Jeremiah 47:16

Though then the calamity of his people was apparently a sort of repudiation, as though God designed to have nothing more to do with them, yet he says that they were his own heritage; and thus he shows, that God would give a specimen of his favor towards the Jews, by thus severely chastising the Chaldeans. This then is the reason why he says, Ye have rejoiced in plundering my heritage, but your mother is ashamed. He expresses here more than if he had said, "Ye shall at length lie down confounded with shame;" but he names their mother, that he might intimate the destruction of the whole of that monarchy, which had been so terrible to all the neighboring nations. [58] Several copies have dsh, 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. 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. The connection of these two verses will be more evident, if we render ky 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.

Ezekiel 16:53 Ver. 53. When I shall bring again their captivity,.... The captivity of Sodom and Samaria, as after mentioned: the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters; which some understand as what never will be, as it never yet has been: Sodom remains to this day a dead sea, and the ten tribes are not returned: then [will I bring again] the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them; that is, it shall never be brought again, according to the above sense; but rather this is to be understood of the calling of the Gentiles, comparable to Sodom for their wickedness, as the great city of Rome is, Revelation 11:8; and of the calling of God's elect among the ten tribes, scattered up and down among the Gentiles, by the preaching of the apostles; and when the fulness of the Gentiles is brought in then will follow the conversion of the Jews, and all Israel will be sawed, Romans 11:25; for it is certain those sisters, Sodom and Samaria, were to be restored, and received into the church, and given to her for daughters, Ezekiel 16:61; thus the conversion, of the Gentiles is signified by bringing again the captivity of Moab and Ammon, in Jeremiah 48:47. Ezekiel 16:54 Ver. 54. That thou mayest bear thine own shame,....

The sense of the expression, over whom my name was called , appears clearly from 2 Samuel 12:28 , where Joab, while besieging Rabbah of the Ammonites, invites David to come and take it himself “lest I (emph.) take the city, and my name be called over it ,” i.e. lest I get the credit of having captured it, and it be counted as my conquest. The phrase expresses thus the fact of ownership —whether acquired by actual conquest or otherwise (cf. Isaiah 4:1 ). It is used especially of the people of Israel, Jerusalem, or the temple, as owned by Jehovah: see Deuteronomy 28:10 ; Jeremiah 7:10-11 ; Jeremiah 7:14 ; Jeremiah 7:30 ; Jeremiah 14:9 ; Jeremiah 15:16 (of Jeremiah himself), Jeremiah 25:29 , Jeremiah 32:34 , Jeremiah 34:15 ; 1 Kings 8:43 (= 2 Chronicles 6:33 ); Isaiah 63:19 ; 2 Chronicles 7:14 ; Daniel 9:18-19 ; and the newly-recovered Hebrew text of Sir 47:18 . In A.V., R.V., the phrase is often, unfortunately, represented by the obscure paraphrase, “called by my name”; but the literal rendering, which is both clearer and more forcible than the paraphrase, is sometimes added in the margin of R.V. (e.g. 1 Kings 8:43 ). that doeth this ] An epithet confirmatory of the preceding promise; cf. Jeremiah 33:2 . Amos 9:11-12 stands in the LXX. (cod.

Amos 3:7 ); but the word rendered musing does not seem one that would be used very naturally of the Divine purpose. that maketh the morning darkness ] viz. suddenly blackening the clear sky with the dark masses of storm-cloud. In the thunderstorm, the Hebrews conceived Jehovah to be borne along within the clouds ( Psalm 18:9-13 ; cf. on ch. Amos 1:2 ): the picture of Jehovah darkening the heavens with the gathering storm thus leads on naturally to the clause which follows. and treadeth —or marcheth — upon the high places of the earth ] viz. in the thunder-cloud, as it sweeps along the hills. For the expression, comp. (of Israel) Deuteronomy 32:13 ; Isaiah 58:14 ; (of Jehovah) Micah 1:3 : also Job 9:8 (“who marcheth upon the high places of the sea”). Jehovah of hosts , is his name ] The title is expressive of majesty and omnipotence: see on Amos 3:13 . It stands in the same emphatic formula as here, Amos 5:27 (‘ God of hosts’); Isaiah 47:4 ; Isaiah 48:2 ; Isaiah 51:15 ; Isaiah 54:5 ; Jeremiah 10:16 (= Jeremiah 51:19 ), Jeremiah 31:35 , Jeremiah 32:18 , Jeremiah 46:18 , Jeremiah 48:15 , Jeremiah 50:34 , Jeremiah 51:57 .

The latter were now in the midst of them, but on their restoration they were to be "in the midst of the Jews," that is, as proselytes to the true God (compare Micah 5:7; Zechariah 14:16). "Pluck them, " namely, the Gentile nations: in a bad sense. "Pluck Judah": in a good sense; used to express the force which was needed to snatch Judah from the tyranny of those nations by whom they had been made captives, or to whom they had fled; otherwise they never would have let Judah go. Previously he had been forbidden to pray for the mass of the Jewish people. But here he speaks consolation to the elect remnant among them. Whatever the Jews might be, God keeps His covenant. 15. A promise, applying to Judah, as well as to the nations specified (Amos 9:14). As to Moab, compare Jeremiah 48:47; as to Ammon, Jeremiah 49:6. 16. swear by my name —(Jeremiah 4:2; Isaiah 19:18; 65:16); that is, confess solemnly the true God. built —be made spiritually and temporally prosperous: fixed in sure habitations (compare Jeremiah 24:6; 42:10; 45:4; Psalms 87:4, 5; Ephesians 2:20, 21; 1 Peter 2:5). ## 17. (Isaiah 60:12). ## CHAPTER 13 Jeremiah 13:1-27. S YMBOLICAL P ROPHECY (Jeremiah 13:1-7). Many of these figurative acts being either not possible, or not probable, or decorous, seem to have existed only in the mind of the prophet as part of his inward vision. [So C ALVIN ]. The world he moved in was not the sensible, but the spiritual, world.

(27) Diminished thine ordinary food. —This cutting short of the power and prosperity of Israel was a discipline of correction designed to bring her to a consciousness of her sin. The daughters of the Philistines, i.e., their cities, according to the figurative language of the chapter, and indeed the common figurative language of Scripture. Philistia was but a small power in the south-west corner of Palestine, yet from the time of the Judges down through the whole period of the monarchy, they were the persistent foes of Israel. During the time immediately before Samuel, they held nearly the entire land in subjection, and although subdued by David, they became troublesome again in the times of the later kings (see 2Chronicles 26:7; 2Chronicles 28:18), and are often spoken of not only by the earlier prophets, Isaiah and Amos, but also by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:20; Jeremiah 47:1; Jeremiah 47:4), Ezekiel (Ezekiel 25:15-16), and Zechariah Zechariah 9:6). Ashamed of thy lewd way.—The Philistines, true to their own false gods, despised the Israelites for their unfaithfulness to Jehovah. It is the old but ever new story of the heathen repelled from the truth by the unworthiness of its professed followers.

Verse 10. - I will turn your feasts into mourning, etc. (comp. ver. 3: Amos 5:16, 17 ; Lamentations 5:15 ; Hosea 2:11 ; Tobit 2:6). Sackcloth . A token of mourning ( 1 Kings 20:31 ; Isaiah 15:3 ; Joel 1:8, 13 ). Baldness. On shaving the head as a sign of mourning, see note on Micah 1:16; and comp. Job 1:20 ; Isaiah 3:24 ; Jeremiah 16:6 ; Jeremiah 47:5 ; Ezekiel 7:18 ). I will make it; Ponam eam (Vulgate); sc . terram . But it is better to take it to refer to the whole state of things mentioned before. The mourning for an only son was proverbially severe, like that of the widow of Nain ( Luke 7:12 , etc.; comp. Jeremiah 6:26 ; Zechariah 12:10 ). And the end thereof as a bitter day. The calamity should not wear itself out; it should be bitter unto the end. Septuagint, Θήσομαι ... τοὺς μέτ αὐτοῦ ὡς ἡμέραν ὀδύνης , "I will make... those with him as a day of anguish." Amos 8:10