Jeremiah 4:1

Jeremiah 4:1 . If thou wilt return, O Israel, return unto me — Israel having promised repentance in the latter part of the preceding chapter, they are here directed what sort of a repentance it must be; that it must not be hypocritical and feigned, but real and hearty; not deferred to another time, but immediate, without any delay; the words being not improperly interpreted, as they are by many, If thou wilt return, return now. Repentance, if it be delayed from time to time, is seldom ever put in execution; and therefore there cannot be a more useful admonition than to put our good resolutions immediately in practice. Blaney, who considers the clause as being principally intended to assure them “that upon their conversion they should be accepted and received again into the bosom of God’s church, from which they had before apostatized,” translates it very literally, thus, “If thou wilt turn again, O Israel, saith Jehovah, unto me shalt thou return.” And if thou wilt put away thine abominations — Thine evil practices, and especially thine idolatries, as the word שׁקצים commonly signifies: out of my sight — Hebrew, מפני , from before me: though God’s eye be everywhere, and therefore, as is implied, idols are nowhere to be admitted, either in public or private, yet the expression particularly relates to the place of his more immediate presence, as their land and the place of his solemn worship.

Then shalt thou not remove — Thou shalt be restored to thine ancient inheritance, and shalt be established in the peaceable possession of it. As if he had said, If thou wilt remove thy idols, thou shalt not be removed. The Hebrew, ולא הנוב , may be properly rendered, Then thou shalt not wander, that is, be an unsettled, fugitive, and vagabond people. “In the former part,” says Houbigant, “the conversion of their morals is spoken of; in the latter, the stability of their republic.”

Verses 1, 2. - The form and structure of the translation require a change. Render, If thou wilt return , O Israel , saith Jehovah , wilt return unto me ; and if thou wilt put away , etc., and not wander ; and wilt swear , As Jehovah liveth , with good faith , with justice , and with righteousness ; then shall the nations bless themselves by him , and in him shall they glory . The clause, "and not wander," seems too short; the Septuagint had a choicer reading, "and put away, etc., from his [thy] mouth, and not wander from before me." It is the close of the prophecy which we have here. The prophet subjoins a promise which he has heard from Jehovah. True, it does not appeal to Israel's self-love (as Isaiah 48:18, 19 ; Psalm 81:13-16 ), but to a nobler feeling of responsibility for the world's welfare. Israel has been entrusted with a mission, and on the due performance of this mission hangs the weal or woe of humanity. Hence Jehovah's longing for Israel's repentance. If Israel will but "return," and obey God's commandments, all nations will be attracted to the true religion. The form of expression used for the latter statement is borrowed probably from Genesis 22:18 ; Genesis 26:4 (it is less closely parallel with Genesis 12:3 ; Genesis 18:18 ). To "bless by" any one is to use his name in the benediction formula. Seeing Israel so blessed through his allegiance to Jehovah, all nations shall wish themselves a similar blessing (the reverse of the process in Jeremiah 29:22 ; comp.

Isaiah 65:16 ). To "swear, As Jehovah liveth," means to call Jehovah to witness to the truth of a statement. This is to be done "with good faith," etc., i . e . the object of the oath must be consistent with honesty and probity. Abominations; i . e . idols , as often (see 2 Kings 23:24 ). Jeremiah 4:1

1 . If thou wilt return, etc .] The best rendering is perhaps as follows: If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, yea, return unto me , continuing (with mg.), and if thou wilt put … and wilt not wander, and wilt swear … then shall the nations, etc . abominations ] detestable things, idolatrous worship, mingled, as it often was, with impure rites. be removed ] wander (from God). By a change of one Hebrew letter we get the word rendered “broken loose” in Jeremiah 2:31 . This is to be preferred, as it is doubtful whether the verb in MT. can have a moral connotation. Jeremiah 4:1-4 . If Israel will sincerely repent and mend her ways, her prosperity will be the ideal for all nations. Let Judah dedicate herself in heart to Jehovah, otherwise heavy judgement shall be her portion. In Jeremiah 4:1-4 a severer mode of address is used towards Judah (3, 4) than towards Israel (1, 2).

If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, {a} return to me: and if thou wilt put away thy abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not be removed. (a) That is, wholly and without hypocrisy, not dissembling to turn and serve God as they do who serve him by halves, Ho 7:16.

IV. (1) If thou wilt return.—The “if” implies a return from the hopes with which Jeremiah 3 ended to the language of misgiving, and so, inferentially, of earnest exhortation. Abominations.—Literally, things of shame, as in Jeremiah 3:24; the idols which Israel had worshipped. Then shalt thou not remove.—Better, as continuing the conditions of forgiveness, if thou wilt not wander.

Return - The repentance of Israel described in Jeremiah 3:21-25 was a hope, and not a reality. The return, literally, would be their restoration to their land; spiritually, their abandoning their sins. Jeremiah 4:1-2 should be translated as follows: If thou wouldst return, O Israel, saith Yahweh. Unto Me thou shalt return: And if thou wouldst remove thy abominations from before Me, And not wander to and fro, But wouldst swear truly, uprightly; and justly By the living Yahweh; Then shall the pagan bless themselves ... - In him - In Yahweh. Two great truths are taught in this verse; (1) that the Gentiles were to be members of the Church of the Messiah; (2) that Israel's special office was to be God's mediator in this great work. Thus, Jeremiah is in exact accord with the evangelical teaching of Isaiah.

CHAPTER 4 Jer 4:1-31. Continuation of Address to the Ten Tribes of Israel. (Jer 4:1, 2). The Prophet Turns Again to Judah, to Whom He Had Originally Been Sent (Jer 4:3-31). 1. return … return—play on words. "If thou wouldest return to thy land (thou must first), return (by conversion and repentance) to Me." not remove—no longer be an unsettled wanderer in a strange land. So Cain (Ge 4:12, 14).An invitation to true repentance, by promises, Jeremiah 4:1-4; and judgments coming on them by the Babylonians, contrary to the predictions of their false prophets, for their sins, Jeremiah 4:5-18. A grievous lamentation for the miseries of Judah, Jeremiah 4:19-31. Return unto me: this seems to be a continuation of the former sermon; so that Israel having promised repentance, they are here directed how it must be qualified, viz. it must not be hypocritical and reigned, but real and hearty, Jeremiah 24:7, as Josiah’s was, 2 Kings 23:25; and it must be unto the Lord; not to this idol and that idol, hither and thither, shifting their way; but unto me; see Jeremiah 2:36; or to my worship, and as thou hast promised, Jeremiah 3:22. And this sense agrees best with the coherence. Or it maybe all emphatical, short, peremptory expression; If thou wilt return, return; make no longer demur or delay about it; like that Isaiah 21:12.

The Hebrew read the words in the future tense, if thou wilt return, thou shalt return; and so they may be taken partly as a promise, and that with reference either to their returning into their own land; and so they concern Israel; thus Deu 30:2-5: see Jeremiah 3:14. But if the word be taken in the notion of resting, not returning, as some do, and as it is taken Isaiah 30:15, then it rather concerns Judah: q. d. Thou shalt abide quietly where thou art, and shalt not wander into captivity; and this may agree with the last expression in the verse, not remove. Or else with reference to the assistance that God would give them to return unto him; partly, and that rather, as a direction (for in the Hebrew, though the word return be in the future tense, yet it is often used imperatively). Abominations, viz. idols, a metonymy of the adjunct, which are so abominable in God’s sight, Deu 27:15 Ezekiel 20:7,8; called dungy gods, Deu 29:17. See 2 Chronicles 15:8. Out of my sight; though God’s eye be every where; and hence implieth that idols are no where to be admitted, either in private or public; yet it doth particularly relate to the place of his more immediate presence, as their land and temple, 1 Kings 9:3, and spiritually to our hearts, hypocrites thinking it enough if they conceal their wickedness from man’s eye.