Notes on Jeremiah
From the Original 1599 Geneva Bible Notes

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Jer 1:1

1:1 The {a} words of Jeremiah the son of {b} Hilkiah, of the priests that [were] in {c} Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:

The Argument - The prophet Jeremiah born in the city of Anathoth in the country of Benjamin, was the son of Hilkiah, whom some think to be he that found the book of the law and gave it to Josiah. This prophet had excellent gifts from God, and most evident revelations of prophecy, so that by the commandment of the Lord he began very young to prophecy, that is, in the thirteenth year of Josiah, and continued eighteen years under the king, three months under Jehoahaz and under Jehoiakim eleven years, three months under Jehoiachin, and under Zedekiah eleven years to the time that they were carried away into Babylon. So that this time amounts to above forty years, besides the time that he prophesied after the captivity. In this book he declares with tears and lamentations, the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the people, for their idolatry, covetousness, deceit, cruelty, excess, rebellion and contempt of God's word, and for the consolation of the Church reveals the just time of their deliverance. Here chiefly are to be considered three things. First the rebellion of the wicked, who wax more stubborn and obstinate, when the prophets admonish them most plainly of their destruction. Next how the prophets and ministers of God should not be discouraged in their vocation, though they are persecuted and rigorously handled by the wicked, for God's cause. Thirdly though God shows his just judgment against the wicked, yet will he ever show himself a preserver of his Church, and when all means seem to men's judgment to be abolished, then will he declare himself victorious in preserving his.

(a) That is, the sermons and prophecies.
(b) Who is thought to be he that found the book of the law under king Josiah, 2Ki 22:8 .
(c) This was a city about three miles from Jerusalem and belonged to the priests, the sons of Aaron, Jos 21:18 .

Jer 1:2

1:2 To whom the {d} word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

(d) This is spoken to confirm his calling and office, as he did not presume of himself to preach and prophecy, but was called to it by God.

Jer 1:3

1:3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the {e} son of Josiah king of Judah, to the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth {f} month.

(e) Meaning the nephew of Josiah: for Jehoahaz was his father, who reigned but three months, and therefore is not mentioned, nor is Jehoiakim that reigned no longer.
(f) Of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, who was also called Mattaniah, and at this time the Jews were carried away into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.

Jer 1:5

1:5 Before I {g} formed thee in the womb I knew thee; and before thou wast born I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet to the {h} nations.

(g) The scripture uses this manner of speech to declare that God has appointed his minsters to their offices before they were born, as in Isa 49:1, Ga 1:15 .
(h) For Jeremiah did not only prophecy against the Jews, but also against the Egyptians, Babylonians, Moabites and other nations.

Jer 1:6

1:6 Then said I, {i} Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I [am] a child.

(i) Considering the great judgments of God which according to his threatening would come on the world, he was moved with a certain compassion on the one hand to pity them that would thus perish, and on the other hand by the infirmity of man's nature, knowing how hard a thing it was to enterprise such a charge, as in Isa 6:11, Ex 3:21,4:1 .

Jer 1:9

1:9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and {k} touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

(k) Which declares that God makes them meet and assures them, whom he calls to set forth his glory, giving them all means necessary for the same, Ex 4:12, Isa 6:7 .

Jer 1:10

1:10 See, I have this day set thee over the {l} nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

(l) He shows what is the authority of God's true ministers, who by his word have power to bear down whatever lifts itself up against God: and to plant and assure the humble and such as give themselves to the obedience of God's word, 2Co 10:4,5, He 4:12 , and these are the keys which Christ has left to loose and bind, Mt 18:18 .

Jer 1:11

1:11 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a {m} rod of an almond tree.

(m) He joins the sign with the word, for a more ample confirmation: signifying by the rod of the almond tree, which first buds, the hasty coming of the Babylonians against the Jews.

Jer 1:13

1:13 And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a boiling {n} pot; and its face [is] toward the north.

(n) Signifying that the Chaldeans and Assyrians would be as a pot to seethe the Jews who boiled in their pleasures and lust.

Jer 1:14

1:14 Then the LORD said to me, Out of the {o} north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

(o) Syria and Assyria were northward in respect to Jerusalem, which was the Chaldeans dominion.

Jer 1:16

1:16 And I will utter my {p} judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.

(p) I will give them charge and power to execute my vengeance against the idolaters who have forsaken me for their idols.

Jer 1:17

1:17 Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak to them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I {q} confound thee before them.

(q) Which declares that God's vengeance is prepared against them who do not execute their duty faithfully, either for fear of man, or for any other reason, 1Co 9:16 .

Jer 1:18

1:18 For, behold, I have made thee this day a fortified city, and an {r} iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against her princes, against her priests, and against the people of the land.

(r) Signifying on the one hand that the more that Satan and the world rage against God's ministers, the more present will he be to help them, Jos 1:5, He 13:5 and on the other hand, that they are utterly unfit to serve God in his Church, who are afraid and do not resist wickedness, whatever danger depend on it, Isa 50:7, Eze 3:8 .

Jer 2:2

2:2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the {a} kindness of thy youth, the love of thy espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, {b} in a land [that was] not sown.

(a) According to that grace and favour which I showed you from the beginning, when I first chose you to be my people, and married you to myself, Eze 16:8 .
(b) When I had delivered you out of Egypt.

Jer 2:3

2:3 Israel [was] {c} holiness to the LORD, [and] the firstfruits of his increase: all {d} that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.

(c) Chosen above all others to serve the Lord only and the first offered to the Lord of all other nations.
(d) Whoever challenged this people, or else annoyed them, was punished.

Jer 2:5

2:5 Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they have gone {e} far from me, and have walked after vanity, and have become {f} vain?

(e) That is, fallen to vile idolatry.
(f) Altogether given to vanity, and are become blind and insensible as the idols that they serve.

Jer 2:6

2:6 Neither said they, Where [is] the LORD that brought us out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of {g} the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?

(g) Where for lack of all things needed for life, you could look for nothing every hour but present death.

Jer 2:7

2:7 And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit of it and the goodness of it but when ye entered, ye defiled {h} my land, and made my heritage an abomination.

(h) By your idolatry and wicked manners, Ps 78:58,106:38 .

Jer 2:8

2:8 The priests said not, {i} Where [is] the LORD? and they that handle the {k} law knew me not: the {l} rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by {m} Baal, and walked after [things that] do not profit.

(i) They did not teach the people to seek after God.
(k) As the scribes, who would have expounded the law to the people.
(l) Meaning, the princes and ministers: signifying, that all estates were corrupt.
(m) That is, spoke vain things, and brought the people from the true worship of God to serve idols: for by Baal, which was the chief idol of the Moabites, are meant all idols.

Jer 2:9

2:9 Wherefore I will yet {n} plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children's children will I plead.

(n) Signifying that he would not as he might, straightway condemn them, but shows them by evident examples their great ingratitude that they might be ashamed and repent.

Jer 2:10

2:10 For pass over the isles of {o} Chittim, and see; and send to {p} Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there is such a thing.

(o) Meaning, the Grecians and Italians.
(p) To Arabia.

Jer 2:11

2:11 Hath a nation changed [their] gods, which [are] yet no gods? but my people have changed their {q} glory for [that which] doth not {r} profit.

(q) That is, God who is their glory, and who makes them glorious above all other people, reproving the Jews that they were less diligent to serve the true God, than were the idolaters to honour their vanities.
(r) Meaning the idols who were their destruction, Ps 106:36 .

Jer 2:12

2:12 Be astonished, O ye {s} heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.

(s) He shows that the insensible creatures abhor this vile ingratitude, and as it were tremble for fear of God's great judgments against the same.

Jer 2:13

2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me {t} the fountain of living waters, [and] hewed out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

(t) Signifying that when men forsake God's word, which is the fountain of life, they reject God himself, and so fall to their own inventions, and vain confidence, and procure to themselves destruction, Jon 2:8, Zec 10:2 .

Jer 2:14

2:14 [Is] Israel a {u} servant? [is] he a homeborn [slave]? why is he laid waste?

(u) Have I ordered them like servants and not like dearly beloved children? Ex 4:22 therefore it is their fault only, if the enemy spoil them.

Jer 2:15

2:15 The young {x} lions roared upon him, [and] yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without {y} inhabitant.

(x) The Babylonians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians.
(y) Not one will be left to dwell there.

Jer 2:16

2:16 Also the children of {z} Noph and Tahapanes have {a} broken the crown of thy head.

(z) That is, the Egyptians, for these were two great cities in Egypt.
(a) Have grievously vexed you at various times.

Jer 2:17

2:17 Hast thou not procured this to thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he {b} led thee by the way?

(b) Showing that God would have still led them correctly, if they would have followed him.

Jer 2:18

2:18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of {c} Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the {d} river?

{c} To seek help from man, as though God was not able enough to defend you, which is to drink from the puddles and to leave the fountain, Isa 31:1 .
(d) That is, Euphrates.

Jer 2:19

2:19 Thy own wickedness shall {e} correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that [it is] an evil [thing] and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear [is] not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

(e) Meaning, that the wicked are insensible, till the punishment for their sin waken them as in Jer 2:26, Isa 3:9 .

Jer 2:20

2:20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, [and] burst thy bands; and thou saidst, {f} I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.

(f) When I delivered you out of Egypt, Ex 19:8, De 5:27, Jos 24:16, Ezr 10:12, He 8:6 .

Jer 2:22

2:22 For though thou shalt wash thee with {g} lye, and take thee much soap, [yet] thy iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.

(g) Though you use all the purifications and ceremonies of the law, you cannot escape punishment.

Jer 2:23

2:23 How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not {h} gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: [thou art] a swift {i} dromedary traversing her ways;

(h) Meaning that hypocrites deny that they worship the idols, but that they honour God in them, and therefore they call their doings God's service.
(i) He compares the idolaters to these beasts, because they never cease running to and fro: for both valleys and hills are full of their idolatry.

Jer 2:24

2:24 A wild {k} donkey used to the wilderness, [that] snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her {l} month they shall find her.

(k) He compares the idolaters to a wild ass: for she can never be tamed nor yet wearied: for as she runs she can take her wind at every opportunity.
(l) That is, when she is with foal, and therefore the hunters wait their time: so though you cannot be turned back now from your idolatry, yet when your iniquity will be at the fall, God will meet with you.

Jer 2:25

2:25 Withhold thy foot from {m} being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.

(m) By this he warns them that they should not go into strange countries to seek help: for they should but spend their labour, and hurt themselves, which is here meant by the bare foot and thirst, Isa 57:10 .

Jer 2:26

2:26 As the {n} thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets,

(n) As a thief will not acknowledge his fault, till he is taken with the deed, and ready to be punished, so they will not confess their idolatry, till the plagues due to the same light on them.

Jer 2:27

2:27 Saying to a tree, Thou [art] my {o} father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned [their] back to me, and not [their] face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.

(o) Meaning, that idolaters rob God of his honour: and where as he has taught to call him the father of all flesh, they attribute this title to their idols.

Jer 2:28

2:28 But where [are] thy gods that thou hast made for thyself? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for [according {p} to] the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.

(p) You thought that your gods of blocks and stones could have helped you, because they were many in number and present in every place: but now let us see whether either the multitude or their presence can deliver you from my plague, Jer 11:13 .

Jer 2:29

2:29 Why will {q} ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD.

(q) As though I did you injury in punishing you, seeing that your faults are so evident.

Jer 2:30

2:30 In vain have I smitten your children; they have received no correction: your {r} own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

(r) That is, you have killed your prophets, that exhorted you to repentance, as Zechariah, Isaiah, etc.

Jer 2:31

2:31 O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a {s} wilderness to Israel? a land of darkness? why say my people, We are lords; {t} we will come no more to thee?

(s) Have I not given them abundance of all things?
(t) But will trust in our own power and policy.

Jer 2:33

2:33 Why trimmest thou thy way to {u} seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways.

(u) With strangers.

Jer 2:34

2:34 Also in thy {x} skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.

(x) The prophets and the faithful are slain in every corner of your country.

Jer 2:36

2:36 Why dost thou go about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, {y} as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.

(y) For the Assyrians had taken away the ten tribes out of Israel and destroyed Judah even to Jerusalem: and the Egyptians slew Josiah, and vexed the Jews in various ways.

Jer 2:37

2:37 Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thy hands upon {z} thy head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.

(z) In sign of lamentation, as in 2Sa 13:19 .

Jer 3:1

3:1 They {a} say, If a man shall put away his wife, and she shall go from him, and become another man's, shall he return to her again? shall not that land {b} be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many {c} lovers; yet {d} return again to me, saith the LORD.

(a) According as it is written, De 24:4 .
(b) If he take such a one to wife again.
(c) That is, with idols, and with them whom you have put your confidence in.
(d) And I will not cast you off, but receive you, according to my mercy.

Jer 3:2

3:2 Lift up thy eyes to the high places, and see where thou hast not been lain with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the {e} Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy harlotry and with thy wickedness.

(e) Who dwells in tent and waits for them that pass by to rob them.

Jer 3:3

3:3 Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there hath been no {f} latter rain; and thou hadst an {g} harlot's forehead, thou didst refuse to be ashamed.

(f) As God threatened by his law, De 28:24 .
(g) You would never be ashamed of your acts and repent: and this impudency is common to idolaters, who will not cease, though they are openly convicted.

Jer 3:4

3:4 Wilt thou not from this time cry {h} to me, My father, thou [art] the guide of my youth?

(h) He shows that the wicked in their miseries will cry to God and use outward prayer as the godly do, but because they do not turn from their evil, they are not heard, Isa 58:3,4 .

Jer 3:6

3:6 The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen [that] which backsliding {i} Israel hath done? she hath gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.

(i) Meaning the ten tribes.

Jer 3:8

3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes by which backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put {k} her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

(k) And gave her into the hands of the Assyrians.

Jer 3:9

3:9 And it came to pass through the {l} lightness of her harlotry, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with trees.

(l) The Hebrew word may either signify lightness and wantonness, or noise and brute.

Jer 3:10

3:10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned to me with {m} her whole heart, but deceitfully, saith the LORD.

(m) Judah pretended for a time that she returned, as under Josiah and other good kings, but she was never truly touched, or wholly reformed, as appeared when opportunity was offered by any wicked prince.

Jer 3:11

3:11 And the LORD said to me, The backsliding Israel hath {n} justified herself more than treacherous Judah.

(n) Israel has not declared herself as wicked as Judah, who yet has had more admonitions and examples to call her to repentance.

Jer 3:12

3:12 Go and proclaim these words toward {o} the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; [and] I will not cause my anger to fall upon you: for I [am] merciful, saith the LORD, [and] I will not keep [anger] for ever.

(o) While the Israelites were now kept in captivity by the Assyrians, to whom he promises mercy, if they will repent.

Jer 3:13

3:13 Only acknowledge thy iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast {p} scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.

(p) There was no way which you did not hunt to seek after the idols, and to go on a pilgrimage.

Jer 3:16

3:16 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The {q} ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they miss [it]; neither shall [that] be done any more.

(q) This is to be understood of the coming of Christ: for then they will not seek the Lord by ceremonies, and all figures will cease.

Jer 3:17

3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem {r} the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.

(r) Meaning, the Church, where the Lord will be present to the world's end, Mt 28:20 .

Jer 3:18

3:18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together from the land of the {s} north to the land that I have given for an inheritance to your fathers.

(s) Where they are now in captivity.

Jer 3:20

3:20 Surely [as] a wife treacherously departeth from her {t} husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.

(t) The Hebrew word signifies a friend or companion, and here may be taken for a husband, as it is used also in Ho 3:1 .

Jer 3:21

3:21 {u} A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping [and] supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, [and] they have forgotten the LORD their God.

(u) Signifying, that God, whom they had forsaken, would bring their enemies to them, who would lead them captive, and make them to cry and lament.

Jer 3:22

3:22 Return, ye backsliding children, [and] I will heal your backslidings. {x} Behold, we come to thee; for thou [art] the LORD our God.

(x) This is spoken in the person of Israel to the shame of Judah, who stayed so long to turn to God.

Jer 3:24

3:24 For shame hath devoured the labour of our {y} fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

(y) For their idolatry God's vengeance has light on them and theirs.

Jer 3:25

3:25 We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: {z} for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.

(z) They justify not themselves, or say that they would follow their fathers, but condemn their wicked doings and desire forgiveness for the same, as in Ezr 9:7, Ps 106:6, Isa 64:6 .

Jer 4:1

4:1 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 .

Jer 4:2

4:2 And thou shalt {b} swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.

(b) You will detest the name of idols, Ps 16:4 and will with reverence swear by the living God, when your oath may advance God's glory, and profit others: and here by swearing he means the true religion of God.

Jer 4:3

4:3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up {c} your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

(c) He wills them to pluck up the impiety and wicked affection and worldly respects out of their heart, that the true seed of God's word may be sown in it, Ho 10:12 and this is the true circumcision of the heart, De 10:16, Ro 2:29, Col 2:11 .

Jer 4:5

4:5 {d} Declare ye in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, confirm, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities.

(d) He warns them of the great dangers that will come on them by the Chaldeans, unless they repent and turn to the Lord.

Jer 4:6

4:6 Set up the standard toward Zion: {e} retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.

(e) He speaks this to admonish them of the great danger when every man will prepare to save himself, but it will be too late, 2Ki 25:4 .

Jer 4:7

4:7 The {f} lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.

(f) Meaning Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, 2Ki 24:1 .

Jer 4:9

4:9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, [that] the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the {g} prophets shall wonder.

(g) That is, the false prophets who still prophesied peace and security.

Jer 4:10

4:10 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly {h} deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; though the sword reacheth to the soul.

(h) By the false prophets who promised peace and tranquillity: and thus you have punished their rebellious stubbornness by causing them to hearken to lies who would not believe your truth, 1Ki 22:23, Eze 14:9, 2Th 2:11 .

Jer 4:11

4:11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry {i} wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not {k} to fan, nor to cleanse,

(i) The north wind by which he means Nebuchadnezzar.
(k) But to carry away both corn and chaff.

Jer 4:13

4:13 Behold, he shall come up as {l} clouds, and his chariots [shall be] as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. {m} Woe to us! for we are laid waste.

(l) Meaning that Nebuchadnezzar would come as suddenly as a cloud that is carried with the wind.
(m) This is spoken in the person of all the people, who in their affliction would cry thus.

Jer 4:15

4:15 For a voice declareth from {n} Dan, and proclaimeth affliction from mount {o} Ephraim.

(n) Which was a city in the utmost border of Israel north toward Babylon.
(o) Which was in the middle between Dan and Jerusalem.

Jer 4:17

4:17 As keepers of a {p} field, they are against her on all sides; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.

(p) Who keep the fruits so straitly, that nothing can come in or out so would the Babylonians compass Judah.,

Jer 4:19

4:19 My distress, my {q} distress! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

(q) He shows that the true ministers are lively touched with the calamities of the Church, so that all the parts of their body feel the grief of their heart, even though with zeal to God's glory they pronounce his judgments against the people.

Jer 4:20

4:20 Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is laid waste: suddenly are my {r} tents ruined, [and] my curtains in a moment.

(r) Meaning, the cities which were as easily cast down as a tent.

Jer 4:22

4:22 For my people [are] foolish, they have not known me; they [are] silly children, and they have no understanding: {s} they [are] wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

(s) Their wisdom and policy tend to their own destruction and pulls them from God.

Jer 4:23

4:23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, [it was] without form, and {t} void; and the heavens, and they [had] no light.

(t) By this manner of speech he shows the horrible destruction that would come on the land and also condemns the obstinacy of the people who do not repent at the fear of these terrible kings, seeing that the insensible creatures are moved therewith, as if the order of nature would be changed, Isa 13:10,24:23, Eze 32:7, Joel 2:31,3:15 .

Jer 4:27

4:27 For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I {u} not make a full end.

(u) But for his mercies sake, he will reserve himself a residue to be his Church, and to praise him in earth, Jer 5:18 .

Jer 4:30

4:30 And [when] thou [art] laid waste, what wilt thou do? Though thou {x} clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou enlarge thy eyes with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; [thy] lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.

(x) Neither your ceremonies nor rich gifts will deliver you.

Jer 4:31

4:31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, [and] the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, [that] bewaileth herself, [that] spreadeth her hands, [saying], {y} Woe [is] me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.

(y) As the prophets were moved to pity the destruction of their people, so they declared it to the people to move them to repentance, Isa 22:4, Jer 9:1 .

Jer 5:1

5:1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in its broad places, if ye can find a man, if there is [any] that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon {a} it.

(a) That is, the city.

Jer 5:2

5:2 And though they say, The {b} LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.

(b) Though they pretend religion and holiness, yet all is but hypocrisy: for under this kind of swearing is contained the true religion.

Jer 5:3

5:3 O LORD, [are] not thy eyes upon the {c} truth? thou hast {d} stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, [but] they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.

(c) Do you not love uprightness and faithful dealing?
(d) You have often punished them, but all is in vain, Isa 9:13 .

Jer 5:5

5:5 I will go to the {e} great men, and will speak to them; for they have known the way of the LORD, [and] the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, [and] burst the bonds.

(e) He speaks this to the reproach of them who would govern and teach others, and yet are farther out of the way than the simple people.

Jer 5:6

5:6 Wherefore a {f} lion from the forest shall slay them, [and] a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out from there shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, [and] their backslidings are increased.

(f) Meaning, Nebuchadnezzar and his army.

Jer 5:7

5:7 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and {g} sworn by [them that are] no gods: when I had fed them to the full, then they committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses.

(g) He shows that to swear by anything other than by God is to forsake him.

Jer 5:10

5:10 {h} Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: {i} take away her battlements; for they [are] not the LORD'S.

(h) He commands the Babylonians and enemies to destroy them.
(i) Read Jer 4:27 .

Jer 5:12

5:12 They have {k} lied about the LORD, and said, [It is] not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:

(k) Because they gave no credit to the words of his prophets, as in Isa 28:15 .

Jer 5:13

5:13 And the prophets shall become {l} wind, and the word [is] {m} not in them: thus shall it be done to them.

(l) Their words will be of no effect, but vain.
(m) They are not sent from the Lord, and therefore that which they threaten to us will come on them.

Jer 5:14

5:14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in {n} thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

(n) Meaning, Jeremiah.

Jer 5:15

5:15 Lo, I will bring a nation upon you {o} from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it [is] a mighty nation, it [is] an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.

(o) That is, the Babylonians and Chaldeans.

Jer 5:16

5:16 Their quiver [is] as an {p} open sepulchre, they [are] all mighty men.

(p) Who will kill many with their arrows.

Jer 5:18

5:18 Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with {q} you.

(q) Here the Lord declares his unspeakable favour toward his Church, as in Jer 4:27 .

Jer 5:19

5:19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Why doeth the LORD our God all these [things] to us? then shalt {r} thou answer them, As ye have forsaken me, and served foreign gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land [that is] not yours.

(r) Meaning, the prophet Jeremiah.

Jer 5:25

5:25 Your {s} iniquities have turned away these [things], and your sins have withheld good [things] from you.

(s) If there is any stay, that we receive not God's blessings in abundance, we must consider that it is for our own iniquities, Isa 59:1,2 .

Jer 5:28

5:28 They have become fat, they shine: yea, they exceed the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they {t} prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.

(t) They feel not the plague of God for it.

Jer 5:31

5:31 The {u} prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love [to have it] so: and what will ye do in its end?

(u) Meaning that there could be nothing but disorder, where the ministers were wicked and corrupt.

Jer 6:1

6:1 O ye children of {a} Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in {b} Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in {c} Bethhaccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.

(a) He speaks to them chiefly because they should take heed by the example of their brethren the other half of their tribe, who were now carried away prisoners.
(b) Which was a city in Judah, six miles from Bethlehem, 2Ch 11:6 .
(c) Read Ne 3:14 .

Jer 6:2

6:2 I have likened the daughter of Zion to {d} a comely and delicate [woman].

(d) I have intreated her gently, and given her abundance of all things.

Jer 6:3

6:3 The shepherds with their flocks {e} shall come to her; they shall pitch [their] tents against her on every side; they shall feed every one in his place.

(e) She will be so destroyed that the sheep may be fed in her.

Jer 6:4

6:4 {f} Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe to us! for the day departeth, for the shadows of the evening are lengthened.

(f) He speaks this in the person of the Babylonians, who complain that the time fails them before they have brought their enterprises to pass.

Jer 6:7

6:7 As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: {g} violence and destruction is heard in her; before me continually [are] grief and wounds.

(g) He shows the reason why it would be destroyed, and how it comes from themselves.

Jer 6:8

6:8 Be thou instructed, O {h} Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.

(h) He warns them to amend by his correction, and turn to him by repentance.

Jer 6:9

6:9 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn {i} back thy hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets.

(i) He exhorts the Babylonians to be diligent to search out all and to leave none.

Jer 6:10

6:10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear [is] {k} uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is to them a reproach; they have no delight in it.

(k) They delight to hear vain things, and to shut up their ears to true doctrine.

Jer 6:11

6:11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: {l} I will pour it out upon the {m} children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with [him that is] full of days.

(l) As the Lord had given him his word to be as a fire of his indignation to burn the wicked, Jer 5:14 so he kindles it now when he sees that all remedies are past.
(m) No one will be spared.

Jer 6:14

6:14 They have healed also the hurt [of the daughter] of my people slightly, saying, {n} Peace, peace; when [there is] no peace.

(n) When the people began to fear God's judgments, the false prophets comforted them by flatterings, showing that God would send peace and not war.

Jer 6:16

6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the {o} old paths, where [is] the good way, and walk in it, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk [in it].

(o) In which the patriarchs and prophets walked, directed by the word of God: signifying that there is no true way, but that which God prescribes.

Jer 6:17

6:17 Also I set {p} watchmen over you, [saying], Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.

(p) Prophets who would warn you of the dangers that were at hand.

Jer 6:18

6:18 Therefore hear, ye {q} nations, and know, O congregation, what [is] among them.

(q) God takes all the world to witness and the insensible creatures of the ingratitude of the Jews.

Jer 6:20

6:20 To what purpose cometh there to me {r} incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a distant country? your burnt offerings [are] not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet to me.

(r) Read Isa 1:11, Am 5:21 .

Jer 6:22

6:22 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the {s} north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.

(s) From Babylon by Dan, which was north of Jerusalem.

Jer 6:24

6:24 We have heard the report of it: our hands become {t} feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, [and] pain, as of a woman in travail.

(t) For fear of the enemy: he speaks this in the person of the Jews.

Jer 6:27

6:27 I have set {u} thee [for] a tower [and] a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.

(u) Meaning, Jeremiah, whom God had appointed to try out the godly from the wicked, as a founder does the pure metal from the dross.

Jer 6:29

6:29 The {x} bellows is burned, the lead is consumed by the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.

(x) All the pain and labour that has been taken with them is lost.

Jer 7:4

7:4 Trust ye not in {a} lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, [are] these.

(a) Believe not the false prophets, who say that for the temple's sake, and the sacrifices there the Lord will preserve you, and so nourish you in your sin, and vain confidence.

Jer 7:7

7:7 Then {b} will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.

(b) God shows on what condition he made his promise to this temple that they would be a holy people to him, as he would be a faithful God to them.

Jer 7:11

7:11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become {c} a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen [it], saith the LORD.

(c) As thieves hidden in holes and dens think themselves safe, so when you are in my temple, you think to be covered with the holiness of it, and that I cannot see your wickedness, Mt 21:13 .

Jer 7:12

7:12 But go ye now to my place which [was] in Shiloh, {d} where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.

(d) Because they depended so much on the temple, which was for his promise, that he would be present and defend them where the ark was, he sends them to God's judgments against Shiloh, where the ark had remained about 300 years, and after was taken, the priests slain, and the people miserably discomfited, 1Sa 4:11, Jer 26:6 .

Jer 7:13

7:13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spoke to you, {e} rising early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but {f} ye answered not;

(e) That is, I never ceased to warn you, as in Isa 65:2, Pro 1:23 .
(f) He shows the only remedy to redress our faults: to allow God to lead us in the way, and to obey his calling, Isa 66:4 .

Jer 7:15

7:15 And I will cast {g} you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, [even] the whole seed of Ephraim.

(g) I will send you into captivity as I have done Ephraim, that is, the ten tribes.

Jer 7:16

7:16 Therefore {h} pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.

(h) To assure them that God had determined with himself to punish their wickedness, he shows the prayer of the godly cannot help them, while they remain in their obstinacy against God, and will not use the means that he uses to call them to repentance, Jer 11:14,14:11 .

Jer 7:18

7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes to {i} the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

(i) That is, they sacrifice to the sun, moon and stars, which they called the queen of heaven, Jer 44:17, 2Ki 23:5 .

Jer 7:22

7:22 For {k} I spoke not to your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:

(k) Showing that it was not his chief purpose and intent, that they should offer sacrifices, but that they should regard, why they were ordained: that is, to be joined to the word as seals and confirmations of remissions of sins in Christ: for without the word they were vain and unprofitable.

Jer 7:25

7:25 Since the day that your fathers came forth from the land of Egypt to {l} this day I have even sent to you all my servants the prophets, daily {m} rising early and sending [them]:

(l) Which was about fourteen hundred years.
(m) Read Jer 7:13 .

Jer 7:27

7:27 Therefore thou shalt speak all these words to them; but they {n} will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call to them; but they will not answer thee.

(n) By which he shows that the pastors should not leave their flocks in their obstinacy, for the Lord will use the means of his servants to make the wicked more faulty and to prove his.

Jer 7:29

7:29 Cut off thy {o} hair, [O Jerusalem], and cast [it] away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his {p} wrath.

(o) In sign of mourning, as in Job 1:20 .
(p) Against whom he had just opportunity to pour out his wrath Mic 1:6 .

Jer 7:31

7:31 And they have built the high places of {q} Tophet, which [is] in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I {r} commanded [them] not, neither came it into my heart.

(q) Of Topheth, read 2Ki 23:10 .
(r) But commanded the opposite, as in Le 18:21,20:3, De 18:10 .

Jer 8:1

8:1 At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring 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 inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their {a} graves:

(a) The enemy for greediness will rifle your graves and lay you before those idols, who in your life you worshipped, to see if they can help you.

Jer 8:3

8:3 And death shall be chosen {b} rather than life by all the remnant of them that remain of this evil family, who remain in all the places where I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.

(b) Because of the afflictions that they will feel through God's judgments.

Jer 8:4

8:4 Moreover thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they {c} fall, and not rise? shall he turn away, and not return?

(c) Is there no hope that they will return?

Jer 8:6

8:6 I hearkened and heard, [but] they spoke not aright: no man repented of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every {d} one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth to the battle.

(d) They are full of hypocrisy, and everyone follows his own fantasy without any consideration.

Jer 8:7

8:7 Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the {e} judgment of the LORD.

(e) He accuses them in that they are more ignorant of God's judgments, than these birds are of their appointed seasons to discern the cold and heat.

Jer 8:8

8:8 How do ye say, We [are] wise, and the law of the LORD [is] with us? Lo, certainly in vain he hath made [it]; {f} the pen of the scribes [is] in vain.

(f) The law does not profit you neither need it to have been written for all that you have learned by it.

Jer 8:9

8:9 The {g} wise [men] are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom [is] in them?

(g) They who seem wise may be ashamed of their ignorance for all wisdom consists in God's word.

Jer 8:11

8:11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, {h} Peace, peace; when [there is] no peace.

(h) See Geneva "Jer 6:14"

Jer 8:14

8:14 Why do we sit still? {i} assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of {k} gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.

(i) He speaks in the person of the people, who when the enemy comes will turn about to hide themselves and acknowledge that it is God's hand.
(k) That is, has brought us into extreme affliction, and thus they will not attribute this plague to fortune, but to God's just judgment, Jer 9:15,23:15 .

Jer 8:16

8:16 The snorting of his horses was heard from {l} Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they have come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell in it.

(l) Read Geneva "Jer 4:15"

Jer 8:17

8:17 For, behold, I will {m} send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which [will] not [be] charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.

(m) God threatens to send the Babylonians among them who will utterly destroy them in such sort, as by no means they will escape.

Jer 8:18

8:18 [When] I would {n} comfort myself against sorrow, my heart [is] faint in me.

(n) Read Jer 4:19 .

Jer 8:19

8:19 Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a distant country: [Is] not the LORD in Zion? [is] not her king in her? Why {o} have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, [and] with foreign vanities?

(o) Thus the Lord speaks.

Jer 8:20

8:20 The {p} harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

(p) The people wonder that they have for so long a time looked for comfort in vain.

Jer 8:21

8:21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I {q} hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.

(q) The prophet speaks this.

Jer 8:22

8:22 [Is there] no balm {r} in Gilead; [is there] no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

(r) Meaning,that no man's help or means could save them: for in Gilead was precious balm, Jer 46:11 or else deriding the vain confidence of the people, who looked to their priests for help, who would have been the physicians of their soul, and dwelt at Gilead, Ho 6:8 .

Jer 9:1

9:1 O that my head were {a} waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

(a) The prophet shows the great compassion that he had toward this people, seeing that he could never sufficiently lament the destruction that he saw to hang over them, which is a special note to discern the true pastors from the hirelings. See Geneva "Jer 4:19"

Jer 9:2

9:2 O that I had in the wilderness a {b} lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they [are] all {c} adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.

(b) He shows that there was more peace and greater safety for him to dwell among the wild beasts than among this wicked people except that God has given him this charge.
(c) Utterly turned from God.

Jer 9:3

9:3 And they bend their tongues [like] their bow [for] {d} lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.

(d) To belie and slander their neighbours.

Jer 9:4

9:4 Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any {e} brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.

(e) Meaning, that all were corrupt, and none could find an honest man.

Jer 9:5

9:5 And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they {f} have taught their tongue to speak lies, [and] weary themselves to commit iniquity.

(f) They have so practised deceit, that they cannot forsake it.

Jer 9:6

9:6 Thy habitation [is] in the midst of deceit; {g} through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.

(g) They would rather have forsaken God than left their wicked trade.

Jer 9:7

9:7 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will {h} melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?

(h) With the fire of affliction.

Jer 9:10

9:10 For the {i} mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through [them]; neither can [men] hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast have fled; they are gone.

(i) Signifying that all the places about Jerusalem would be destroyed.

Jer 9:12

9:12 Who [is] the {k} wise man, that may understand this? and [who is he] to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth [and] is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?

(k) Meaning that they are all without sense and understanding and that God has taken his spirit from them.

Jer 9:14

9:14 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which {l} their fathers taught them:

(l) He shows that the children cannot excuse themselves by their fathers: for both father and child if they are wicked will perish.

Jer 9:15

9:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, [even] this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall {m} to drink.

(m) Read Jer 8:14 .

Jer 9:17

9:17 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for {n} the skilful women, that they may come; and send for skilful [women], that they may come:

(n) Seeing you cannot lament your own sins, call for those foolish women, whom of a superstition you have to lament for the dead, that they by their feigned tears may provoke you to some sorrow.

Jer 9:19

9:19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we laid waste! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings {o} have cast [us] out.

(o) As though they were weary of us, because of our iniquities, Le 18:28,20:22 .

Jer 9:20

9:20 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and {p} teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation.

(p) He derides the superstition of the women who made an art of mourning, and taught to weep with feigned tears.

Jer 9:21

9:21 For death hath come up into our {q} windows, [and] hath entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from outside, [and] the young men from the streets.

(q) Signifying that there is no means to deliver the wicked from God's judgments: but when they think to be most sure, and most far off, then they are soonest taken.

Jer 9:23

9:23 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the {r} wise [man] glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty [man] glory in his might, let not the rich [man] glory in his riches:

(r) As none can save himself by his own labour, or any worldly means, he shows that it is vain to put our trust in it, but that we trust in the Lord, and rejoice in him, who only can deliver.

Jer 9:24

9:24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I [am] the LORD who {s} exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these [things] I delight, saith the LORD.

(s) These three points are necessary to know correctly his mercy, in which consists our salvation: his judgment, which he executes continually against the wicked, and his justice, by which he defends and maintains the faithful.

Jer 9:25

9:25 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all [them who are] {t} circumcised with the uncircumcised;

(t) Meaning, both Jews and Gentiles, as in this next verse he shows the cause, Jer 4:4 .

Jer 10:2

10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the {a} signs of heaven; for the nations are dismayed at them.

(a) God forbids his people to give credit or fear the constellations and conjunctions of stars and planets which have no power of themselves but are governed by him, and their secret motions and influences are not known to man and therefore there can be no certain judgment of it, De 18:9 .

Jer 10:3

10:3 For the {b} customs of the people [are] vain: for [one] cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

(b) Meaning not only in the observation of the stars, but their laws and ceremonies by which they confirm their idolatry, which is forbidden, De 12:30 .

Jer 10:4

10:4 They deck it {c} with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it may not move.

(c) The prophets use thus plainly and simply to set forth the vile absurdity of the idolaters that men might learn to be ashamed of that to which their corrupt nature is most subject, Isa 44:12 .

Jer 10:6

10:6 Forasmuch as [there is] none like thee, O LORD; {d} thou [art] great, and thy name [is] great in might.

(d) He teaches the people to lift up their eyes to God, who has all power and therefore ought only to be feared: and in this he shows them not only the evil that they ought to hate: but the good which they ought to follow, Re 15:4 .

Jer 10:8

10:8 But they are altogether senseless and foolish: the stock [is] a {e} doctrine of vanities.

(e) Because the people thought that to have images was a means to serve God, and to bring them to the knowledge of him, he shows that nothing more displeases God, nor brings man into greater errors and ignorance of God: and therefore he calls them the doctrine of vanity, the work of errors, Jer 10:15 . Hab 2:18 calls them the teachers of lies: contrary to that wicked opinion, that they are the books of the lay people.

Jer 10:9

10:9 Silver beaten into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold {f} from Uphaz, the work of the craftsman, and of the hands of the goldsmith: blue and purple [is] their clothing: they [are] all the work of skilful [men].

(f) Where they found the best gold; showing that they thought nothing too dear for their idols, some read Ophir as in 1Ki 9:28 .

Jer 10:11

10:11 Thus shall ye say to them, The gods {g} that have not made the heavens and the earth, [even] they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.

(g) This declares that all that has been spoken of idols in this chapter, was to arm the Jews when they would be in Chaldea among the idolaters, and now with one sentence he instructs them both how to protest their own religion against the idolaters and how to answer them to their shame who would exhort them to idolatry, and therefore he writes this sentence in the Chaldean tongue for a memorial while all the rest of his writing is in Hebrew.

Jer 10:14

10:14 Every man is {h} senseless in [his] knowledge: every goldsmith is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image [is] falsehood, and [there is] no breath in them.

(h) The more man thinks to do anything well by his own wisdom, and not as God instructs him, the more he proves himself to be a vile beast.

Jer 10:16

10:16 The {i} portion of Jacob [is] not like them: for he [is] the former of all [things]; and Israel [is] the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts [is] his name.

(i) By these words, portion and rod, he signifies their inheritance, meaning that God would be all sufficient for them: and that their happiness consisted in him alone, and therefore they ought to renounce all other help and comfort as of idols, etc. De 32:9, Ps 16:5 .

Jer 10:17

10:17 {k} Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.

(k) The prophet wills the Jews to prepare themselves for this captivity, showing that it was now at hand that they would feel the things of which he had told them.

Jer 10:19

10:19 Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this {l} [is] a grief, and I must bear it.

(l) It is my just plague, and therefore I will take it patiently: by which he teaches the people how to behave themselves toward God.

Jer 10:20

10:20 {m} My tabernacle is laid waste, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone from me, and they [are] not: [there is] none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.

(m) He shows how Jerusalem will lament.

Jer 10:21

10:21 For the shepherds {n} have become senseless, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

(n) The governors and ministers.

Jer 10:22

10:22 Behold, the sound of a rumour is come, and a great commotion from the {o} north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, [and] a den of dragons.

(o) Read Jer 4:15 .

Jer 10:23

10:23 O LORD, I know that {p} the way of man [is] not in himself: [it is] not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

(p) He speaks this because Nebuchadnezzar purposed to have made war against the Moabites and Ammonites, but hearing of Zedekiah's rebellion he turned his power to go against Jerusalem, Eze 21:21 therefore the prophet says that this was the Lord's direction.

Jer 10:24

10:24 O LORD, correct me, but with {q} judgment; not in thy anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.

(q) Considering that God had revealed to him the certainty of their captivity Jer 7:16 he only prays that he would punish them with mercy which Isaiah calls in measure, Isa 27:8 measuring his rods by their infirmity 1Co 10:13 for here by judgment is meant not only the punishment but also the merciful moderation of the same as in Jer 30:11 .

Jer 10:25

10:25 Pour out {r} thy fury upon the nations that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.

(r) As God cannot only be known and glorified by his mercy that he uses toward his Church, but also by his justice in punishing his enemies, he prays that this glory may fully appear both in the one and the other, Ps 79:6 .

Jer 11:3

11:3 And say thou to them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; {a} Cursed [be] the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,

(a) He calls the Jews to the consideration of God's mercy, who freely chose them, made a covenant of eternal happiness with them and how he ever performed it on his behalf and how they ever showed themselves rebellious and ingrate toward him, and broke it on their part, and so are subject to the curse of the law, De 27:26 .

Jer 11:5

11:5 That I may perform the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as [it is] this day. Then answered {b} I, and said, So be it, O LORD.

(b) Thus he speaks in the person of the people, who agreed to the covenant.

Jer 11:7

11:7 For I earnestly protested to your fathers in the day [that] I brought them out of the land of Egypt, [even] to this day, {c} rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.

(c) Read Jer 7:13 .

Jer 11:8

11:8 Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their {d} evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the {e} words of this covenant, which I commanded [them] to do; but they did [them] not.

(d) According to his own fantasy, and not as my word appointed him.
(e) Meaning, the menaces and curses contained in the law, Le 26:14, De 28:16 .

Jer 11:9

11:9 And the LORD said to me, A {f} conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

(f) That is, general consent to rebel against me.

Jer 11:11

11:11 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry to me, {g} I will not hearken to them.

(g) Because they will not pray with true faith and repentance, but for the pain and grief which they feel, Pr 1:28 .

Jer 11:13

11:13 {h} For [according to] the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and [according to] the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to [that] shameful thing, [even] altars to burn incense to Baal.

(h) Read Jer 2:28 .

Jer 11:14

11:14 Therefore {i} pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear [them] in the time when they cry to me for their trouble.

(i) Read Jer 7:16,14:11 .

Jer 11:15

11:15 What hath my {k} beloved to do in my house, [seeing] she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh {l} is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.

(k) My people of Israel whom I have greatly loved till now.
(l) Meaning, that they offer not in the temple to God, but on the altars of Baal and the idols and so rejoiced in their wickedness.

Jer 11:16

11:16 The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, [and] of goodly fruit: with the {m} noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.

(m) Of the Babylonians and Chaldeans.

Jer 11:18

11:18 And the LORD hath given me knowledge [of it], and I know [it]: then thou didst show me {n} their doings.

(n) Who went about secretly to conspire my death.

Jer 11:19

11:19 But I [was] like a lamb [or] an ox [that] is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised plots against me, [saying], Let us {o} destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.

(o) Let us destroy the prophet and his doctrine. Some read "Let us corrupt his meat with wood", meaning poison.

Jer 11:20

11:20 But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy {p} vengeance on them: for to thee have I revealed my cause.

(p) Thus he spoke not out of hatred, but being moved with the Spirit of God, he desires the advancement of God's glory, and the verifying of his word, which is by the destruction of his enemies.

Jer 11:21

11:21 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the men of {q} Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, {r} Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand:

(q) That is, both the priests and the rest of the people: for this town was the priests, and they dwelt in it, Jer 1:1 .
(r) Not that they could not abide to hear God named; (for in this they would show themselves most holy) but because they could not abide to be sharply reproved, and therefore desired to be flattered Isa 30:10 , to be maintained in their pleasures Mic 2:11 and not to hear vice condemned Am 7:12 .

Jer 12:1

12:1 {a} Righteous [art] thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me speak with thee of [thy] judgments: Why doth the way of the wicked {b} prosper? [why] are they all happy that deal very treacherously?

(a) The prophet confesses God to be just in all his doings, although man is not able to give a reason for all his actions.
(b) This question has been always a great temptation to the godly, to see the wicked enemies of God in prosperity, and his dear children in adversity, as in Job 21:7, Ps 37:1,73:3, Hab 1:3 .

Jer 12:2

12:2 Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou [art] near in their mouth, and far from their {c} reins.

(c) They profess God in mouth, but deny him in heart, which is here meant by the reins, Isa 29:13, Mt 15:8 .

Jer 12:3

12:3 But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried my heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and {d} prepare them for the day of slaughter.

(d) The Hebrew word is "sanctify them", meaning that God would be sanctified in the destruction of the wicked to whom God for a while gives prosperity, that afterward they would the more feel his heavy judgment when they lack their riches which were a sign of his mercy.

Jer 12:4

12:4 How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell in it? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, {e} He shall not see our last end.

(e) Abusing God's leniency and his promises, they flattered themselves as though God would ever be merciful and not utterly destroy them therefore they hardened themselves in sin, till at length the beasts and insensible creatures felt the punishment of their stubborn rebellion against God.

Jer 12:5

12:5 If thou hast run with the {f} footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and [if] in the land of peace, [in which] thou didst trust, [they wearied thee], then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?

(f) Some think that God reproves Jeremiah, in that he would reason with him, saying that if he was not able to march with men, then he was far unable to dispute with God. Others, by the footmen mean them of Anathoth: and by the horsemen, them of Jerusalem who would trouble the prophet worse than his own countrymen did.

Jer 12:7

12:7 I have forsaken {g} my house, I have left my heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.

(g) God wills the prophet to denounce his judgments against Jerusalem, even though they will both by threatenings and flatteries labour to silence him.

Jer 12:8

12:8 My heritage is to me as a {h} lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.

(h) Ever ranting and raging against me and my prophets.

Jer 12:9

12:9 My heritage [is] to me [as] a {i} speckled bird, the birds around [are] against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.

(i) Instead of bearing my livery and wearing only my colours, they have change and diversity of colours of their idols and superstitions therefore their enemies as thick as the fowls of the air will come about them to destroy them.

Jer 12:10

12:10 Many shepherds have destroyed my {k} vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.

(k) He prophecies of the destruction of Jerusalem, by the captain of Nebuchadnezzar, whom he calls pastors.

Jer 12:11

12:11 They have made it desolate, [and being] desolate it mourneth to me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth {l} [it] to heart.

(l) Because no man regards my word, or the plagues that I have sent on the land.

Jer 12:13

12:13 {m} They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they {n} have put themselves to pain, [but] shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of {o} your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

(m) That is, the prophets.
(n) They lamented the sins of the people.
(o) For instead of amendment, you grew worse and worse, as God's plagues testified.

Jer 12:14

12:14 Thus saith the LORD against all my evil {p} neighbours, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them.

(p) Meaning the wicked enemies of his Church who blasphemed his Name, and whom he would punish after he had delivered his people.

Jer 12:15

12:15 And it shall come to pass, after I have plucked them out I {q} will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.

(q) After I have punished the Gentiles I will have mercy on them.

Jer 12:16

12:16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the {r} ways of my people, to swear by my name, The {s} LORD liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built {t} in the midst of my people.

(r) The true doctrine and manner to serve God.
(s) Read Jer 4:2 .
(t) They will be of the number of the faithful, and have a place in my Church.

Jer 13:4

13:4 Take the sash that thou hast bought, which [is] upon thy loins, and arise, go to {a} Euphrates, and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.

(a) Because this river was far from Jerusalem, it is evident that this was a vision, by which it was signified that the Jews would pass over the Euphrates to be captives in Babylon, and there for length of time would seem to be rotten, although they were joined to the Lord before as a girdle about a man.

Jer 13:12

13:12 Therefore thou shalt speak to them this word; Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Every {b} skin shall be filled with wine: and they shall say to thee, Do we not certainly know that every skin shall be filled with wine?

(b) Every one of you will be filled with spiritual drunkenness, and be without all knowledge to seek how to help yourselves.

Jer 13:14

13:14 And I will {c} dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.

(c) It will be as easy for me to destroy the greatest and the strongest as it is for a man to break earthen bottles.

Jer 13:16

13:16 Give glory to the LORD your God, before he shall cause {d} darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for {e} light, he shall turn it into the shadow of death, [and] make [it] gross darkness.

(d) That is, affliction and misery by the Babylonians, Isa 8:22 .
(e) Meaning, for help and support of the Egyptians.

Jer 13:17

13:17 But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall {f} weep in secret places for [your] pride; and my eye shall weep bitterly, and run down with tears, because the LORD'S flock is carried away captive.

(f) You will surely be led away captive and I, according to my affection toward you, will weep and lament for your stubbornness.

Jer 13:18

13:18 Say to the {g} king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, [even] the crown of your glory.

(g) For Jehoiachin and his mother rendered themselves by Jeremiah's counsel to the king of Babylon, 2Ki 24:12 .

Jer 13:19

13:19 The cities of {h} the south shall be shut up, and none shall open [them]: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive.

(h) That is, of Judah, which lies south of Babylon.

Jer 13:20

13:20 Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where [is] the {i} flock [that] was given thee, thy beautiful flock?

(i) He asks the king, where his people is become.

Jer 13:21

13:21 What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast {k} taught them [to be] captains, [and] as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?

(k) By seeking to strangers for help, you have made them skilful to fight against you.

Jer 13:22

13:22 And if thou shalt say in thy heart, Why come these things upon me? For the greatness of thy iniquity are thy skirts {l} uncovered, [and] thy heels made bare.

(l) The cloak of hypocrisy will be pulled off, and your shame seen.

Jer 13:26

13:26 Therefore will I uncover thy skirts upon thy face, {m} that thy shame may appear.

(m) As your iniquities have been revealed to all the world, so shall your shame and punishment.

Jer 13:27

13:27 I have seen thy adulteries, and thy {n} neighings, the lewdness of thy harlotry, [and] thy abominations on the hills in {o} the fields. Woe to thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when [shall it] once [be]?

(n) He compares idolaters to horses inflamed after mares.
(o) There is no place so high nor low, where the marks and signs of your idolatry do not appear.

Jer 14:1

14:1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the {a} dearth.

(a) Which came for lack of rain as in Jer 14:4 .

Jer 14:2

14:2 Judah mourneth, and her gates languish; they are {b} black to the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.

(b) The word signifies extreme sorrow.

Jer 14:3

14:3 And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, [and] found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and {c} covered their heads.

(c) That is, with ashes in token of sorrow.

Jer 14:5

14:5 Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook {d} [it], because there was no grass.

(d) Meaning, that the brute beasts for drought were compelled to forsake their young, contrary to nature, and to go seek water which they could not find.

Jer 14:6

14:6 And the wild donkeys stood in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like {e} dragons; their eyes failed, because [there was] no grass.

(e) Who are so hot by nature, that they cannot be cooled by drinking water, but still gasp for the air to refresh them.

Jer 14:7

14:7 {f} O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou [it] for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.

(f) He shows the only way to remedy God's plagues, which is by true confession of our sins, and returning to him by repentance.

Jer 14:8

14:8 O the hope of Israel, his saviour in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a {g} stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man [that] turneth aside to tarry for a night?

(g) That takes no care for us.

Jer 14:9

14:9 Why shouldest thou be as a man astonished, as {h} a mighty man [that] cannot save? yet thou, O LORD, [art] in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.

(h) That takes no care for us.

Jer 14:11

14:11 Then said the LORD to me, {i} Pray not for this people for [their] good.

(i) Read Jer 7:16,11:14 .

Jer 14:13

14:13 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the {k} prophets say to them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.

(k) He pities the people, and accuses the false prophets who deceived them: but the Lord answered that both the prophets who deceived and the people who permitted themselves to be seduced, will perish, Jer 23:15,27:8,9,29:8 .

Jer 14:17

14:17 Therefore thou shalt say this word to them; Let my eyes run down with {l} tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.

(l) The false prophets promised peace and assurance, but Jeremiah calls to tears, and repentance for their affliction, which is at hand, as in Jer 9:1, Lam 1:16,2:18 .

Jer 14:18

14:18 If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about {m} into a land that they know not.

(m) Both high and low will be led captive into Babylon.

Jer 14:19

14:19 Hast thou utterly rejected {n} Judah? hath thy soul abhorred Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and [there is] no healing for us? we looked for peace, and [there is] no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!

(n) Though the prophet knew that God had cast off the multitude, who were hypocrites and bastard children, yet he was assured that for his promise sake he would still have a Church, for which he prays.

Jer 14:20

14:20 We {o} acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, [and] the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.

(o) He teaches the Church a form of prayer to humble themselves to God by true repentance, which is the only way to avoid this famine, which was the beginning of God's plagues.

Jer 14:22

14:22 Are there [any] among the {p} vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? [art] not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these [things].

(p) Meaning their idols, read Jer 10:15 .

Jer 15:1

15:1 Then said the LORD to me, {a} Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, [yet] my mind [could] not [be] toward this people: cast [them] out of my sight, and let them go forth.

(a) Meaning that if there were any man living moved with so great zeal toward the people as were these two, yet he would not grant this request, as he had determined the contrary, Eze 14:14 .

Jer 15:3

15:3 And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the {b} dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.

(b) The dogs, birds and beasts would devour them that were slain.

Jer 15:4

15:4 And I will {c} cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, {d} because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for [that] which he did in Jerusalem.

(c) The word signifies to run to and fro for fear and unquietness of conscience as Cain did.
(d) Not that the people were punished for the king's sin only, but for their own sins also, because they consented to his wickedness.

Jer 15:6

15:6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am {e} weary with repenting.

(e) That is, I will not call back my plagues or spare you any more.