Jeremiah 6:3

6:1-8 Whatever methods are used, it is vain to contend with God's judgments. The more we indulge in the pleasures of this life, the more we unfit ourselves for the troubles of this life. The Chaldean army shall break in upon the land of Judah, and in a little time devour all. The day is coming, when those careless and secure in sinful ways will be visited. It is folly to trifle when we have eternal salvation to work out, and the enemies of that salvation to fight against. But they were thus eager, not that they might fulfil God's counsels, but that they might fill their own treasures; yet God thereby served his own purposes. The corrupt heart of man, in its natural state, casts out evil thoughts, just as a fountain casts out her waters. It is always flowing, yet always full. The God of mercy is loth to depart even from a provoking people, and is earnest with them, that by repentance and reformation, they may prevent things from coming to extremity.

The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her,.... Kings and their armies, as the Targum paraphrases it; kings and generals are compared to shepherds, and their armies to flocks, who are under their command and direction; here they design Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, with his generals and armies, who should come up against Jerusalem, as to a good pasture: they shall pitch their tents against her round about; their military tents, in allusion to pastoral ones. The phrase is expressive of the Chaldean army surrounding and besieging Jerusalem: they shall feed everyone in his place; where he is ordered and fixed by his head general: or, "everyone shall feed his hand" (p): the sheep of his hand; see Psalm 95:7, "them that are under his hand", as the Vulgate Latin version renders it; who are committed to his care and charge. The meaning is, he shall direct the company or companies of soldiers under him, where to be, and what part to take in the siege; or "with his hand", as the Septuagint, with the skilfulness of his hands, Psalm 78:72, or with might and power; or "at his hand", as the Arabic version; what is at hand, what is nearest to him; or according to his will and pleasure.

The Targum is, "everyone shall help his neighbour.'' The sense, according to Kimchi, is, one king or general shall lay siege against a city, or against cities, and so another, until they have consumed and subdued the whole land. (p) "paverunt unusquisque manum suam", Montanus; "eos qui sub manu sua sunt", V. L.

(3) Shall come unto her. —Better, Unto it ( sc ., the pasture) shall come shepherds with their flocks — i.e., the leaders and the armies of the invaders. The other verbs are in the past tense, the future being seen, as it were realised, They have pitched, they have pastured. Every one in his place.—Literally, each on his hand, or perhaps, “they shall feed, each his hand,” i.e., shall let it rove in plunder at will by the side of his own tent. The work of plunder was to go on everywhere. The imagery is drawn from the attack of a nomadic tribe on a richly-cultivated plain.

The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her: the prophet here proceeds in his metaphor, and possibly the rather, because he chooseth to speak in the style of his own education, which may also give some countenance to the supplement of pasture or land in the former verse instead of woman: the meaning is, the Chaldean princes, with their armies, as so many flocks, shall come into this pleasant land; see Jeremiah 12:10 ; in which expression there is something of a scoff, as Jeremiah 4:16,17 . They shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall so place their warlike tents, as to form a siege to begirt her round, Jeremiah 1:15 Ezekiel 4:2 . Every one in his place, Heb. hand , i.e. near hand, or beside or near one another ; thus 2 Chronicles 21:16 Job 1:14 : thus hand is taken for place ; i.e. each one in his quarter or station, not a man but shall do his part, and shall be skilful and powerful to destroy wherever he comes: it intimates also that every thing shall be so much at the enemy’s own disposal, that they shall be able to choose their own quarters; they shall place their army in wings, and troops, and regiments, as they see good, to their best advantage, to be helpful one unto another, as shepherds are wont to do their flocks; or, they shall fight in several parties, and each destroy his part assigned him through the whole country, and they shall join as it were in one body against Jerusalem.

The destruction comes about by means of shepherds with their flocks, who set up their tents round the city, and depasture each his portion. We need hardly observe that the shepherds and their flocks are a figure for princes, who with their peoples besiege and sack Jerusalem; with this cf. Jeremiah 1:15 . The figure does not point to a nomad swarm, or the Scythian people, as Ew. supposes. "Each his hand," i.e., what lies to his hand, or next him.

Micah and Isaiah, a little later, speak of such opposition, in Judah, as habitual Micah 2:6; Isaiah 30:10-11; much more in Israel, where the opposition to God's law was more fundamental, and where God's prophet's had been all but exterminated. Even Asa, in his degenerate days, imprisoned Hanani for prophesying that he would "have wars" 2 Chronicles 16:7, 2 Chronicles 16:10; Joash killed Zechariah son of Jehoiada 2 Chronicles 24:20-21; Amaziah silenced the prophet who rebuked him, "Art thou made of the king's council? forbear. Why shouldest thou be smitten?" 2 Chronicles 25:15-16. Jehoiakim sent even into Egypt to fetch Uriah and killed him Jeremiah 26:20-23. Jeremiah's life was one continuous encounter with false accusations Jeremiah 20:10; Jeremiah 37:13; Jeremiah 38:4, contradictions by false prophets (Jeremiah 23:17 ff; Jeremiah 27:9-10, Jeremiah 27:14-16; Jeremiah 28; Jeremiah 29), hatred Jeremiah 15:10, mockery Jeremiah 17:15; Jeremiah 20:7-8; Jeremiah 23:33, persecution Jeremiah 17:18, imprisonment Jeremiah 20:2; Jeremiah 32:3; Jeremiah 33:1; Jeremiah 37:15-21; Jeremiah 38:6-13, attempts to destroy him (Jeremiah 11:18-21; Jeremiah 18:18, Jeremiah 18:20-23; Jeremiah 26:8 ff; Jeremiah 36:26). The complaint was, as here, "wherefore dost thou prophesy?" Jeremiah 32:3.

Pleonasm (repetition of a word or words), in the case of a simple repetition of the vocabulary, indicates: (i) Force and emphasis; the words signify more than their ordinary meaning ( Psalms 133:2; Luke 6:46). (ii) A multitude ( Genesis 32:16; Joel 3:14). (iii) Distribution ( Leviticus 17:3; 1 Chron. 26:13; 2 Chron. 19:5). (iv) Diversity and variety ( Psalms 12:2; Proverbs 20:10). A different form of pleonasm occurs when one noun is governed by another. In the singular this is very significant and argues certainty ( Exodus 31:15; Micah 2:4). In the plural it signifies excellency as, for example, in Song of Songs; servant of servants (cf. also Psalms 136:2; Eccles. 1:2). Pleonasm in the case of an adjective (sometimes also Of a noun) signifies exaggeration or increase ( Exodus 34:6; Proverbs 6:10; Isaiah 6:3; Jeremiah 7:4, 22:29, 24:3; Ezekiel 21:28). In the case of a verb it either makes the speech more emphatic and significant, or else indicates and expresses vehemency, certainty, or speed ( Genesis 2:7, 46:4; Exodus 13:17; 2 Samuel 15:30; 2 Kings 5:11, 8:10; Psalms 50:21, 109:10; Proverbs 27:23; Isaiah 6:9, 50:2, 55:2, 56:3; Jeremiah 12:16, 33:39). Pleonasm in the case of a conjunction may indicate earnestness ( Ezekiel 13:10). A conjunction doubled increases the force of the denial (e.g. Exodus 14:11; Matthew 13:14).