed.
ftF54 All the nouns in Hebrew are of the singular number, — “law, inward part, heart,” and also “iniquity and sin;” and so are they in the Vulg., except the second, which is rendered “bowels;” but in the other versions and the Targ., they are mostly pluralized. The words as quoted in Hebrews are not exactly according to any of the versions, but for the most part according to that of the Sept.
There is in many copies a w before yttn, “I have put,” by which it is turned into a future, “I will even put.” This seems to be the true reading, — I will even put my law in their inmost part, And on their heart will I write it.
It is the same as if it was said, “I will put my law in the inmost part of each of them:” the persons are individualized, in order to shew that the act extends to every one alike. — Ed. ftF55 Literally the words are, —
And they shall teach no more, a man his neighbor, And a man his brother, by saying, “Know ye Jehovah;” For all of them shall know me, From the least of them to the greatest of them, Saith Jehovah.
ftF56 “Ordinance,” and “ordinances,” would perhaps be the best words. The word means a fixed order of things, sometimes rendered in our version”statute,” and sometimes “ordinance,” — Thus saith Jehovah, — He who hath appointed the sun for light by day, The ordinance of the moon and stars for light by night, Who calms the sea when roar do its waves, — Jehovah of hosts is his name,
Two opposite meanings are given by many Lexicons to [gr — to divide, to break, to cleave, and also to give rest, to calm. Parkhurst holds that it has only the last. However, that it means here to make quiet, or to calm, is most probable, as God’s restraining power as to the sea is mentioned before in Jeremiah 5:22 as a proof of his greatness.
The word for “ordinance” before “moon” is left out in the Sept., and in one MS.; and the passage would read better without it. — Ed. ftF57 The whole of this passage is differently rendered in the early versions and the Targum; some of them evidently wrong and some doubtful. Blayney gives the most literal and most consistent version. I give the following, — 38. Behold the days are coming, saith Jehovah, That built shall the city be for (or to) Jehovah, From the tower of Hananeel to the gate of the corner:
39. Yea, go forth again shall the measuring line From over against it, over the hill of Oareb, And shall surround Goath
40.And all the valley of the carcases and ashes, And all the fields to the river Kidron, To the corner of the gate of the horses eastward: Holy to Jehovah, it shall not be rooted up, Nor demolished any more for ever.
The 38th verse (Jeremiah 31:38) contains a general description; this is particularized in the following verses. The beginning of measuring was to be at “the tower of Hananeel;” hence “from over against it,” or before it: the “gate” being feminine cannot be meant; it is then “the tower.” As to the word for “fields,” the reading of the Keri and of several MSS., countenanced by the Vulg., ought no doubt to be adopted. “Eastward,” — thus the line came round to the same point where it began; for the tower of Hananeel was eastward. But what is referred to in the two last lines? The verbs are in the masculine gender, and “city” is feminine; and there is nothing in the passage with which they can agree except the tower of Hananeel. Then this tower seems to stand here for the rebuilt city; and then rooting up, i.e., undermining the foundations, and demolishing, are suitably applied to a tower. — Ed. ftF58 Some think, such as Gataker and Blayney, that according to the description here given, the dimensions of the city are much larger than what they had ever been before. The “line” was to inclose a part at least of the hill of Gareb, the whole of Goath, supposed to be Golgotha, the valley of the carcases, and the fields of Kidron, all which were formerly without the walls of the city. — Ed.
ftF59 The 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th verses (Jeremiah 32:1-5) ought to be put as parenthetical, as they only relate the circumstances connected with Jeremiah when he received the vision which he proceeds to relate in the 6th verse. Instead of “For then” in the 2d verse, “And then” would be more proper; and “Where” would be better than “For” at the beginning of the 3d verse, “Where Zedekiah had shut him up,” etc. It is “In which” in the Sept. — Ed. ftF60 Gataker and Venema give another view of this clause. The Lord, as we find from verse 7 (Jeremiah 32:7), did not tell him to buy the field, but only informed him of the coming and offer of Hanameel. When Hanameel came, he knew that it was God’s will that he should buy the field, and he instantly acted accordingly. He knew from the very circumstances that it was God’s message, sent to him to buy the field. — Ed.
ftF61 We may render the words literally thus, “And I weighed for him the money, seven shekels and ten, the money.” The word is “silver,” but it is often taken for money. The seventeen shekels, according to Lowth, were about two pounds of our money. — Ed.
ftF62 There were no doubt two rolls or writings, as it appears clear from Jeremiah 32:14, where the two are distinctly mentioned, “Take these rolls, this roll of the purchase, even the sealed, and this open roll,” etc. The word rps ought to be rendered throughout either a roll, or a book, or writing, when preceded by an article, and not “evidence,” as in our version.
There seems to be an incongruity in verse the 10th (Jeremiah 32:10), as rendered by most; the roll is represented as “sealed,” before the “witnesses” are mentioned, and before the money was weighed. The rendering, I conceive, ought to be as follows, “So I wrote in a roll; and I sealed it, when I had made witnesses to witness it, and weighed the money in balances.” The w may often be rendered “when,” and also “so,” as it is done in the next verse in our version, though there “and” would be more suitable. The “witnesses” are expressly said in ver. 12 (Jeremiah 32:12) to have subscribed, or written in, the book or roll of purchase, which was sealed. — Ed.
ftF63 The 11th verse (Jeremiah 32:11), where the two rolls are first mentioned, is difficult to be rendered. I offer the following literal version of the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th, — 11. And I took the writing of the purchase, — it the sealed, the commandment and the conditions, — and it the open; and I gave the writing of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah,
12 The son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel my uncle’s son, and in the sight of the witnesses who wrote in the roll of the purchase, and in sight of all the Jews who
13. sat in the court of the prison; and I commanded Baruch in their sight,
14. saying, “Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Take these rolls, — this roll of the purchase, even it the sealed, and this open roll; and put them in au earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.’”
The two rolls are called “the writing of the purchase” in ver. 11, but distinguished, one being “sealed,” and the other “open,” or unsealed. The sealed contained “the commandment,” that is, to purchase, and “the conditions,” literally “ordinances;” which Blayney renders, “the assignment and the limitations,” and the Vulg., “the stipulations and ratifications.” But hwxm never means anything but a precept or a commandment, and µyqj are things defined, settled, or appointed,
and may be rendered “stipulations.” Thus the contents of the sealed roll are specified, but those of the open roll are not expressly mentioned. — Ed.
ftF64 The Targ. and the versions, except the Vulg., give the first sense; but the latter is no doubt the true meaning, as the word never means properly to be hidden. The phrase here literally is, “Not harder (or more marvellous) than thou shall anything be,”that is, not harder than what thou canst do. Exactly the same phrase occurs in Genesis 18:14. The word, in a similar clause, in Deuteronomy 30:11, is rendered “hidden;” but the clause literally is, “It is not harder than thou,” that is, than what thou canst attain, or do, as the context proves, see Jeremiah 32:14. — Ed. ftF65 The change of person seems to begin at the 18th verse (Jeremiah 32:18), and includes the first clause in the 19th, — 18. He who sheweth mercy to thousands, And who returns the iniquity of fathers To the bosom of their children after them, Is God, the great, the powerful; Jehovah is his name, —
19. Great in counsel and mighty in his doings: Who — thine eyes are open On the ways of the sons of men, To give to each according to his ways, And according to the fruit of his doings;
20. Who, etc., etc.
“God, the great,” etc., is connected with shewing mercy and requiting iniquity. His greatness is in counsel or wisdom, and his power or might is manifested in his doings. The h after doings is the Chaldee for w Then his omniscience is referred to, as necessary for carrying to effect his purposes and directing his doings. Here he returns to the second person, and the “who” is idiomatic, and the Welsh is exactly the same, Yr hwn y mae dy lygaid, etc.; and the “Who” is continued in the Jeremiah 32:20. In saying that each is to have “according to his ways,” he intimates what Calvin says, that the children like the fathers are guilty. — Ed.
ftF66 This is commonly the meaning given to this verse. It may be rendered as follows, —
20. Who hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, To before signs and wonders to this day Both to Israel and to mankind; And hast made to thyself a name, Such as it is at this day.
They were “signs” or evidences of God’s power, and in their character “wonders,” that is, supernatural. — Ed.
ftF67 There is this difference between these three things: the “voice” was that of God by his prophets, — the “law” was the ten commandments, — and “all which” had been “commanded” were the statutes and ordinances, the civil and ceremonial appointments. To “hearken to his voice,” rather than to obey it, is what is meant: so far from obeying it, they would not hear the Prophets. This had been throughout their sin. — Ed. ftF68 The particle ˚a means also truly, verily, surely. It is rendered “only,” by the Sept., — “continually,” by the Vulg., — “verily,” by the Targ., — and is omitted by the Syr; Its most proper meaning is, “nevertheless,” but is often rendered “surely” in our version: and it might be rendered here, surely or doubtless. — Ed. ftF69 It appears evident, that the last clause of this is explanatory of the first, as Calvin shews. “The evil,” for the article precedes it, was “the work of their hands,” that is, idolatry: For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have doubtless been doing the evil before mine eyes from their youth; for the children of Israel have doubtless been provoking me with the work of their hands, saith Jehovah.
The connection in this way appears more obvious. — Ed.
ftF70 It has been found difficult to render this verse literally, though the general meaning is evident, and is given in our version, which is more paraphrastic than usual. If we take l[ for hl[, in its Chaldee sense, as in Daniel 6:5, 6, we shall find the version easy, — 31. For the occasion of my wrath, and the occasion of my indignation, has this city been to me from the day that they have built it even
32. to this day; so that I shall remove it from my sight on account of all the wickedness of the children of Israel, etc. etc.
So the latter part of Jeremiah 32:31 ought to be connected with the following verse. The verb for “remove” is in the infinitive mood preceded by l. It is an elliptical phrase, as is sometimes the case, where a resolution, obligation, or duty is intended. — Ed.
ftF71 So the original is; but we say the back. The same words are found in Jeremiah 2:27. — Ed. ftF72 The words for teaching, and early rising, are participles, dependent on “me,” in the previous clause, and by making a little change in the order of the words, the sense would be more evident, — And they turned the neck and not the face to me, while teaching them, early-rising and teaching; yet they hearkened not to receive instruction.
They turned their back, while God was teaching them! — Ed.
ftF73 It is true that the word means correction as well as instruction; but as “teaching” is what was previously mentioned, our version, which gives the latter word, seems to present the true meaning here. It is so rendered by Blayney. — Ed. ftF74 The Vulg. and the Targ. very incorrectly render the words, “In which my name is called.” The Sept. and the Syr. are the same as our version. It was, no doubt, a house of prayer; but what is here meant is, that it was called God’s house. — Ed.
ftF75 In Jeremiah 7:31, we have “the high places,” or elevations, “of Tophet.” Blayney thinks that they were artificial mounts thrown up for the purpose of performing some of their superstitious rites. Trees were, no doubt, planted on some of the high places; but there might be mounts without trees. That these high places were in a valley, favor the idea that they were artificial mounts without trees. And it indeed appears from this verse and from Jeremiah 7:31, that the image of Molech was set on the artificial mounts, for it is said that they built or erected these high places for this purpose, — that they might burn their children to Molech. And, probably, there were several mounts in this valley, in order to accommodate a large number of people. — Ed. ftF76 There is no ground for this supposition as to the practice in Tophet; for, in other parts of Scripture, what they did is specifically mentioned. In this very book it is said, that they burnt their children in the fire, Jeremiah 7:31, and that they burnt them as burnt- offerings to Baal, Jeremiah 19:5. See also Deuteronomy 12:31; Ezekiel 23:37. — Ed. ftF77 The Keri, ayfjh “to cause to sin,” is no doubt the true reading, even the ta before Judah is a proof of it, and it is the meaning given by the versions and the Targ. — Ed. ftF78 “Ye are saying,” is the original, which betokens a habit at that time; they were continually saying this during the siege. — Ed. ftF79 This promise clearly shews what Calvin says as to their meaning in saying “The city has been delivered up,” etc. that is, irretrievably. No, says God, I will restore it. — Ed.
ftF80 There is a gradation in the words, — wrath, hot wrath, foaming wrath. Extreme displeasure betokens, as Calvin intimates, extreme wickedness, and inflicts extreme punishment. — Ed. ftF81 “One heart” and “one way,” seem to refer to the previous divisions between Israel and Judah. They were before divided in thoughts respecting God. and in the way of worshipping him. This division would no longer exist. — Ed. ftF82 The rça may be rendered that, or because. It would be a perpetual covenant, because he would “not turn from being after them to do them good,” or, as the Syr. is, “from following them to do them good.” The Vulg. omits rça and so does the Targ.; the Syr. gives it the meaning of that, but it is rendered which, by the Sept., “which (that is covenant) I will not turn away from behind them,” that is, as it seems, from those behind them, i.e., posterity. And this is the meaning which Blayney has adopted, “which I will not withdraw from their posterity, to be a benefactor to them;” which last words he evidently connects with the first clause. What favors this rendering is, that “children” are mentioned in the previous verse.
Still, owing to the last clause, the Syriac version seems to be the most suitable. There are here two remarkable promises, — that God would not turn away from them, — and that he would put in his fear, so as to keep them from turning away from him. — Ed.
ftF83 The word tma most commonly means reality in opposition to dissimulation or pretense, or what is only apparent; truth in opposition to falsehood, and stability in opposition to what is evanescent and temporary. The planting was to be a real planting, and not one in disguise or appearance. The following words explain the meaning, “with all my heart and with all my soul,” that is, with sincerity and earnestness, or, with the full purpose of mind and with the full assent of the will and affections. — Ed. ftF84 This is not the literal rendering of the Hebrew, but the following, —
Which, ye say, *is* desolate, without man or beast, Given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
Had “which” been governed by “say,” there would have been a pronoun after it with a preposition prefixed. The Sept., the Syr., and Arab. have retained the right construction, though the Vulg. has not. “Without,” i.e., with not, or not with, is literally the Hebrew, ˆyam — Ed. ftF85 The infinitives in Hebrew are often as in Welsh, verbal nouns. The rendering may be made as follows, — Fields with money shall they buy; And there shall be writing in a book, And sealing, and the witnessing of witnesses, In the land of Benjamin, etc. etc.
Our version is the Syr. and nearly the Targ. — Ed. ftF86 The Sept. give the present time, “who makes,” etc.; the Vulg. the future, “who will make,” etc.; and the Syr. and the Targ. in the past, “who made,” etc. The verse may be thus rendered, — Thus saith Jehovah, — Made it hath Jehovah, Having formed it in order to establish it; Jehovah is his name.
That the city is meant cannot be disputed, as the word itself is introduced in the 4th verse (Jeremiah 33:4), and at the end of the 5th verse. In the Sept. it is land, “who makes the land,” and in the Syr., “who made thee:” both which are no doubt wrong. — Ed.
ftF87 These two verses have been improperly separated, so that µyab, “coming,” stands by itself without connection with anything; it ought to be in regimine with “sword.” The versions vary, but none give any tolerable meaning. The verses may be thus rendered, —
4. For thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Concerning the houses of this city, And concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, — Which are thrown down by the engines,
5. And by the sword of those who come To make war, even the Chaldeans, And to fill them [i.e., ηουσεσ with the carcases of the men, Whom I have smitten in mine anger, And in my wrath, and for all whose wickedness I have hidden my face from this city, —
6. Behold, I will bring, etc. etc.
The present and past time in the 4th and 5th verses, is used for the future, which is often the case in prophecies. — Ed.
ftF88 The word rendered “renewal,” means lengthening, that is, of man’s life; hence it is taken in the sense of recovery, — “I will bring to it a recovery and a healing.” See Jeremiah 8:22. — Ed. ftF89 The best word for it here, as given by the Syr., is security; “And I will unfold to them abundance of peace and security.” — Ed. ftF90 So is the Vulg., “suscitabo,” “I will awake,” or rouse; and also the Sept. and the Targ. — Ed. ftF91 See Preface to the third volume. — Ed.
ftF92 It is better to adopt the secondary meaning of the verb, rendered “cut off,” as it is done by the Syr. and the Targ., which is that of failing or wanting, — 17. For thus saith Jehovah, — Not wanting to David shall be a man, Sitting on the throne of the house of Israel;
18. And to the priests, the Levites, Not wanting shall there be a man before me, Burning a burnt-offering, And perfuming an oblation, And making a sacrifice all the days. — Ed.
ftF93 The Tarq. and the versions, except the Sept., give the idea of domineering or ruling; and this is the meaning of the verb everywhere when followed by b —
To send away, a man his servant, and a man his maid, The Hebrew and the Hebrewess, free; So as not to domineer over them, A man over a Jew his brother.
This is a literal rendering of the verse. But perhaps it would be better to render “servant,” bondman; and “maid,” bondwoman, as they were the married as well as the unmarried. — Ed.
ftF94 It is said afterwards that for six years was the servitude to be, and yet the statement here is, “at the end of seven years.” Were it not for two other places, (Deuteronomy 15:1; 31:10,) where we find the same words, we might follow the Sept. and the Arab., and read six instead of seven. The Rabbins remove the difneulty by saying that the word, ≈q, means the commencing, as well as the terminating end or extremity; so the meaning then would be, “at the beginning of seven years;” and this would agree with the six years afterwards mentioned. And this is the best explanation of the passage. — Ed. ftF95 Our version, “at their pleasure,” is the best, or we may render it, “to themselves,” as çpn often has this meaning. — Ed. ftF96 The verb means here evidently to constrain or to force, —
And ye have forced them to be to you For bondmen and for bondwomen.
It would be better throughout the passage to retain the words bondmen and bondwomen — Ed. ftF97 The construction of this verse as to “the calf,” is various. Our version is that of Junius and Tremelius. It is difficult to understand the Sept., the Targ., and the Vulg. The Syr. is substantially as follows, — 18. And I will make the men who have transgressed my covenant, Who have not performed the words of the covenant, Which they made before me, like the calf, Which they cut in two and passed between its parts, —
19. The princes of Judah, etc. etc.
This is the most literal rendering of the passage: the omission of k, like, or as, is not uncommon. — Ed.
ftF98 It is rendered “δυνάστας, rulers,” by the Sept., “eunuchs,” by the Vulg. and Syr., and “princes” by the Targ. They were the attendants on royalty, not necessarily eunuchs, for Potiphar, who had a wife, was so called. (Genesis 39:7.) They may have acted as judges; and hence perhaps it is, that they are named here with “the priests.” — Ed.
ftF99 So the Sept., the Vulg., and the Syr.; and the word, ãs, has commonly this meaning, a porch, an entrance or a threshold. — Ed.
ftF100 We see an instance of this in Ahab, 1 Kings 21:27-29. — Ed.
ftF101 Blaney’s suggestion is not improbable, that the Prophet, having been before tried before the princes, (Jeremiah 26) was put under some restraint, probably forbidden to enter the precincts of the Temple. — Ed.
ftF102 So the verb is rendered in the Sept. and Vulg.; but “accepted” by the Syr. and Targ. Our version is a paraphrase; to convey fully the meaning the word “humbly” ought to have been introduced,” It may be, they will humbly present their supplication,” etc. — Ed. ftF103 I render this verse as follows, —
8. And Baruch, the son of Neriah, did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, in order to read in the book the words of Jehovah in the house of Jehovah.
What Jeremiah had commanded Baruch was to take a roll and to write the words from his mouth: this Baruch did, and for this purpose, that he might read the words (as the Targum has it) in the Lord’s house. — Ed. ftF104 The latter part of the verse is differently rendered in the Sept., Syr., and the Targ., and more consistently with the Hebrew, — — proclaim a fast before Jehovah did all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people that came from the cities into Jerusalem.
It was a fast that the people proclaimed, and not the king, who was a very ungodly one. His conduct on this occasion proved his great impiety. — Ed.
ftF105 Some have made two questions here, — “How didst thou write all these words? from his mouth?” The answer seems to favor this construction; as usual in Scripture, the last question is answered first, and then the first: Baruch said, “From his mouth he pronounced to me all these words;” and then he adds, answering the first question, “and I wrote on the book with ink.” — Ed.
ftF106 There were no chimneys, and therefore no “hearths” in the East. The word rendered “hearth” here means properly a brasier, and ta before it is a preposition. The verse may be thus rendered, — And the king was sitting in the winter-house, in the ninth month, and at the brasier burning (or, which was burning) before him.
It is “a small altar, arula,” in the Vulg.; “fire” inthe Syr. and Targ.; but “hearth” in the Sept. — Ed. ftF107 The idea of trafficking or buying is given by the Sept., “to buy thence in the midst of the people.” The Fulg. is, “that he might divide there his possession in the sight of the citizens;” and materially the same meaning is given by the Syr. and the Targ. The literal rendering is, “For a portion from thence (or, there) among the people;” which seems to mean, that he intended to go to the land of Benjanmin, that he might get his portion or share from the inheritance he had among his people. So that Blayney’s version appears to be right, “to receive a portion thereof among the people.” The Chaldeans had deprived him of his patrimony in the land of Benjamin: when they retreated he purposed to go there, “with the view,” as Blayney observes, “of coming in for a share of the produce of the land with the rest of his neighbors.” — Ed.
ftF108 The versions and the Targ. render the word differently; its meaning was not evidently understood. Blaney gives the best explanation, who renders it “cells.” “The dungeon,” he says, was a deep pit like a well, and near the bottom were scooped niches, or cells, for the lodgement of the prisoners. The word comes from, hnh, to fix, to settle, to lodge; hence the plural noun here means places for prisoners to settle or lodge on, where they could fix themselves, without sinking in the mire at the bottom of the pit, as the case was with Jeremiah on another occasion. See Jeremiah 38:6. That pit, it seems, had no cells. — Ed.
ftF109 This paragraph is intermingled in the original with the text; but it has been thought better to introduce it separately. — Ed.
ftG1 “The king,” observes Blayney, “evidently speaks this in disgust with the princes, for endeavoring to frustrate his clemency.” — Ed.
ftG2 Blayney gives a better version, “torn rags and worn-out rags.” The literal rendering is, “Rags of the torn, and rags of the rotten.” — Ed. ftG3 The verb means trouble of mind or anxiety rather than fear, “I am disturbed with regard to the Jews,” etc. The Vulgate is, “I am solicitous,” and the Targum., “I am anxious. Our version, “I am afraid of,” is the Syriac. The king seems to have been too proud to own that he had fear. The last clause in the verse may be thus rendered, “And they exult over me.” The verb means to raise up or elevate one’s self, and then the preposition b means over, or against. The king was disturbed in his mind, being apprehensive of the taunts and insults of those already gone to the Chaldeans. — Ed.
ftG4 Both the Sept. and the Vulg. take “fixed” in a transitive sense, “They have fixed” or caused to sink; and the last words are made to refer to the princes. As to the Vulg. the two clauses are, “They have sunk thy feet in the mire and in a slippery place, and have departed from thee.” The Syriac. as to the last clause is the same.
The whole matter is related as seen in a vision, given to the Prophet as he says in the previous verse, — 21. This is the thing which Jehovah made me to see; and (he said) Behold the women, who have remained in the house of Judah, going forth to the princes of the king of Babylon, and behold them saying, — They have roused thee and prevailed over thee, even thy friends; sunk have they in the mire thy feet, they have run away from thee.
The scene, as seen in the vision, is presented to the king, the women going out and then speaking tauntingly to him. The princes roused or excited Zedekiah to break faith with the king of Babylon, and prevailed on him to do so. By so doing they sunk him as it were in the mire, that is, brought him to difficulties, and then ran away from him. And then in the next verse the Prophet confirms and explains the vision. — Ed.
ftG5 And this city shall be burnt with fire,” is the rendering of the Sept., the Syriac., and the Targum. The Vulg. is, “and he (the king of Babylon) will burn this city with fire.” The first, no doubt, is the true version of the hebrew, except the verb he in Hiphil, according to our version, and also that of Blayney; but what corresponds best with the passage is the former rendering. — Ed.
ftG6 The words literally are, “Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.” Such is the rendering of the Sept., the Vulg., and the Targum.; the Syriac. is, “lest thou die;” which suggests the view taken by Calvin. — Ed. ftG7 These words are left out in the Sept. and the Syriac. The Vulgate, and the Targum. give this version, “And it came to pass that Jerusalem was taken;” which seems not in this connection to have any meaning. Some connect them with the following chapter, but improperly. Our version, followed by Blayney, gives the best sense, “And he was there (that is, in the court of the prison)when Jerusalem was taken: “ He was there not only to the day or time of its capture, but during that time. This was added to shew that he was not released by the Jews, but by those who took the city. — Ed.
ftG8 The pulling out of his eyes is derived from the Vulg.; the other versions and the Targum. express literally the Hebrew, “And he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah.” And the custom was to hold before them red-hot iron. It seems also that they practiced in the East the horrible custom of pulling out the eyes. But to blind the eyes must have been a different form of barbarity. — Ed.
ftG9 The Vulg. is, “the chief of the soldiers-magister militum;” the Targum., “the prince of the slayers;” the Syriac., “the prince of the attendants, or guards.” The best rendering would be, “the chief of the executioners.” The guards, the royal attendants, were commonly the executioners. See 1 Samuel 22:17; Mark 6:27. — Ed.
ftG10 There is here an oversight; it was his father Ahikam that delivered the Prophet, as recorded in the twenty-sixth chapter (Jeremiah 26). — Ed.
ftG11 Why should he kill (or smite) thy life?” so all the versions and the Targum. But çpn means often a corpse or a dead body, Leviticus 21:1; Leviticus 22:4. Then the most obvious rendering would be, “Why should he smite thee dead?” or, “Why should he smite thee a corpse?” Blayney gives the meaning, but not a translation,” Wherefore should he take away thy life?” — Ed. ftG12 The words may be thus literally rendered, —
And Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, went out from Mizpah to meet them, walking, walking and weeping, etc.
*He went on foot, and wept as he went out — Ed.*
ftG13 “At the pit,” is the Sept.; “About the middle of the pool,” is the Vulg. and the Targum. It was evidently a ditch or a trench made for the defense of the city. See Jeremiah 41:9. — Ed. ftG14 It is not redundant, for it is the idiom of the language: and so it is in Welsh, though the present version is not correct, which ought to be as follows, — “ A’r clawdd (not pydew) yr hwn y bwriodd Ishmael iddo,” etc. — Ed.
ftG15 This is in the ninth verse. The words are omitted in the Sept.; “on account of Gedaliah,” is the Vulg. and the Targum.; which is the same with our version. “Along with Gedaliah,” is Blayney’s. The word “hand,’ often means power, authority, dominion. (Genesis 9:2; Judges 1:35) Then the rendering would be, “on account of the power of Gedaliah;” and this would give the passage the most emphatic meaning: Ishmael smote them because he envied the power given to Gedaliah, which these men, by coming to Mizpah, acknowledged and supported. — Ed.
ftG16 There was a pool in Gibeon, mentioned in 2 Samuel 2:13; and it must have been large, otherwise it would not have been called “great waters.” — Ed. ftG17 It is given as a proper name in the Sept.; the idea of peregrination is given in the Vulgate and Targum. If it be a common noun, its proper meaning is not peregrination, but habitation or dwelling, or rather dwellings, it being in the plural number. Blayney takes it as a proper name. — Ed.
ftG18 Our version is, “to whom we send thee,” and correctly too: literally it is, “whom we send thee to him,” an idiom common in Hebrew and also in Welsh, “yr hwn y danfonwn di atto.” The Vulg. is, “to whom we send thee;” and so in the Syriac. and Targum., but the Septuagint tried to imitate the Hebrew, and there is no sense given. — Ed.
ftG19 The phrase often occurs, and has ever this meaning; and it is the meaning here, no doubt, though the Sept. and the Vulg. adopt the other sense. The versions often give different senses to the same phrases, which render them unsafe guides. — Ed.
ftG20 All the versions and the Targum differ as to the construction of these two verses, the 19th and the 20th, and modern authors too. I offer the following rendering, — 19. The word of Jehovah to you, the remnant of Judah, is this, Enter not into Egypt; knowing, know (or, surely know,) that I make this pro-
20. test to you this day. Verily, ye do go greatly astray against your own selves; for ye sent me to Jehovah your God, etc., etc.
The first clause is according to the Vulg. The express message was, not to enter into Egypt. What they were to know and remember was the protest he made to them. Then in verse 20th, he charges them with inconsistency, that they went astray from their own professions, and afterwards he specifies what they had promised. There is, according to this view, a consistency in the whole passage. The word soul is often taken for the person: “against your own selves,” is literally “against your own souls.” The meaning of the phrase is, that they belied themselves, as it is evident from what follows. The past tense in Hebrew may often be rendered by the present, as it refers to time up to the present and including the present. The future also in Hebrew may be rendered by the present, because it refers often to what is now and continues to be. — Ed. ftG21 It is rendered by the Sept. and Syr., “arms;” by the Vulg., “throne;” by the Targum., “tent.” Strange that there should be such a difference. It was something to be stretched out or extended, for such is the meaning of the verb; and it was something beautiful, for so the word[means. It was probably a canopy erecton over the throne, which was to be set on the stones. — Ed. ftG22 The first verb is rendered in the third person, by the Sept., the Vulg., and the Syriac., “He will kindle;” but in the first by the Targum., “I will kindle.” The third person runs better with the context; but if a causative sense be given to the verb, it will be equally the same, “And I will cause him to kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and he will burn them, and carry them away captive; that is, he will burn the parts made of wood, and carry away the gold and the silver; “and he will put on the land of Egypt as the shepherd puts on his coat,” that is, he will put on the spoils of the land with the same ease and facility as the shepherd puts on his coat, and carry them away, no one molesting or hindering him. — Ed.
ftG23 The easiest way to reconcile this seeming inconsistency is as follows: He threatens the fugitives to Egypt with the sword; this sword was that of Nebuchadnezzar, as he foretells in Jeremiah 46:15, etc. None would escape this sword except those who might have escaped in the meantime into the land of Judah. We see the same thing referred to in Jeremiah 46:28; and that verse may be thus rendered, — And those who shall escape the sword (who shall have returned from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah) shall be few in number; but all the remnant of Judah, who have gone to the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know the word, which shall stand, what is from me or from them. — Ed.
ftG24 It is more consistent with the passage to render the verbs in the future tense, — Not flee shall the swift, Nor escape shall the strong; In the north, by the side of the river Euphrates, Have they stumbled and fallen. — Ed.
ftG25 The city here is put in opposition to the land, — And it (Egypt) said, I will ascend, I will cover the land; I will destroy (every) city, and the dwellers in it.
ftH1 All the versions, except the Syriac, which Calvin has followed, have “to Moab,” and connect the words with the following, that is, “Jehovah says thus to Moab.” The best version is, as given by Blayney and Henderson, “concerning Moab, thus saith,” etc.. — Ed. ftH2 Some give this rendering, “Alas! no Nebo;” it had ceased to exist, and the reason is given, “for it is laid waste. — Ed.
ftH3 Neither the Vulg. nor the Syr. gives this as a proper name, nor is there any such place found elsewhere. Blayney renders it “the high fortress,” agreeably with the Vulg., Syr., and the Targ. — Ed. ftH4 None of the versions renders this a proper name, but as a participle from the verb which follows, and no such place is mentioned elsewhere. They must have read hmrm, instead of ˆmdm. Then the version would be, Even silenced thou shalt be silenced, After thee shall go the sword.
To be silenced, in the language of the prophets, is to be subdued. See
Isaiah 15:1, when the same thing is said of Moab. The word
silence forms a contrast with the boasting of Moab mentioned at the beginning of the verse. After being subdued and removed elsewhere,
still the sword would follow Moab. — Ed.
ftH5 Here all the versions and the Targum differ. The Vulg. only has “little ones;” the Syr. has “her poor,” the Sept. take “Zoar” to be intended, according to Isaiah 15:5, the word hr[wx, instead of hyrw[x. The passage in Isaiah confirms this reading, though not found in any copies. Then the verse would read thus, — Broken is Moab, They made the cry heard at Zoar.
This is substantially the version of Venema. — Ed. ftH6 The word enemies is given only by the Vulg.; the other versions render it “distress.” The literal rendering of the verse is,For in the ascent to Luhith, With weeping ascends weeping; For in the descent to Heronaim, The distress of the cry of ruin have they heard.
This version materially corresponds with Isaiah 15:5. Weeping ascending with weeping, shews that all wept as they ascended. “The distress of the cry” is a Hebraism for distressing cry. — Ed. ftH7 “Incliners” is the Sept.; “strewers,” the Vulg.; “plunderers,” the Syr. and Targ. The verb means to spread, to strew. They were those who turned the wine vessels in order to empty them. Henderson has “overturners;” but Blayney has the best word, “tilters,” who should tilt him. — Ed. ftH8 There is no agreement in the Versions and Targ., as to these words, nor among critics. The easiest construction is presented by Blayney, — A spoiler of Moab and of her cities is gone up.
The next clause is not so well rendered by Blayney. He applies it to the Chaldeans. “Moab” is spoken of in this chapter, both in the feminine and in the masculine gender. In our language the neuter would be the most suitable, it and its. I render the verse thus, — 15. The waster of Moab and of its cities is going up, And the choice of its youth shall descend to the slaughter, Saith the King, Jehovah of hosts is his name.
“Going up” as ascribed to the conqueror, and “descending” to the conquered. — Ed.
ftH9 The literal rendering is, —
How has the rod of strength been broken, The staff of honor?
“How” is by what means, or how much: the first seems to be the meaning here. The rod and the staff are the same — the sceptre an ensign of power and of honor or glory. — Ed.
ftH10 The verb “dwell” favors the idea adopted by some, that amx means here a dry or thirsty land. - Ed.
ftH11 hl[ here, as in Jeremiah 48:15, is a participle, and so the verb which follows. The “waster” is represented as then on his way, — For the waster of Moab is ascending against thee, The destroyer of thy fortresses. — Ed.
ftH12 The word has no other meaning than that of smiting, striking, or clapping the hand. A drunkard rejoices by clapping his hands, even in his filth, and thus makes himself an object of ridicule and derision; or he may strike his hands in agony: but it is by the first he renders himself ridiculous, the thing evidently intended here. It is observed justly by Blayney, that the first verb in the verse is in the singular number, used for the plural; and he regarded this verb to be the same; and his version is, — And clap at Moab in his vomiting.
The objection to this is, the verb in this sense is not used without a preposition after it; see Lamentations 2:15: otherwise this would suit the passage: it was suggested by Gataker. - Ed.
ftH13 The Vulg. and the Targ. give the best version of these words, —
Surely for the abundance of thy words against him, thou shalt be quickly removed, *or,* led captive.
Then, in the following verse, Moab is bidden to quit his cities — Ed. ftH14 Our version in Isaiah 16:6, where the same form of words occurs, is, “We have heard of,” though here the “of” is dropped, and thus the meaning of Calvin is conveyed, which is favored by the early versions.
The verse may be thus literally rendered, —
We have heard the arrogance of Moab; Very arrogant has been his insolence and arrogance; Yea, his arrogantness and the loftiness of his heart.
The word for “arrogance” means swelling; it is to grow big, and to claim more than what belongs to us. Then “insolence” signifies to rise high, so as to look down on others with contempt. Arrogance is first, then insolence: and in the last line the two are inverted, and with this difference, the disposition is denoted in the last line, and the acting in the former. — Ed. ftH15 Ira furor brevis est. — Epist. 2 ad Loll. ftH16 The versions and the Targ. all differ as to this verse. The Vulg. is the best; it takes µydb, branches, and also limbs, in a metaphorical sense, signifying strength. I give the following rendering, — 30. I know, saith Jehovah, his excess, (i.e. of pride;) But not so his strength, not so have they done.
The mixture of numbers, singular and plural, is common in the prophets — “his” and “they.” The meaning seems to be, that however excessive was the pride and insolence of Moab, they had no power fully to effect their purposes. - Ed.
ftH17 This paragraph has been transplanted from the text.
The verbs here are imperatives in the Sept and Syr., “Howl ye,” etc.; and in the future tense in the Targ., “they shall howl, etc. The Vulg., is according to the Hebrew. The last verb is in the third person, “He (Moab) will mourn for the men of Kir-heres.” This city was on the extremity of Moab northward, as Jazer was on its extremity southward. — Ed. ftH18 Jam canit extremos effœtus vinitor antes. — Geor. 2:417.
ftH19 A reason more suitable to the passage has been given for this comparison, — that Moab in its distress is compared to an heifer lowing for want of pasture and especially of water, for it follows that the waters of Nimrim would be dried up. See Isaiah 15:5, 6. — Ed. ftH20 As to this clause, widely different are all the versions; the Targ. gives the general sense. The word trty is evidently plural, the w being
wanting. “Reserves,” as given by Blayney, is an exact rendering, — Because the reserves he had made have perished.
Connected with this word is another in Isaiah 15:7, which means “deposits;” both signify the wealth or treasures they had laid up. — Ed.
ftH21 All the versions and Targ. read, “as a useless vessel;” but the Hebrew is, “as a vessel without delight in it,” i.e., as a vessel which has nothing pleasing or agreeable in it. — Ed. ftH22 The literal rendering is as follows, —
How broken! they howled; How has Moab turned the back ashamed! Thus Moab has become a derision And a terror to all around him.
The past tense is used for the future. — Ed.
ftH23 The literal rendering of the verse is as follows, the nominative case to the two verbs being Moab, taken here as the country, — 41. Taken it is, — the cities; And the strongholds, — it is seized: And become shall the heart of the valiants of Moab, In that day, like the heart of a woman in distress.
In our language it would be, “as to its cities,” and, “as to its strongholds.” — Ed.
ftH24 There is a striking alliteration in these words, fear, pit, snare — peched, pechet, pech. — Ed. ftH25 The word “strength” is here omitted. Calvin’s version is, “Under the shadow of Heshbon stood they who had fled from strength,” or violence, i.e., of their enemies. Some connect it with “stood,” the fugitives “stood for strength,” or, “without strength,” which, perhaps, is preferable: they stood under the shadow or protection of Heshbon, and obtained no help; so far was this from being the case, that from Heshbon would go forth fire, that is, “the spoiler,” or, destroyer, before often mentioned. Then yk would have its usual meaning, for, as giving a reason why the fugitives remained without strength or help, under the protection of Heshbon. — Ed.
ftH26 Most give a different explanation of this fire, that it designated “the spoiler” that was to come on Moab. That fire has often this meaning is evident. See Judges 9:20. — Ed. ftH27 The last clause is evidently a quotation from Numbers 24:17: it is not literally the same, but the meaning is so. It is “corner”’ here and not “corners,” as in Numbers; and the word there is rqrq, and not dqdq as here, only there are some copies which have the former word here. In that case, the passage would read thus, — And it shall devour the corner of Moab, And destroy the sons (or children) of tumult.
tç in Numbers is probably for taç, which means the same as the word here used, coming from the same root, and properly rendered “tumult.”
This passage is omitted in the Sept.; the Vulg. renders dqdq, “verticem,” the crown or top of the head; but the Syr. and Targ. drop the metaphor, and render it “chiefs” or nobles. — Ed.
ftH28 Literally it is, “To the children of Ammon thus saith Jehovah:” so the Sept., the Vulg., and the Targ. There are prophecies concerning Ammon in Ezekiel 21:28-32; 25:2-7; Amos 1:13-15; and in Zephaniah 2:8-11. — Ed.
ftH29 “Milcom” is given by the Sept., the Vulg., and the Syr.; but “their king” by the Targ. In Amos 1:15, the Vulg. and Syr. are the same; but the Sept. have “kings,” and the Targ. is the same as here. There was a king of Ammon, Jeremiah 27:3; and there is one passage in which the possession of a country is ascribed to a heathen god, to Chemosh, see Judges 11:24. But “inheriting” is more suitably applied to a king than to an idol; and the contrast in the next verse is with Israel and not with God, “Israel shall be heir,” etc. Most probably, then, the king is meant, and not the idol. — Ed.
ftH30 The quotation is not literally given, but the meaning of the passage. — Ed.
ftH31 Literally it is, “And Israel shall inherit his inheritors.” The Ammonites claimed to be the heirs, and Israel succeeded them as the right heir. This prophecy was fulfilled as recorded in 1 Macc. 5:6, 7, 28-36. — Ed.
ftH32 Except in 1 Macc. 5:6-8. The victories of the Maccabees were, no doubt, a literal accomplishment of this prophecy. See verses 33, 34;
where the sound of the “trumpets” is expressly mentioned. — Ed.
ftH33 The verb means to flow out, and to flow away, to waste. The latter seems to be the meaning here, “wasted has thy valley.” (See Lamentations 4:9.) It has a noun after it, when it means to flow out in the sense of abounding; but when used intransitively, it means to flow away in the sense of wasting, — Why gloriest thou in deep valleys! Flown away has thy deep valley, O daughter, who hast turned aside, Who hast trusted in thy treasures, Who hast said in thine heart, “Who can come to me?”
The participle hbbwçh, “who hast turned aside,” or away, is rendered “delicate,” by the Vulg., and “beloved,” by the Syr., and the idea of impudence or folly, is conveyed by the Sept. and Targ. How the word could be so rendered, it is difficult to say. The verb means to turn to or from. Being a reduplicate here, it means to turn away resolutely; hence “rebellious” would be no improper rendering. “Her” before “treasures,” refers to “daughter,” but in our language “thy” reads better, as adopted by the Vulg. and the Syr. There is an addition in several copies of the words, “Who hast said in thine heart,” and all the versions have what corresponds with them. — Ed.
ftH34 So the Vulg. and the Targ., while the Sept. and the Syr., have “prudent,” or intelligent. The word is not in its regular form, the y iod being wanted, and the m mem before it being omitted, which is not uncommon. Discerning rather than “prudent,” or “intelligent,” is its meaning. — Ed.
ftH35 Some maintain that the first clause only is a question, for there is no interrogatory particle prefixed to the other clauses, — Is wisdom no longer in Teman? Perished has counsel from the discerning, Vanished has their wisdom.
Neither the versions nor the Targum put the two last lines as questions; nor the Sept. and the Syr. the first. The verb jrs is differently rendered, — by the Sept., “departed;” by the Vulg., “become useless;” by the Syr., “taken away;” by the Targ., “marred,” or corrupted. The verb means to spread, to stretch out; and spreading here is in the sense of dissipating or scattering, and the verb here is passive. So “vanished” would convey the meaning. The first line is a question, and the two following contain the answer. A tautology cannot be otherwise avoided. — Ed. ftH36 The versions, (except the Syr. and the Targ.) have the verbs here in the imperative mood; and they are so regarded by most critics, “Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep,” etc.. This is necessary on account of yk, for, which follows. — Ed.
ftH37 The interpreters probably referred to are the Sept. and the Vulg., where the interrogative form is not used; not so the Syr. and the Targ. — Ed.
ftH38 Neither of the two explanations here given are satisfactory, though the first especially has been adopted by many, such as Henry and Scott. It is difficult to know the meaning of the Sept.; the Vulg. and the Syr. are literally our version. The Targ. goes wide astray, representing this verse as addressed to the people of Israel, of whom there is no mention here. Blayney supposes a typographical mistake, joins bz[ to the preceding verse, and puts h, to the next word, and gives this version, — And there is nothing of him left. 11. Shall I preserve the life of thy fatherless children? Or shall thy widows trust in me?
The questions he considers as strong negatives. The simpler view seems to be this: in the preceding verse the destruction not only of Esau, but also of his brethren and neighbours, is announced. His “seed” means his posterity, the nation, and he was was not to be, that is, as a kingdom. There would be still some “orphans” and “widows,” and as “brethren” and “neighbors” would be destroyed as well as Esau himself, as to all grown up people, forming the nation, and thus orphans and widows would be left helpless, God was pleased to give the promise here stated: Leave thy orphans, I will preserve them, Thy widows also, in me let them trust.
The last verb is both masculine and feminine, and refers both to the orphans and widows. This is substantially the explanation given by Venema, and is the most satisfactory. — Ed.
ftH39 It is better to render it as in the Syr., “astonishment;” then “reproach”
comes after it; and the next word, brj, is properly “a waste,” and in the plural is rendered “wastes” at the end of the verse. There were two cities called Bozrah, one in Moab, Jeremiah 48:24, and one in Edom, Isaiah 63:1. — Ed. ftH40 This verse is variously rendered in the versions and in the Targum, and also by commentators. The following rendering I deem plain and literal, — Behold, as a lion from the swelling of Jordan, Will he ascend to the strong habitation; For suddenly will I cause him to run from it: And he who is chosen will I appoint over her; For who is like me? and who can meet me? And who is he, the shepherd, who can stand before me?
The word h[ygra, as in Proverbs 12:19, is “suddenly,” or in a moment. “Him” is the lion, and “from it,” the swelling of Jordan. “Over her” is Edom. “Who can meet me?” that is, to contend with me, or resist me, according to the Sept. The verb is d[y, though Calvin derived it from dw[. The “shepherd” is mentioned, because of the “lion,” whom no shepherd can resist when he attacks the flock. God speaks of himself as identified with his chosen one. — Ed. ftH41 The literal rendering is, —
The cry — at the Red Sea was heard its sound.
It is an instance of the nominative case absolute. — Ed.
ftH42 There are several copies in which the k, caph, is found, and it is evidently the most suitable reading, — Confounded is Hamath and Arpad; For an evil report have they heard, — they melt away; Like the sea the agitation, the quieting none can effect.
The melting away was through fear. They were moved or agitated, and, like the sea, they could not rest or be still. la may be often rendered none or nothing. — Ed.
ftH43 So the versions, (except the Sept.) and also the Targ., the y iod being regarded as paragogic. So Grotius. - Ed. ftH44 The Syr. rendered it “spared;” the Vulg. has left out the negative not.
There are two difficulties, the verb bz[ is not used in the sense of sparing, though Gataker labours to shew this; then the connexion: the next verse begins with a “therefore.” Take the verb here in its usual sense, and then “therefore” will have its force. He asks, Why was not this city, under the circumstances previously mentioned, forsaken or abandoned, notwithstanding its being a celebrated and a joyous city? But as it was not forsaken, “therefore,” he says, “her young men shall fall in her streets,” etc.
Venema’s view is different; his version is, — Why not? forsaken has been the city of praise, The city of my joy.
That is, Why should not Damascus be compelled to flee, since Jerusalem had been forsaken, the city of praise and of his joy. “Therefore,” in this sense, refers to the slaughter of those who would not flee. — Ed.
ftH45 It is “Kedem” in the Sept., and “East” in the other versions and the Targum. — Ed. ftH46 This verb is deemed by most to be in the imperative mood, like the two foregoing verbs; and it is so given in the Sept., the Vulg., and the Targ. In the Syr., all the verbs are in the past tense, which is not consistent with the context. Blayney’s version is, — Flee ye, move off apace, Retire deep for to dwell, etc.
The meaning is, as he says, that they should go into deep caverns to hide themselves from their enemies. See Judges 6:2; 1 Samuel 13:6. — Ed.
ftH48 The difference in the two clauses is properly distinguished by Blayney, in his version, — There shall not a man dwell there, Nor shall a son of man sojourn therein. — Ed.
ftH49 They were the descendants of Elam the son of Shem, Genesis 10:22. They were a powerful kingdom in the days of Abram, Genesis 14:1. Isaiah speaks of them as hostile to the people of Israel, Isaiah 22:6. Shushan is said to have been in the province of Elam, Daniel 8:2. — Ed. ftH50 “The indignation of his wrath” is in apposition with “evil.” So the Vulg., the Syr., and the Targ. And I will bring on them evil, The burning of my wrath, saith Jehovah.
The evil was the effect of God’s high displeasure. — Ed.
ftH51 Most consider that “Merodach” here was a false god; first probably a king, afterwards deified. As confounded, or put to shame, is applied to Bel, the other verb tj, should be rendered “dismayed” or terrified, a meaning which it often has, — Taken is Babylon, Confounded is Bel, Terrified is Merodach; Confounded are her images, Terrified are her idols.
The word for “images” means labor, and refers to the labor and pains taken by those who made them; and the word for “idols” means a trunk or log of wood from which they were made. — Ed.
ftH52 The two verbs are rendered by the versions, except the Syr., and by the Targ., in the future tense, “They shall come and be joined,” etc.; and one MS., says Blayney, has waby. This would read better. Then the verse would. run thus — To Zion will they ask the way, Hither their faces; They shall come and be joined to Jehovah, By an everlasting covenant, which shall not be forgotten.
“Hither” and not “thither,” for the Prophet was at Jerusalem; and so the particle means, and it is so given in the Sept. and Vulg. The last clause requires “which” in our translation, though not in Welsh, for, like the Hebrew, it can do without it — nad anghofir. literally the Hebrew. What is here predicted was literally accomplished, as recorded by Nehemiah, (Nehemiah 9:38; Nehemiah 10:29.) — Ed.
ftH53 I render the verse thus, —
6. Lost sheep have become my people; Their shepherds have caused them to err, Having turned them here and there on the mountains; From mountain to hill have they gone; They have forgotten their resting-place.
The meaning of µybbwç is given by the Sept. and Vulg., “causing them to wander;” the verb bç is to turn; being here a reduplicate, it means to turn much, or again and again, or here and there; and this is confirmed by what follows — they went, through the teaching of their pastors, from “mountain to hill,” that is, from one form of idolatry to another; and “forgotten their resting-place,” which was God. — Ed.
ftH54 Calvin, in his exposition of Isaiah 37:26, applies what is said to Sion, and not to Sennacherib, as it is commonly done. — Ed.
ftH55 The most approved exposition is the first, which makes the latter words to be in apposition with Jehovah, as given in the Versions, though the last clause seems to be a separate sentence, — Because they have sinned against Jehovah, The habitation of righteousness; And the hope of their fathers was Jehovah.
By calling God the habitation of righteousness, what is implied is, as Lowth suggests, that they would not have been banished, had they not justly deserved to be so treated, God being the seat or dwelling-place of justice or righteousness. And in addition to this, he had been the hope of their fathers. See Jeremiah 40:3, where we have an example of what their enemies alleged. — Ed. ftH56 Their arrows, like those of a skilful warrior. — Blayney. In the next line there is an instance of al being in the sense of none,– “None shall return empty,” or void; i.e., without effecting its purpose. See Isaiah 55:11. — Ed. ftH57 Several copies have hçd, threshing. Being allowed to eat at pleasure, the threshing heifer became fat and frisky. It is so taken by Blayney and Henderson, though not countenanced by the Versions or the Targ. — Ed. ftH58 Jeremiah having twice before (Jeremiah 8:16; Jeremiah 47:3) used the word for steeds or horses, we may conclude that he means the same here. — Ed.
ftH59 The connection of these two verses will be more evident, if we render
yk when, as proposed by Gataker, and not surely, as by Calvin, nor because, as in our version, — 11. When ye shall rejoice, when ye shall exult, Ye plunderers of mine heritage, When ye shall skip as a fed heifer, And neigh like steeds,
12. Ashamed greatly shall be your mother, Confounded shall she be who bare you; Behold, the last of the nations shall she be, A desert, a dry land, and a wilderness.
The reference seems to be to the rejoicings of Babylon, when it was taken. — Ed.
ftH60 Or literally, “Because against Jehovah has she sinned.” — Ed.
ftH61 Rather “battlements” or ramparts, as given by the Sept.; for it is not proper to say that “foundations” have fallen. — Ed.
ftH62 Literally, “and boned him;” which is to be taken in a privative sense, “and unboned him.” There are similar words in Hebrew: to neck is to break the neck. (Exodus 13:13.) To tail is to cut off the tail. (Joshua 10:19.) To root is to root up. (Psalm 52:5.) The Vulg. here is exossavit. — Ed. ftH63 The idea of this verse is rightly given in these words: the punishment for iniquity and sins would not be exacted, because God would pardon the remnant; hence they appeared not. The removal of punishment, the restoration from exile, would shew that iniquity and sins no longer existed, God having fully pardoned them, and thus obliterated them.
The iniquity of Israel was false worship, the worship of the calves, and the sins of Judah were especially idolatry and the rejection of God’s messages by his prophets. For these evils more particularly they were banished, and their exile proved a remedy for them, as they never afterwards fell into these sins. — Ed.
ftH64 Merathaim and Pekod are appellatives, and not proper names, in the early versions, and the first is so in the Targ. and rendered “rebellious;” but by the Sept. “bitterly;” by the Vulg. “rulers;” and by the Syr. “exasperating.” The most probable derivation of the word is from hrm, to rebel, with a dual termination, doubly rebellious, i.e., very rebellious. As to “Pekod,” the versions give it the idea of visiting by way of punishment: “Avenge thou with the sword,” is the Sept.; “Visit her inhabitants,” the Vulg.; “Assail ye her and her inhabitants,” the Syr.; the Targ. has “the inhabitants of Pekod.” It is better to take both words as appellatives: — 21. Against the land of the most rebellious, against her ascend, And to the inhabitants of visitation; Slay and utterly destroy their
posterity, saith Jehovah, And do according to all that I have commanded thee.
As to Babylon being “rebellious,” see Jeremiah 50:24, 33. “Inhabitants of visitation” were such as were to be visited, i.e., with judgment; see Jeremiah 50:31. The repetition, “against her,” is emphatical. “posterity,” i.e., children, or young men, as in Jeremiah 50:30. See 1 Kings 16:3. — Ed. ftH65 The first verb, [dg, means to cast off as well as to cut off; the breaking is expressed by the following verb. According to order often found in the Prophets, the final act, casting off, is first mentioned, and then the previous act, the breaking of it, — 23. How has the hammer of all the earth Been cast off and broken! How has Babylon become a wonder among nations!
“A wonder” or astonishment, for so the word is evidently to be taken here, according to the Syr., though rendered “extinction” by the Sept., and “desert” by the Vulg. and Targ. Blayney and Henderson render it “astonishment.” — Ed. ftH66 “Treasury” here means an armory or arsenal, as rendered by Blayney: and then “instruments” signify weapons, drawn from the armory. — Ed. ftH67 Literally it is, —
For a work — this the Lord Jehovah of hosts has In the land of the Chaldeans. — Ed.
ftH68 It is added, “from the extremity,” i.e., of heaven, according to a parallel passage in Isaiah 13:5. They were to come from the farthest parts of the earth then known. — Ed. ftH69 The most approved rendering is, “Cast (or throw) her up as heaps,” i.e., of rubbish, according to Jeremiah 51:37. It is said that the verb here never means to tread under foot, “Make her, of a goodly, stately city, nothing but heaps of earth, stones, and rubbish.” Gataker. — Ed. ftH70 The Sept. and Syr. take yrp here as signifying fruit, i.e., of the womb — children, offspring; and what is said in Isaiah 13:16-18, favours this meaning, as well as what is said in Jeremiah 50:21, if we render µhyrja, “their posterity.” The Vulg. and the Targ. render the word here “valiants,” expressing the meaning of “bullocks.” The first version is the most suitable, — Slay ye all her fruit (or offspring;) Let them descend to the slaughter.
It is descending to the slaughter that led critics to render yrp bullocks, but we find this expression unconnected with bullocks in Jeremiah 48:15; where “chosen young men” are said to
“descend to the slaughter.” To descend denotes degradation, and to ascend dignity. The Targ. has, “Let them be delivered to the slaughter.” — Ed. ftH71 The early versions and the Targ. render µybr, “many;” and the rendering of the Sept. and Vulg. is to this effect, — Proclaim ye to the many at Babylon, To all who bend the bow, — “Encompass her around, Let there be no escape,” etc.
The first part is a charge like what we find in the second verse; and the second states what they were to do. “Proclaim ye to,” is literally, “‘Make ye to hear,” — “Make ye the many at Babylon to hear,” etc. — Ed. ftH72 The versions, except the Syr. and the Targ., give a similar meaning to this verb: but there is no instance of the verb in Hiphil having this meaning, though it would be the most suitable to this place. At the same time we may consider the land of Chaldea to be meant, if we regard the stillness or quietness as referring to the check produced by God’s restraining power, — So as to render the land still, And to terrify the inhabitants of Babylon.
The promise is to make the land quiet so as not to oppose the return of the Jews, and for the same purpose, to terrify Babylon. — Ed. ftH73 The word is rendered “diviners” by the Vulg., the Syr., and the Targ.; it is left out by the Sept. Some derive it from adb, to feign, to devise, to invent, the a being left out in µydb, others say that it comes from db, alone, solitary, separate, so that µydb were the recluse, retirement
or seclusion being often the habit of impostors. It is connected, in
Isaiah 44:25, with µymsq, diviners, prognosticators. — Ed. ftH74 Events would prove, that they were foolish and ignorant, being not able to foretell the ruin of their own nation, notwithstanding their boast in the knowledge of futurity. — Ed. ftH75 It is so rendered by the Vulg. and the Targ., omitted by the Sept., and rendered “sword” by the Syr., and also by Blayney and Henderson. The same incongruity exists as to the treasures; but the sword here, means those who wielded it, the soldiers of Cyrus: they spoiled the treasures, they turned the streams of the rivers. — Ed. ftH76 That the Babylonians had large idols or images, which were of terrific size, is evident from Daniel 3:1 — Ed. ftH77 As to the two first words, the versions and the Targ. widely differ. According to Bochart, the first word, µyyx, means “wild cats,” and the second, µyya, jackals. The Vulg., the Syr., and the Targ. render the other word, hn[y, the same, “the ostrich;” and this is the general opinion. — Ed. ftH78 Rather “sojourn,” according to the Sept. — Ed. ftH79 Rather “spear” or lance; so the Sept. and Syr., though the Vulg. and Targ. have “shield.” — Ed. ftH80 See note on Jeremiah 49:19. — Ed. ftH81 The Targ. and the versions widely differ from one another. The cabbalistic solution is very frivolous, by which the two words bl and ymq are made one, and made to signify “Chaldeans,” according to what was called “Athbash,” by which aleph, the first letter, was taken for tau, the last letter, and beth, the second, for shin, the last but one; and so on through the whole alphabet. But Blayney and others, such as Gataker and Venema, give a satisfactory explanation of the words. The word bl, the heart, often means the middle of anything, as “the heart of heaven,” in Deuteronomy 4:11 means the midst of heaven; and “the heart of the seas,” in Psalm 46:2, means the midst of the seas. So here, “the heart of my adversaries,” means the centre of the country of his adversaries. i.e., Babylon, — Against the inhabitants of the metropolis of my adversaries. — Ed. ftH82 It is singular that la is omitted in the Sept. and the Syr., and retained in its negative sense in the Vulg. and the Targ., which makes no sense consistently with the context. There is evidently rça understood before the first verb, as is often the case when the verb is in the future tense. Then the literal rendering would be this, — At him who bends let the bender bend his bow, And at him who glories in his coat of mail; And spare ye not her chosen men, Utterly destroy all her host.
There is here perfect consistency. They who take la as a negative say, that the first part is addressed to the Chaldeans, and the second to their enemies; but this would be strangely abrupt. — Ed. ftH83 The explanation of the last clasue is, according to the Jewish commentators, not generally taken. The “land,” by most is deemed to be the land of Israel and Judah. The word µça, means not only guilt, but also guilt’s penalty — judgement; and this seems to be its meaning here, — For not widowed is Israel, By his God, by Jehovah of hosts; Though their land has been filled With judgement by the Holy One of Israel.
But if we render m before or against, then the last line would be, —
With guilt (or sin) before the Holy One of Israel. — *Ed*.
ftH84 Some render the last word “reel,” or stagger, and perhaps more consistently with the comparison of drunkenness. The verb in Hithpael, as here, means to be moved violently, either through rage or joy. Moved or agitated is the rendering of the versions and the Targum. To be moved with joy is to exult or glory; and so Blayney renders it, and connects the end of this verse with the following, i.e., that the nations gloried because of the fall of Babylon, — Therefore shall nations glory, [saying,] Babylon is suddenly fallen, etc. — Ed.
ftH85 Another view has been given of this clause: It is a mode of speaking to express the greatness of a thing; see Psalm 36:5; Ezra 9:6. The judgement or punishment of Babylon would be so great, that
it might be compared to what may reach to the heavens, and to the ethereal regions; for such is the meaning of the last word, and is rendered “stars,” by the Sept., — For to the heavens has reached her judgement, And it has risen up to the ethereal regions.
By “heavens,” are often meant the skies. — Ed.
ftH86 The second clause in the versions and the Targ. is, “Fill the quivers,” i.e., with arrows. But the word means “shields:” hence some render the verb in the sense of filling up or completing. “Complete the shields,” i.e., their number, or rather, more consistently with sharpening or polishing the arrows, “Fill up,” or mend, “the shields.” So Venema and Parkhurst. — Ed.
ftH87 Though the Hebrew here is exactly the same as in Jeremiah 10, except that “Israel” is omitted here, yet the Vulg., the Syr., and the Targ. give a different version; but in the Sept. it is the same. But many copies have “israel” here, which is no doubt the correct reading. — Ed.
ftH88 Many render this passage in the future tense, according to all the Versions and the Targ., and consider Cyrus to be intended by the “hammer;” but they render ˚b, by, or with thee, contrary to the Targ. and the Versions, which is rendered in thee, i.e., Babylon; and for thee in the Syr. And this seems to be the view most consistent with the whole passage, especially Jeremiah 51:24. Babylon was the “hammer” which God had employed, “Jeremiah 50:23) but he would hereafter employ, as it were, a hammer, or a scatterer, in Babylon itself, — 20. A scatterer (or a hammer) art thou to me, A weapon of war; But I will scatter in thee nations, And destroy in thee kingdoms;
21. And I will scatter in thee the horse and its rider, And I will scatter in thee the chariot and its rider;
22. And I will scatter in thee the husband and the wife, And I will scatter in thee the old and the child, And I will scatter in thee the young man and the maid;
23. And I will scatter in thee the shepard and his flock, And I will scatter in thee the plougman and his team, And I will scatter in thee the governors and princes.
The comes, naturally, a summary of the whole, — 24. And I will render to Babylon And to all the inhabitants of Chaldea, All the evil which they have done in Sion, Before your eyes, saith Jehova.
The in the two following verse Babylon is still addressed.
“Scatter” is according to the Sept., the Syr., and the Targ.; “dash against one another” is the Vulg. — Ed.
ftH89 Blayney views “the mountain” differently, as a metaphor for a nation, or a prince, rising above others in power: and “the rocks” he considers to be the strongholds of this mountain. — Ed.
ftH90 Though the reatest part of the walls and towers was built of bricks, yet there were stones no doubt used. Some understand, by “stone,” a king or prince, and consider that an intimation is given that Babylon would not hereafter have a king or its own, but be tributary. — Ed.
ftH91 The Version and the Targ. all differ as to the word rspf, rendered by Calvin, “leader.” It is translated “commander” by Blayney. Parkhurst says that it is a Chaldee word, from spf, to reduce to order, and rs, a ruler. Then it means a commanding officer, a caption, or a general. It occurs only here and in Nahum 3:17. — Ed.
ftH92 The Hebrew is, “the kings of Media;” but the Sept. and Syr. have “the king of Media;” which is required by “his dominion” at the end of the verse: the pronoun affixed to “captains” and “rulers” is “her,” referring to Media. — Ed.
ftH93 The “earth” here is evidently the land of Chaldea or Babylon, —
And tremble shall the land and be in pain; For confirmed respecting Babylon shall be the purposes of Jehovah, To set the land of Babylon a waste, Without an inhabitant. — Ed.
ftH94 It seems to have been taken at its two extremities: hence the runners met each other at the king’s palace, from both ends of the city, and each said, that it was taken at its end. — Ed.
ftH95 The word µymga, properly pools, is probably a metonomy for what they grow, even reeds or bulrushes, especially as the same word, in somewhat another form, ˆmga, clearly means a reed. See Isaiah 9:14; Isaiah 19:15. But what these reeds were, authors are at a loss to know. It is said in the thirtieth verse, that they “burnt her habitations;” may it not have been, that they were such as were made of reeds? Then the whole verse appears intelligible; the passages (that is, the entrances from the river, whose streams were diverted) were seized on, and such houses as were in part built of reeds were set on fire; hence the men were frightened. — Ed.
ftH96 By identifying the time of threshing and the time of harvest, it is that we can see the meaning of this verse. Mention is first made of threshing or treading — the punishment prepared for Babylon; then it is said that what led to that — the harvest, would shortly come. The verb “come” is to be understood in the third line, it being given only in the last, — 33. For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, — Babylon shall be like a threshing-floor; Come shall the time of threshing her; Yet a little while, and come to her shall the time of harvest.
The order as to the threshing and harvest is similar to what is often found in the prophets, — the last thing, being the main thing, is mentioned first, and then what precedes or leads to it. — Ed.
ftH97 The pronoun after the verbs in this verse is in the plural number, us, according to the present Hebrew text, but according to the Keri and several copies, it is in the singular number, me. The authority as to MSS. is nearly equal; only the latter reading is favored by the versions and the Targ, and also by the verse which follows. — Ed.
ftH98 The common meaning of the verb is, violently to disturb, but it is evidently used in the sense of breaking, crushing, or breaking in pieces, in Isaiah 28:28; and this is the most suitable sense here, as it follows “devouring.” — Ed.
ftH99 Or a sea-monster, or a whale, who devours smaller fish whole and entire. — Ed.
ftH100 The last verb is left out by the Sept., rendered “cast out,” by the Vulg., “destroyed,” by the Syr.; “made to emigrate,” by the Targ. The verb properly means to drive out or away; and their ejection from the land is what is meant. — Ed.
ftH101 Taking this verse is connection with the following, Gataker and Lowth give somewhat another view, — that the Babylonians roared like lions and shouted with exultation before the city was taken. It is said by Herodotus, that “they ascended the walls, and capered, and loaded Darius and his army with reproaches.” They roared with rage at their enemies, and excited themselves as whelps when beginning to hunt for themselves, full of life and animation, — Together as young lions shall they roar. And rouse themselves as whelps of lionesses.
There is a w wanting before the last verb, which is supplied by the Vulg., Syr., and the Targ.; and it is rendered necessary by the tense of the verb. — Ed.
ftH102 “In their heat,” that is, as it appears, of rage, while they were roaring like lions. The word rendered “feasts” by Calvin and in our version, properly means drinking, and it is so rendered in the early versions, and more suitably here, — In their heat I will set for them their drink, And will make them drunk, that they may leap for joy; And they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, And shall not awake, saith Jehovah.
It is a clear allusion to the feast celebrated in Babylon the very night it was taken. — Ed.
ftH103 The Sept. and the Syr. remove the incongruity that is in this verse; they supply k before the “land” that occurs first, and omit the second “land.” Then the verse would read thus, — 43. Become have her cities a desolation, Like a land of drought and a wilderness; Dwell in them shall no man, And pass through them shall no son of man.
The second “land” is omitted in two MSS.; and one has “in her,” instead of “in them.” — Ed.
ftH104 “The long processions of pilgrims,” observes Henderson, “moving slowly along, are fitly expressed by rhn, which properly signifies, to
flow as a river.” — Ed.
ftH105 Some, as Blayney, following the Syr., connect this verse with the preceding: The Jews are bidden to leave Babylon, that they might escape the wrath of God, and lest their hearts should faint at the evil romors that would spread there, — And lest your heart faint, And ye be afraid of the rumor rumored in the land, — For it shall come in one year, the romor, etc.
But if ˆp, rendered lest, be taken, as it is sometimes, a dissuasive particle, then the rendering would be as follows, — And let not your heart be faint, Nor be ye afraid of the rumor rumored in the land; When it shall come in one year, the rumor, And afterwards in a year, the rumor, And violence shall be in the land, ruler against ruler.
The reference seems to be to the commotions in Babylon before the liberation of the Jews. — Ed.
ftH106 Rather,
And all her slain, they shall fall in the midst of her. — *Ed*.
ftH107 This verse may be deemed as the shouting song at the fall of Babylon, — “As Babylon made to fall the slain of Israel, So for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the land.”
It is said before, in Jeremiah 50:47, that her slain should fall in the midst of her land. “For Babylon” means, on account of what she had done. But if it be “in Babylon,” means, on account of what she had done. But of Babylon; and the intimation is, that there would be none led captive, but slain in the land, except “all” be taken, as is often the case, as signifying a large number. — Ed.
ftH108 The idea seems to be, if Babylon ascended the heavens, or the skies, and fortified there a high place for her strength, yet to this place desolators would come, — Though Babylon mounted the skies, And though she fortified the height as her strength, From me would come to her destroyers, saith Jehovah. — Ed.
ftH109 This is the meaning given by the Targum. Venema and Horsley would put a colon or a period after dba, —
55. For Jehovah is laying waste Babylon and destroying her: From her comes a loud voice! And roar do their waves like great waters, Going forth is the tumult of their voice.
According to the preceding verse, the destruction of Babylon is represented as then taking place, — 54. A voice of howling from Babylon! And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
The commotions and tumults, arising from the invasion of enemies, seem to be set forth in Jeremiah 51:55; and the beginning of the following, Jeremiah 51:56, ought to be rendered in the present tense, the first verb being a participle. — Ed.
ftH110 The w before w[gy is evidently conversive, and may be rendered so that, or therefore, — Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, The wall of Babylon, the brroad one, It shall be utterly laid in ruins; And her gates, the lofty ones, They shall be consumed with fire: So that people had labored for vanity, And nations for the fire, and wearied themselves.
Several MSS. have tmj, wall, and so it is in the Sept., as required by “broad,” which is in the singular number. “For vanity” is for the vain object; and “for the fire” means for what was to be consumed by fire. The last words may be rendered “though they wearied themselves.” — Ed.
ftH111 The Vulg. and Syr. have “with,” but the Sept. and Targ. give it the meaning of “from;” and ta has often the meaning of tam; see Genesis 6:1; Genesis 44:4; Genesis 50:9, 29. So
Gataker, Venema, and Blayney. — Ed.
ftH112 The variety in the early versions is remarkable; the Sept. and the Targ. have “the prince of gifts” or presnts; the Vulg., “the prince of prophecy;” and the Syr., “the prince of warfare.” A similar phrase is found in 1 Chronicles 22:9; Solomon is said to be “a man of rest,” çya hjwnm. The meaning most suitable to this passage is that if
Calvin and of our version. So though Gataker; but Lowth and Parkhurst regarded the words as pointing out his office as the king’s chief chamberlain, “the prince of the resting-place,” or chamber; but the objection to this is, that the word is never used in this sense; it means not the rest of sleep, but the rest of peace and quietness. — Ed.
ftH113 That the connection may appear more evident, Jeremiah 51:60 and the first sentence in Jeremiah 61:61 ought to be put within a parenthesis; for “the word which Jeremiah commanded Seraiah,” mentioned in Jeremiah 51:59, is what follows, “When thou comest to Babylon,” etc. — Ed.
ftH114 Literally the words are, —
For desolations of perpetuity shall it (or she) be.
Babylon is sometimes referred to as masculine, and sometimes as feminine. — Ed.
fth115 Calvin takes no notice here of the verb which closes this sentence, wp[yw; but in his version he renders it, “and they shall fly,” or they shall be wearied. Critics know not what to make of it: it is omitted in the Sept., and rendered by the Vulg., “and it shall be dissolved;” by the Syr., “but they shall be thrown down;” and by the Targ., “and they shall fail.” It is left out in no MS. Blayney, following the Sept., omits it. The best explanation is given by Junius and Tremelius, “though they may weary themselves,” that is, the citizens of Babylon: their attempt to rise and resist their enemies would be ineffectual, however much they might toil in the effort.
The emendator, Houbigant, proposes to read the word, wpsyw, “and they shall come to an end.” This agrees nearly with the Targ., “and they shall fail.” — Ed.
ftH116 The best rendering of this verse is by Venema, —
Therefore the height of the wrath of Jehovah (that is, the extreme wrath of Jehovah) was on Jerusalem and Judah, until he cast them from his presence: and Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
The same words, in 2 Kings 24:20, ought to be rendered in the same way. — Ed.
ftH117 Literally, “in the house of visitations,” that is, of punishments. — Ed.
ftH118 It is “the seventh” in 2 Kings 25:8. This discrepancy is accounted for by Blayney and others, by suppposing a typographical mistake of putting the numeral z, seven, for y, ten, or vice versa. — Ed.
ftH119 It is db[, “served,” in 2 Kings 25:8; but the meaning is the same. To stand before one is phrase which designates the office of one who serves. See Luke 1:29. It would be better, in rendering this part of the verse, to change the place of the verb, to come, — “Nebuzar-adan, the prince of the executioners, who stood before the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.” — Ed.
ftH120 The literal rendering is, “even every great house burnt he with fire.” This clause qualifies the former one. — Ed.
ftH121 Though in the parallel passages in Jeremiah 39:9, and in 2 Kings 25:11, the words, “Some of the poor of the people,”
ar3e not found, yet the Vulg., the Syr., and the Targ., retain them here, and they are found in all the MSS. except one. Some of the poor of the city were evidently left, as well as some of the poor of the land. In the following words, the Vulg. for the most part is followed, which is not correct: the words should be, “et reliquum populum,” and, “et reliquias multitudinis.” And the past words should be, “even the remnant (or remainder) of the multitude,” that is, of the people that formerly inhabited the city. See Jeremiah 39:9. — Ed.
ftH122 “Which gold, gold, and which silver, silver:” rça, “which,” repeated, may be rendered here, “some;” and the repetition of “gold,” and of “silver,” is the same as to say, that some of the vessels were pure gold, and that some were pure silver: then the version would be this, “some gold of gold,” i.e., pure gold, “and some silver of silver,” i.e., pure silver, there being no mixture in either. — Ed.
ftH123 The number here given is to be restricted to the years here specified, that is, the seventh, the eighteenth, and the twenty-third of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. We read of other captives; that is, in the third year of Jehoiakim’s reign, (Daniel 1:1) which was the first of Nebuchadnezzar; and in the eighth year of his reign, (2 Kings 24:12) when Jehoiachin was taken prisoner, and with him not less than ten thousand people, (2 Kings 24:14.)
We have no account of the number in the first captivity, when Daniel was taken to Babylon. The largest number in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, even ten thousand. The amount of three captivities mentioned here, the last of which must have been after the murder of Gedaliah, is four thousand six hundred. All these being men, and of full age, there must have been many women and children. It has been thought that all, taken captive all these times, could not have been less than fifty thousand. — Ed.
