Chapter 5
Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look and take note! Search her squares to see if you can find a man, one who does justice and seeks truth; that I may pardon her. 2Though they say, “As the LORD lives,” yet they swear falsely. 3O LORD, do not thy eyes look for truth? Thou hast smitten them, but they felt no anguish; thou hast consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent. 4Then I said, “These are only the poor, they have no sense; for they do not know the way of the LORD, the law of their God. 5I will go to the great, and will speak to them; for they know the way of the LORD, the law of their God.” But they all alike had broken the yoke, they had burst the bonds. 6Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them, a wolf from the desert shall destroy them. A leopard is watching against their cities, every one who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces; because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great. 7“How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me, and have sworn by those who are no gods. When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of harlots. 8They were well-fed lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor’s wife. 9Shall I not punish them for these things? says the LORD; and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this? 10“Go up through her vine-rows and destroy, but make not a full end; strip away her branches, for they are not the LORD’s. 11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly faithless to me, says the LORD. 12They have spoken falsely of the LORD, and have said, ‘He will do nothing; no evil will come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine. 13The prophets will become wind; the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them!'” 14Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts: “Because they have spoken this word, behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and the fire shall devour them. 15Behold, I am bringing upon you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, says the LORD. It is an enduring nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor can you understand what they say. 16Their quiver is like an open tomb, they are all mighty men. 17They shall eat up your harvest and your food; they shall eat up your sons and your daughters; they shall eat up your flocks and your herds; they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; your fortified cities in which you trust they shall destroy with the sword.” 18“But even in those days, says the LORD, I will not make a full end of you. 19And when your people say, ‘Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve strangers in a land that is not yours.'” 20Declare this in the house of Jacob, proclaim it in Judah: 21“Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not. 22Do you not fear me? says the LORD; Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the bound for the sea, a perpetual barrier which it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail, though they roar, they cannot pass over it. 23But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away. 24They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.’ 25Your iniquities have turned these away, and your sins have kept good from you. 26For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men. 27Like a basket full of birds, their houses are full of treachery; therefore they have become great and rich, 28they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of wickedness; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy. 29Shall I not punish them for these things? says the LORD, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?” 30An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: 31the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?
Intent of Chapter 5
5:1-6:30 Corruption for which Judgment is to Come.
5:1-6 Jeremiah is commanded to search carefully for a faithful man that seeks the truth so that God may pardon Jerusalem (see also 6:9-10). If one can be found then the Lord will pardon the city (see Gen. 18:23-33). In the Last Days (v. 31) Israel has total scorn for the word of God, as it does here.
- 2They swear falsely. Jeremiah says: that God’s eyes look for truth but He has smitten them but they felt no anguish. God consumed them but they did not take correction. They have hardened their faces and refused to take correction and repent (v. 3). He said that he thought they were only the poor and knew not the way of the Lord, the law of God (v. 4). He then decided to go to the great that knew the way of the Lord, but they, all alike, had denied the faith (v. 5). (comp. Mat. 19:23-25). Therefore God gave them over to destruction from every direction, lions from the forest, wolves from the desert, and leopards who watch their cities. Anyone who goes out from them will be torn to pieces, because their transgressions are many and their apostasies great (2:15; 4:7; Hab. 1:8). God asks how can He pardon them in the face of such blatant widespread idolatry (2:11) and immorality v. 29; 9:9). Their children have forsaken Him and turned to false gods. When He fed them to the full they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of harlots (v. 7). They neighed for their neighbbours wives. Shall God not punish them and avenge Himself on a people such as this? (vv. 8-9).
5:10-11 Israel as the Vineyard of God (No. 001C) has grown wild and must be destroyed (Isa. 5:1-7; 2:20-21).
5:12-17 The Judgment: The nation has said God will do nothing. No evil will come upon us. Nor shall they see sword or famine. The prophets will become wind and the word of God is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them (vv. 12-13).
The prophets will become the consuming word of God in power (Pss. 10:4; 14:1). Because the people have done this, the word of God shall be a fire in their mouths and the people wood and the fire shall devour them (v. 14).
5:15-17 God then will bring a nation far off to the entire house of Israel. They will consume their harvests and food, their sons and their daughters, their flocks and their herds; their vines and orchards and destroy their cities with the sword.
5:18-19 Even in the days of the destruction God will not make a full end of them (see 4:27) (see also 9:12-14; 16:10-13; 22:8-9). Only parts will be destroyed fully (16-17; 13:13-14). They will be made to serve strangers in strange lands until the Messiah takes them captive.
5:20-25 Israel’s foolish obstinacy has closed her eyes.
- 20-23Proclaim this in Jacob (Israel) and Judah. These people have eyes but see not and ears but hear not, and have a stubborn and rebellious heart and no real fear of God (vv. 21-23)
- 24“Theappointed weeks of the harvest as stated here are the seven weeks to Pentecost. Thus, the time from the Wave-Sheaf to Pentecost is reserved for God’s people. Pentecost is the second harvest of God and is sometimes referred to as the Feast of Harvest (Ex. 23:16).” God’s Feasts as they relate to the Creation (No. 227)
- 25Israel’s sins have turned the blessings of God away, and kept real good from them.
5:26-29 Wicked men are found among them with traps to catch men. These men have become great and rich through treachery and they know no bounds in their wickedness, especially so in the last days. They judge, with no justice, the rights of the fatherless and the needy. God will punish them for these sins. In the last days they set traps to kill untold millions by war and poisons and pseudo “vaccines” and chemicals, and the politicians profit by it, and do nothing to stop it, but enforce it. They have to be punished for the blood they shed and the people’s lives they destroyed, men, women and children (## 259; 259B). The nations must be punished for tolerating the defrauding and murder of the defenceless (Deut. 24:17-18; Am. 2:6-7), and especially so for their tolerance of the perversity of priests and prophets (6:13-15; 23:9-22; Mic. 3:5-8).
- 30-31says the prophets prophesy falsely (#269) and the priests rule at their direction (and not according to the word of God) and the people love to have it so. God then says “But what will you do when the end comes.” This is at the return of the Messiah in the Last Days and the prophecies of Jeremiah concern all these events to the millennial system as we saw from Part I (F024).
In the Last Days brazen antinomians and idolaters go from door to door, and in houses of worship, telling people that the Law of God (L1) is done away and need not be observed. Such will be dealt with under the Witnesses and then put to the sword at the return of Messiah, or killed by the plagues of Egypt, as we will see over Isaiah (e.g. see 66:23-24) and Jeremiah, and as we see in Ezekiel and Zechariah (see 14:16-19). Others teach, in Judah, and even in the Churches of God, that God’s Calendar (No. 156) can be ignored and Hillel kept (## 195 and 195C). They too will die and face the Second Resurrection (No. 143B).
Chapter 6
Flee for safety, O people of Benjamin, from the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Teko’a, and raise a signal on Beth-hacche’rem; for evil looms out of the north, and great destruction. 2The comely and delicately bred I will destroy, the daughter of Zion. 3Shepherds with their flocks shall come against her; they shall pitch their tents around her, they shall pasture, each in his place. 4“Prepare war against her; up, and let us attack at noon!” “Woe to us, for the day declines, for the shadows of evening lengthen!” 5“Up, and let us attack by night, and destroy her palaces!” 6For thus says the LORD of hosts: “Hew down her trees; cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem. This is the city which must be punished; there is nothing but oppression within her. 7As a well keeps its water fresh, so she keeps fresh her wickedness; violence and destruction are heard within her; sickness and wounds are ever before me. 8Be warned, O Jerusalem, lest I be alienated from you; lest I make you a desolation, an uninhabited land.” 9Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Glean thoroughly as a vine the remnant of Israel; like a grape-gatherer pass your hand again over its branches.” 10To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn, they take no pleasure in it. 11Therefore I am full of the wrath of the LORD; I am weary of holding it in. “Pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the gatherings of young men, also; both husband and wife shall be taken, the old folk and the very aged. 12Their houses shall be turned over to others, their fields and wives together; for I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land,” says the LORD. 13“For from the least to the greatest of them, every one is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, every one deals falsely. 14They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.15Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,” says the LORD. 16Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ 17I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Give heed to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not give heed.’ 18Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them. 19Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing evil upon this people, the fruit of their devices, because they have not given heed to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it. 20To what purpose does frankincense come to me from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing to me. 21Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will lay before this people stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble; fathers and sons together, neighbor and friend shall perish.'” 22Thus says the LORD: “Behold, a people is coming from the north country, a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth. 23They lay hold on bow and spear, they are cruel and have no mercy, the sound of them is like the roaring sea; they ride upon horses, set in array as a man for battle, against you, O daughter of Zion!” 24We have heard the report of it, our hands fall helpless; anguish has taken hold of us, pain as of a woman in travail. 25Go not forth into the field, nor walk on the road; for the enemy has a sword, terror is on every side. 26O daughter of my people, gird on sackcloth, and roll in ashes; make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us. 27“I have made you an assayer and tester among my people, that you may know and assay their ways. 28They are all stubbornly rebellious, going about with slanders; they are bronze and iron, all of them act corruptly. 29The bellows blow fiercely, the lead is consumed by the fire; in vain the refining goes on, for the wicked are not removed. 30Refuse silver they are called, for the LORD has rejected them.”
Intent of Chapter 6
6:1-8 The enemy approaches fom the North
- 1Tekoatwelve miles south of Jerusalem. Beth-hacche’rem modern Ramet Rahel two miles south of Jerusalem.
- 2The comely and delicately bred of the daughter of Zion will be destroyed.
- 3Shepherds with their flocks– Kings with their armies (as per 1:15; 12:10).
- 4Prepare (in the sense of sanctify) (see Jl. 3:9; and Ezek. chs. 38-39).
6:5-8 Jerusalem is condemned to be attacked for her wickedness and oppression. If she persists she can alienate God and He will make her a desolate land. The Temple mount was disgracefully made into a rubbish pit under the pseudo-Christians and the Caliph Omar had to capture it, and order it to be cleaned up.
6:9-15 Jeremiah was to search thoroughly for a God fearing person (5:1) and finds none in his work (20:7-18; Mic. 7:1-2). God is to pour out His wrath (Isa. 5:25; Ezek. 6:14) upon this unrepentant people. The leaders that promised them peace in material and spiritual blessings, when none was to be had, were to be punished (8:10-12; Ezek. 13:10-11).
6:16-21 The Lord directed them back to the ancient paths of the Law and the Testimony but they would not obey. God gave them His Covenant and instruction (as paths and His Law) and set watchmen over them but they would not listen (comp. Hos. 9:8). God then declared that He would inflict on them the fruit of their conduct and rejection of His Law. So also will He do the same in the last days before Messiah to those who declare the Law of God (L1) obsolete, or done away, as they do now, all over the world.
6:22-26 The foe from the North (4:5-8) is many and varied over the centuries (see also 25:1-14) as they continue until their dispersal from 70 CE and 135 CE until the restoration of the entire city of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount in 1917 (Habakkuk F035) and 1967 (see Daniel ch. 8:14 F027viii) and on until the Beast system over the 42 months of the Last Days (see also #141D) and the return of the Messiah (see Daniel F027xi, xii, xiii and F066iv and v) (see the Sign of Jonah… (No. 013) and Completion of the Sign of Jonah (No. 013_2).
- 25Terror on every sideJeremiah’s way of describing danger everywhere (comp. 20:3, 10; 46:5; 49:29; Lam. 2:22).
6:27:30 Jeremiah was here made an assayer and a tester of God’s people. They were condemned by God for being stubbornly rebellious and going about with slander among the people. They are as bronze and iron and all act corruptly and it has not changed even to this day. It is the reason in the Last Days, that two entire eras of the Churches of God were declared dead and spewed out of God’s mouth (Rev. Ch. 3 F066). The refining goes on and the wicked are not removed (v. 29) and so the groups are rejected by God en masse as “refuse silver” (v. 30).
Chapter 7
The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2“Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the LORD. 3Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will let you dwell in this place. 4Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’ 5“For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly execute justice one with another, 6if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, 7then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers for ever. 8“Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. 9Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Ba’al, and go after other gods that you have not known, 10and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’ –only to go on doing all these abominations? 11Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, says the LORD. 12Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. 13And now, because you have done all these things, says the LORD, and when I spoke to you persistently you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer, 14therefore I will do to the house which is called by my name, and in which you trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. 15And I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast out all your kinsmen, all the offspring of E’phraim. 16“As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I do not hear you. 17Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger. 19Is it I whom they provoke? says the LORD. Is it not themselves, to their own confusion? 20Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched.” 21Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh.22For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23But this command I gave them, ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ 24But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. 25From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day; 26yet they did not listen to me, or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. 27“So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. 28And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the LORD their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips. 29Cut off your hair and cast it away; raise a lamentation on the bare heights, for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.’ 30“For the sons of Judah have done evil in my sight, says the LORD; they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it. 31And they have built the high place of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind. 32Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when it will no more be called Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of Slaughter: for they will bury in Topheth, because there is no room elsewhere. 33And the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the air, and for the beasts of the earth; and none will frighten them away. 34And I will make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land shall become a waste.
Intent of Chapter 7
7:1-15 The Temple Sermon (comp. 26:4-6).
Once again we see a call for repentance from God. The Temple being present in Jerusalem was an assurance of God’s protection (Isa. 31:4 and compare 22:29; Isa. 6:3). Through Jeremiah, God disagreed (see also Mic. 3:12) and held that a complete moral change was required (vv. 5-6; comp. Hos. 4:2; Mic. 6:8). The early central shrine at Shiloh, 18 miles north of Jerusalem, was destroyed in the days of Samuel (ca 1050 BCE) (see 1Sam. Chs. 4-6; Ps. 78:56-72). So also this house (Temple), desecrated by idolatry must be destroyed (v. 11; comp. Mat. 21:13). For the same reason the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, by the Romans, as it was by the Babylonians here. As a result of this prophecy against the Temple and its leaders Jeremiah was arrested (see 26:8). They sought to put him to death but did not do so, as we will see. When they are in control of the Temple, they seem to seek to kill God’s prophets (see #122C).
7:16-8:3 Abuses in Worship
7:16-20 Prohibition of Intercession Because of Judah’s complete apostasy God forbids Jeremiah to exercise the important prophetic function of intercession (7:16; 11:14; 15:1; comp. Am. 7:2,5). The people then were making cakes for the Queen of Heaven (see 44:15-28). They do that to this very day right throughout the nations containing the tribes of Israel all over the world. In the English speaking world thay call her festival Easter, the name of the goddess from Ishtar or Ashtaroth, and her festival Easter also (see #235) and they worship the Sun god Baal, her consort, on the day of the Sun and at the Solstice. For this reason alone they will be destroyed.
7:21-28 God requires faithfulness and not sacrifice. They are aceptable only when the right relationship exists between God and man (6:20; Ps. 51:15-19). Until that relationship is attained man may as well eat the flesh of the burnt offerings (incinerated under Lev. Ch. 1) as well as the other offerings (Lev. Ch. 3; 7:11-18), as He tells Judah here through Jeremiah.
- 21-24
“We must understand that components of the law, which were related to the ordinances of the sacrifices and offerings were added because of Israel’s failures.”
- 25-28The final casualty of the arrogant disobedience of Israel was truth. We cannot believe anything their leadership says. This situation is present in the Last Days even in the Churches of God with the last of Sardis and the Laodicean Churches. Those two Churches are not convicted by truth, neither in their ministry, nor generally among the brethren.
See The Warning of the Last Days (No. 044).
7:29-8:3 Israel (and hence Judah) is given its judgment and fate
Judah is told to cut your hair (as a sign of mourning 16:6; Mic. 1:16) and cast it away for the Lord has rejected the generation of His Wrath.
- 31The most gruesome of Israel’s sins was the sacrifice of children (19:5; 32:35). This was done on the burning platform (Topheth2Kgs. 23:10). Strictly forbidden by God (Lev. 18:21), it will eventually be recognised as murder; although, it is conducted, even today, as abortion and infanticide (No. 259B).
Valley of the son of Hinnom Southwest of the city adjoining the Kidron Valley.
- 33The valley of slaughter will be a place where they will dispose of corpses as there will be no other place for them and the corpses will be food for carrion and they will be desecrated and the land shall become waste.
Chapter 8
“At that time, says the LORD, the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its princes, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be brought out of their tombs; 2and they shall be spread before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and served, which they have gone after, and which they have sought and worshiped; and they shall not be gathered or buried; they shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. 3Death shall be preferred to life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family in all the places where I have driven them, says the LORD of hosts. 4“You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD: When men fall, do they not rise again? If one turns away, does he not return? 5Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit, they refuse to return. 6I have given heed and listened, but they have not spoken aright; no man repents of his wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Every one turns to his own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle. 7Even the stork in the heavens knows her times; and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming; but my people know not the ordinance of the LORD. 8“How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us’? But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has made it into a lie. 9The wise men shall be put to shame, they shall be dismayed and taken; lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD, and what wisdom is in them? 10Therefore I will give their wives to others and their fields to conquerors, because from the least to the greatest every one is greedy for unjust gain; from prophet to priest every one deals falsely. 11They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. 12Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the LORD. 13When I would gather them, says the LORD, there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree; even the leaves are withered, and what I gave them has passed away from them.” 14Why do we sit still? Gather together, let us go into the fortified cities and perish there; for the LORD our God has doomed us to perish, and has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD. 15We looked for peace, but no good came, for a time of healing, but behold, terror. 16“The snorting of their horses is heard from Dan; at the sound of the neighing of their stallions the whole land quakes. They come and devour the land and all that fills it, the city and those who dwell in it. 17For behold, I am sending among you serpents, adders which cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you,” says the LORD. 18My grief is beyond healing, my heart is sick within me. 19Hark, the cry of the daughter of my people from the length and breadth of the land: “Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King not in her?” “Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with their foreign idols?” 20“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” 21For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me. 22Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?
Intent of Chapter 8
8:1-3 Here God uses biting irony in the pen of Jeremiah, judging their leaders and commanding their bones be excavated and scattered before the Host of heaven that they worshipped. Their families will prefer death to life, everywhere God has scattered them.
8:4-10:25 Various Oracles
8:4-7 Here we see Israel’s incredible indifference (18:13-17). Men and animals follow their natural instincts but Israel God’s people forget God’s Law. They will only find out with the Messiah in 30 CE that they cannot function properly without the Holy Spirit (No. 117) which enables the heart to be able to follow God’s Law.
8:8-9 Tradition v. Law Here Jeremiah denounces the traditions of the Scribes, which they insert into and corrupt the Laws of God (L1). The Scribes and Priests misinterpret the Law (Comp. 2:8). They have corrupted the Calendar and the Law and the Testimony and the pseudo-Christians do much worse, and kill those who obey God over the millennia. (F044vii cf. also Rev. 12:17; 14:12 (F066iii, iv).
8:10-12 A reinforcement of 6:12-15.
8:13-17 Israel (including Judah) is an unfruitful vine and vineyard (Isa. 5:7) and will be destroyed and given to Christ (comp. Lk. 13:7) (see No. 001C; 001A). They are panic stricken before their invaders and seek defence in their fortresses but they have no defence (F066v).
Poisoned Water (The cup of God’s Wrath (9:15; Ps. 75:8; Num. Ch. 5). Dan is the northernmost point in Israel.
Serpents (Ecc. 10:11; Ps. 58:4-5; Num. 21:4-9).
8:18-9:1 Lament over Judah. It is God’s Lament through Jeremiah and not Jeremiah that is lamenting the destruction of Israel. God is speaking of the balm in Gilead (v. 20 – resin of the Styrax tree produced in the north in the Transjordan (46:11; Gen. 37:25) and no one to restore the health of His people.
*****
Bullinger’s Notes on Chs. 5-8 (for KJV)
Chapter 5
Verse 1
streets = out places, or outskirts.
broad places = market, or open places of concourse.
if ye can find. Reference to Pentateuch (Genesis 18:26 , &c). Points to reign of Jehoiakim rather than that of Josiah.
I will pardon. Reference to Pentateuch (Genesis 18:24-32 ). App-92 .
Verse 3
the truth = faithfulness. The same word as in Jeremiah 5:1 .
have not grieved = have felt no pain.
Verse 4
poor = become poor, or impoverished, reduced in means. Hebrew. dal. See note on “poverty”, Proverbs 6:11 .
judgment = justice.
Verse 5
altogether = together, or with one accord.
Verse 6
evenings = deserts.
transgressions = revolts.
backslidings = apostasies.
increased = strong, or many.
Verse 7
children = sons.
forsaken Me. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 32:15 , Deuteronomy 32:21 ).
sworn. Compare Jeremiah 5:2 .
fed them to the full. So in many codices, with two early printed editions, Aramaean, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate; but some codices, with five early printed editions, read “made them swear”.
committed adultery. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 20:14 .Deuteronomy 5:18; Deuteronomy 5:18 ). The usual formula for idolatry.
Verse 8
in the morning: i.e. roaming at large.
Verse 9
Shall I not visit . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis.
My soul = I Myself, for emphasis. Hebrew. nephesh. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia.
be avenged = avenge herself. Compare Jeremiah 5:29 ; Jeremiah 9:9 .
Verse 10
not a full end. Compare Jeremiah 5:18 , and Jeremiah 4:27 .
Verse 11
the house of Israel. See note on Jeremiah 2:4 .
the house of Judah. See note on Jeremiah 2:4 .
Verse 12
belied = acted deceitfully against. Compare Joshua 24:27 .
evil = calamity.
Verse 13
prophets: i.e. Jeremiah, and others with him. See one in Ch. Jeremiah 26:20 .
wind. Hebrew. ruach. App-9 .
Verse 14
the LORD God of hosts. Hebrew. Jehovah. the Elohim of Zebaioth. Occurs in Jeremiah only here, Jeremiah 15:16 ; Jeremiah 35:17 ; and Jeremiah 49:5 .
Verse 15
I will bring. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 28:49 ). App-92 .
a nation: i.e. the Chaldeans, but not yet named as such.
ancient. Compare Genesis 10:10 .
understandest = hearest. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), for what is understood. Compare 1 Corinthians 14:2 .
Verse 17
they shall eat up. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:16 ). App-92 . Repeated three times by Figure of speech Anaphora , for great emphasis.
harvest, &c. Note the similar enumeration in Habakkuk 3:17 .
impoverish = beat down. Only again in Malachi 1:4 .
trustedst = confidedst. Hebrew. batah. App-69 .
Verse 19
Wherefore . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 29:24 , Deuteronomy 29:25 ).
strange . . . strangers = foreign . . . foreigners, or aliens.
Verse 20
Declare . . . publish. Compare Jeremiah 4:15 .
in the house of Jacob. Only here, and Amos 3:13 , with the Preposition “in”. See note on Jeremiah 2:4 .
Verse 21
understanding. Hebrew “heart”.
Verse 24
That giveth rain. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 11:14 ).
both = even. Some codices omit this word.
the appointed . . . harvest. Reference to Pentateuch (Genesis 8:22 ).
Verse 25
iniquities. Hebrew. ‘avah. App-44 .
sins. Hebrew. chata’ . App-44 .
good = the good (singular)
Verse 26
wicked. Hebrew. ra’a’. App-44 .
Verse 28
waxen fat. Reference to Pentateuch, (the same word as in Deuteronomy 32:15 ).
the wicked = a lawless one. Hebrew. rasha’. App-44 .
the fatherless = an orphan.
yet they prosper: or, that they [the fatherless] should prosper. Figure of speech Ellipsis. App-6 . Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 10:18 ; Deuteronomy 24:17 ; Deuteronomy 27:19 ).
the needy = needy ones.
Verse 29
Shall I not. ? Note the repeated Figure of speech Erotesis , in the form of Figure of speech Anaphora. App-6 .
Verse 30
A wonderful = An astounding.
Verse 31
by their means. Prophets were raised up when the priests failed in their duty. Now they had become in accord with them. Compare Jeremiah 23:25 , Jeremiah 23:26 . Ezekiel 13:6 , &c.
Chapter 6
Verse 1
children = sons.
Benjamin. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Part), for the whole of Judah, on account of their close connection with the Gibeathites (Judges 19:16 . Hosea 9:9 ; Hosea 10:9 ).
flee out. In Jeremiah 4:6 it was “flee to”. Now Jerusalem itself is to be taken.
blow . . . Tekoa. Figure of speech Paronomasia ( App-6 ), for emphasis. Hebrew. bithko’ah . . . tik’u.
Tekoa. Now Khan Teku’a, five miles south of Bethlehem, ten from Jerusalem.
a sign of Are = a fire-signal.
Beth-haccerem = house of the vineyards. Not identified. Conder suggests such a house at ‘Ain Karim.
evil. Hebrew. ra’a’. App-44 .
north. Because the armies from Assyria entered the land from the north. See note on Jeremiah 3:12 .
destruction = fracture, or damage, as in Jeremiah 6:14 .
Verse 2
daughter. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), for the helpless inhabitants.
woman. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 28:56 ). App-92 .
Verse 3
shepherds: i.e. the Chaldean armies. See Jeremiah 3:15 ,
Verse 4
Prepare, &c. = Prosecute a holy war.
at noon. In the heat of the day, when most are resting. Compare Jeremiah 15:8 . Song of Solomon 1:7 . Isaiah 32:2 . See 2 Samuel 4:5 .
Woe unto us, &c. See note on Jeremiah 15:8 .
Verse 6
the LORD of hosts = Jehovah Zebbaioth, the first of thirtynine occurrences of this title in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 6:6 , Jeremiah 6:9 ; Jeremiah 8:3 ; Jeremiah 9:7 , Jeremiah 9:17 ; Jeremiah 10:16 ; Jeremiah 11:17 , Jeremiah 11:20 , Jeremiah 11:22 ; Jeremiah 19:11 ; Jeremiah 20:12 ; Jeremiah 23:15 , &c.)
cast a mount = pour out: i.e. the earth from baskets to make a mount.
Verse 7
fountain. Hebrew. bor = a well, bored or hewn out. Compare 2 Samuel 23:15 , 2 Samuel 23:16 . 1 Chronicles 11:17 . See note on Genesis 21:19 .
Verse 8
My soul = I myself. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13 .
Verse 9
as a vine. Here, and in Jeremiah 8:13 , one Codex (Harley, 5720, B. M., Lond.) reads, “on the vine”.
Verse 10
give warning = testify.
ear is uncircumcised. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 6:12 , Exodus 6:30 . Leviticus 26:41 ). Figure of speech Catachresis ( App-6 ). An ear not brought into the covenant.
a reproach. Note the fate of Jehovah’s word in the down-grade of Jeremiah’s days. in Jeremiah 6:10 a reproach; in Jeremiah 8:9 , rejected; in Jeremiah 17:15 , scoffed at; in Jeremiah 23:36 , perverted.
they. So the Mugah Codex quoted in the Massorah. But other codices, with three early printed editions, read “and they”.
Verse 11
children = a young child. Hebrew. ‘ul.
Verse 12
turned unto others. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 28:30 ).
saith the LORD = [is] Jehovah’s oracle.
Verse 13
covetousness. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 18:21 ). App-92 .
Verse 14
hurt. Same word as “destruction” (Jeremiah 6:1 ).
of the daughter. Some codices, with four early printed editions, read these words in the text.
Peace, peace. Figure of speech Epizeuxis ( App-6 ), for emphasis. See note on Isaiah 26:3 .
Verse 15
could they = knew they how to.
Verse 16
Stand ye, &c. A gracious appeal to avoid the threatened calamity, as in Jeremiah 2:2 .
old paths. Compare Jeremiah 18:15 .
good = right.
find rest. Compare Matthew 11:29 , Matthew 11:30 ; where a like invitation and promise is given to those who will “learn”. Following likewise on a preceding threatening of judgment. Compare Deuteronomy 28:65 .
your souls = yourselves (emphatic). Hebrew. nephesh.
Verse 17
Hearken = Give ye heed. Some codices, with two early printed editions, read “And (therefore) give ye heed”.
Verse 18
congregation = assembly (in its civil aspect). Hebrew. ‘edah, a technical Pentateuchal word. First occurrence in Exodus 12:3 , Exodus 12:6 , Exodus 12:19 , Exodus 12:47 . Used technically of Israel, fifteen times in Exodus; twelve in Leviticus; eighty-three times in Numbers. Found in the prophets only here; Jeremiah 30:20 ; and Hosea 7:12 (reference to Pentateuch) App-92 .
Verse 19
evil = calamity. Hebrew. ra’a’.
My law. Reference to Pentateuch. Note that “words” and “law” are put alternatively.
Verse 20
incense = frankincense. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Part), App-6 , ror the whole incense of which it was an ingredient.
Sheba. In the south of Arabia.
not acceptable. Compare Isaiah 1:11-15 .
Verse 21
tower = watchtower; or, an assayer.
try = assay (as an assayer of metals).
way. Some codices read “heart”.
Verse 22
the sides, &c. Idiom for a great distance.
Verse 23
roareth = will roar. Compare Isaiah 5:29 , Isaiah 5:30 . Compare Isaiah 5:29-30 .
men. Hebrew. ‘ish . App-14
Verse 25
fear is on every side = terror is round about. Compare Jeremiah 20:3 , Jeremiah 20:10 ; Jeremiah 46:5 ; Jeremiah 49:29 . Lamentations 2:22 .
Verse 26
and. Some codices, with five early printed editions, omit this “and”.
Verse 28
brass and iron. Not silver and gold. Compare Ezekiel 22:18 .
Verse 29
founder melteth = refiner refineth.
Verse 30
Reprobate . . . rejected. Note the Figure of speech Paronomasia ( App-6) . Hebrew. nim’as . . . ma’as: i.e. rejected (silver) . . . rejected (them). Compare Isaiah 1:22 .Ezekiel 22:18 .
Chapter 7
Verse 1
came. The danger attending this message is shown in Jeremiah 26:0 . Compare Jeremiah 7:2 with Jeremiah 26:2 ; Jeremiah 7:3 with Jeremiah 26:13 ; Jeremiah 7:12-14 with Jeremiah 26:4-6 . Jeremiah 26:0 was in the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, probably his fourth year. Jeremiah 26:0 is the historical appendix of Jeremiah 7:0 .
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .
Verse 2
in the gate: i.e. in the fore-court. The proclamation has the Temple and its frequenters for its subject.
all ye of Judah = all Judah.
Verse 3
the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel. This title occurs thirty-four times in Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 7:3 ; Jeremiah 7:21 ; Jeremiah 9:15 ; Jeremiah 16:9 ; Jeremiah 19:3 ; Jeremiah 19:15 ; Jeremiah 25:15 ; Jeremiah 25:27 ; Jeremiah 27:4 ; Jeremiah 27:21 ; Jeremiah 28:2 ; Jeremiah 28:14 ; Jeremiah 29:4 ; Jeremiah 29:8 ; Jeremiah 29:21 ; Jeremiah 29:25 ; Jeremiah 31:23 ; Jeremiah 32:14-15 ; Jeremiah 35:13 ; Jeremiah 35:18-19 ; Jeremiah 38:17 ; Jeremiah 39:16 ; Jeremiah 42:15 ; Jeremiah 42:18 ; Jeremiah 43:10 ; Jeremiah 44:2 ; Jeremiah 44:11 ; Jeremiah 44:25 ; Jeremiah 46:25 ; Jeremiah 48:1 ; Jeremiah 50:18 ; Jeremiah 51:33 ).
God. Hebrew. Elohim . App-4 .
Verse 4
Trust = Confide. Hebrew. batah. App-69 .
The temple of the LORD . Note the Figure of speech Epizeuxis ( App-4 ), for great emphasis, to exhibit the fanaticism common to all idolaters.
Verse 5
man. Hebrew. ‘ish . App-14 .
Verse 6
stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 24:17 ).
innocent blood. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 19:10 ). See note on Isaiah 59:7 .
other gods. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 20:3 .Deuteronomy 6:14 ; Deuteronomy 8:19 , &c). App-92 .
Verse 7
Then will I cause, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 4:40 ).
for ever and ever. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Whole), for an age-abiding duration.
Verse 8
Behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6 .
Verse 9
steal, murder, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 20:7-15 ).
Verse 10
come = [still] come.
which is called, &c. = whereon My name was called.
Verse 11
Is this house . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. This passage used by our Lord, just as Isaiah 56:7 was in Matthew 21:13 .Mark 11:17 . Luke 19:46 .
saith the LORD = [is] Jehovah’s oracle.
Verse 12
in Shiloh. Now Seilun. Compare Jeremiah 26:6 , Jeremiah 26:9 ; Jeremiah 41:5 .
where I set . . . at the first. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 12:5 , Deuteronomy 12:11 , &c). App-92 . Compare 1 Samuel 4:11 .
what I did to it. See 1 Samuel 4:11 , and Compare Jeremiah 25:6 .
wickedness. Hebrew. ra’a’. App-44 .
Verse 13
rising up early and speaking. This phrase is almost peculiar to Jeremiah, where it occurs eleven times (Jeremiah 7:13 , Jeremiah 7:25 ; Jeremiah 11:7 ; Jeremiah 25:3 , Jeremiah 25:4 ; Jeremiah 26:5 ; Jeremiah 29:19 ; Jeremiah 32:33 ; Jeremiah 35:14 , Jeremiah 35:15 ; Jeremiah 44:4 ). Occurs elsewhere only in 2 Chronicles 36:15 .
Verse 14
as = according as.
Verse 15
the whole seed of Ephraim. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Part), for the ten tribes which were already in captivity. The trouble recorded in Jeremiah 27:0 proves that this prediction was spoken.
Verse 16
make intercession. Compare Jeremiah 11:14 ; Jeremiah 14:11 .
Verse 18
children = sons.
make: or, offer.
queen. Some codices, with two early printed editions, read “worship”, which is put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Effect), for the goddess to whom the worship was offered. See Jeremiah 19:13 ; Jeremiah 44:19 ; and compare 2 Kings 21:3 , 2Ki 21:5 ; 2 Kings 23:12 , 2 Kings 23:13 .
Verse 19
provoke. Note the Figure of speech Ploke , by which the one word implies a second meaning. “Do they provoke Me . . . ? No: they bring on themselves” the judgments of Jehovah. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 32:21 ).
Verse 20
the Lord GOD. Hebrew Adonai Jehovah. App-4 .
man. Hebrew. ‘adam. App-14 .
Verse 21
Put = Add.
sacrifices. Hebrew. zabach. App-43 .
Verse 22
I spake not . . . concerning . . . sacrifices. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 15:26 ; Exodus 19:5 ), which was before any law was given. This vindicates the passage from modern criticism. Compare Leviticus 26:3-13 , and 1 Samuel 15:22 , with Psalms 50:8 , Psalms 50:9 ; Psalms 51:16 , Psalms 51:17 ; Isaiah 1:11-17 . Hosea 6:6 . Amos 5:21-24 .Micah 6:6-8 . Matthew 9:13 ; Matthew 12:7 ; Matthew 23:23 .
Verse 23
this thing . . . Obey, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:3-13 ). App-92 .
Verse 24
imagination. See note on Jeremiah 3:17 .
Verse 25
your fathers came forth, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Ex. Jeremiah 12:15 ).
Verse 28
a = the.
obeyeth = hearkeneth to.
correction: or instruction, or discipline.
truth = fidelity, or veracity.
their. The Babylonian Codex reads “your”.
Verse 29
Cut off thine hair. A symbol of mourning.
Jerusalem: or, supply “daughter of My People”. Compare Jeremiah 8:11 , Jeremiah 8:19 , Jeremiah 8:21 , Jeremiah 8:22 ; Jeremiah 9:1 , Jeremiah 9:7 . The verb is feminine (singular)
cast it away. Showing the completeness of the operation.
high places. As such. Compare Jeremiah 3:21 .
- Genitive of Relation. App-17 . Compare Romans 8:36,
Verse 30
evil. Hebrew. ra’a’ . App-44 .
in the house. Note the enormity of the evil.
which is called by My name = whereon My name was called.
Verse 31
high places. Idolatrous places. Not the same word as Jeremiah 7:29 .
Tophet. In the valley of the son of Hinnom (2 Kings 23:10 . Isaiah 30:33 .Isaiah 19:6 , Isaiah 19:11-14 ).
Hinnom. Now Wady er Rababeh (Joshua 15:8 ; Joshua 18:16 . 2Ki 23:10 . 2 Chronicles 28:3 ; 2 Chronicles 33:6 . Nehemiah 11:30 ).
burn. This shows the result of passing them through the fire.
which I commanded them not. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 17:3 ; Deuteronomy 18:10 ). App-92 . Note the sin of adding to God’s commands and words.
them. Some codices, with one early printed edition, Septuagint, and Syriac, read this “them”in the text. Compare Jeremiah 32:35 .
came = ascended. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Species), for coming into the mind.
Verse 32
slaughter. Compare Jeremiah 19:6 ; Jeremiah 12:3 .Zechariah 11:4 , Zechariah 11:7 . Occurs only in Jeremiah and Zechariah.
Verse 33
the carcases, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 28:26 ).
fray = frighten: from Fr. effrayer.
Verse 348
the voice of mirth, &c. This refrain is peculiar to Jeremiah. Occurs four times (here; Jeremiah 16:9 ; Jeremiah 25:10 ; Jeremiah 33:11 ) (“joy”).
for the land shall be desolate. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:31 , Leviticus 26:33 , the same word “desolate”). App-92 .
Chapter 8
Verse 1
saith the LORD = [is] Jehovah’s oracle.
bones. Note the Figure of speech Repetitio , for emphasis.
and. Note the Figure of speech Polysyndeton , to emphasize each class as responsible for the corruption and apostasy.
Verse 2
and. Particularizing here the details of the idolatry.
not be gathered. Compare 2 Samuel 21:13 .
Verse 3
evil. Hebrew. ra’a’. App-44 .
saith the LORD of hosts. See note on Jeremiah 6:6 . Compare 1 Samuel 1:3 .
Verse 4
arise = rise up again.
he turn away, and. The Massorah (vol. II, p. 54, Ginsburg’s edition) calls attention to the fact that of the two words represented by “turn” and “and”, the first letter of the second word belongs to the first word; so that this latter will read “shall they return [to Him], and He not return [to them]? It is the same word (in Hebrew) in both clauses.
Verse 7
knoweth. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), for the effect of acting on the knowledge.
turtle = turtle-dove.
Verse 8
no man. Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Genus), = scarcely any.
Verse 9
rejected. The second of four downward steps. See note on Jeremiah 6:10 .
Verse 10
give their wives unto others. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 28:30 ). App-92 .
inherit = seize; or, to their dispossessors.
from. Some codices, with two early printed editions, and Syriac, read “and from”.
prophet. priest. The former, raised up on account of the failure of the latter, now of one accord.
Verse 11
hurt = breach.
Peace, peace = perfect peace. Figure of speech Epizeuxis. Compare Jeremiah 6:14 and Isaiah 26:3 .
Verse 12
could they blush. See note on Jeremiah 6:15 .
the time of their visitation. A phrase (“time” or “year”) used eight times in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 8:12 ; Jeremiah 10:15 ; Jeremiah 11:23 ; Jeremiah 23:12 ; Jeremiah 46:21 ; Jeremiah 48:44 ; Jeremiah 50:27 ; Jeremiah 51:18 ). Nowhere else, except Isaiah 10:3 .Hosea 9:7 . Micah 7:4 , until our Lord used it in Luke 19:44 .
Verse 13
surely consume them. Note the Figure of speech Paronomasia . Hebrew. ‘asoph ‘asiphem.
on the vine. See note on Jeremiah 6:9 .
shall fade = is withered.
the things . . . from them: or, I have appointed them those that shall pass over them.
Verse 14
Why . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. verses: 14-16 spoken by the prophet, not the People. They were being threatened for not doing what is here spoken of, verses: Jeremiah 12:13 . Moreover, Jeremiah 8:15 is spoken by Jeremiah in Jeremiah 14:19 , which is an earlier passage, chronologically.
we: i.e. the prophet to the People. God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4 .
silence. Figure of speech Ploke , the word being used in a different sense.
water of gall = poppy water; = poisoned water.
sinned. Hebrew. chata’. App-44 .
Verse 15
trouble = terror.
Verse 16
Dan. The Assyrians entered the land from the north.
Verse 17
cockatrices = adders.
will not be charmed. This shows that the People were not penitent, and verses: Jeremiah 8:8 , Jeremiah 8:14 , Jeremiah 8:16 are not their words.
Verse 18
I: i.e. the prophet again.
Verse 19
provoked . . . vanities. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 32:21 , same word). Compare Jeremiah 7:19 .
graven Images. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 7:5 , same word). App-92 .
Verse 22
balm . . . physician. The words of the prophet, showing that healing remedies were employed; thus accounting for the silence respecting them. Compare Isaiah 1:6 .
balm = balSamaritan Pentateuch Compare Jeremiah 51:8 .
Gilead. Compare Jeremiah 46:11 .