King James Version
Jeremiah 15
21 verses with commentary
The Lord Will Not Relent
Then said the LORD unto me, 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.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse opens with a shocking divine declaration: 'Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people.' Moses and Samuel were Israel's greatest intercessors—Moses turned aside God's wrath after the golden calf (Exodus 32:11-14) and at Kadesh-Barnea (Numbers 14:13-20); Samuel's intercession was legendary (1 Samuel 7:5-9, 12:19-25). Ye...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XV.
(1) **Then said the Lord unto me.**—With a bold and terrible anthropomorphism, the prophet again speaks as if he heard the voice of Jehovah rejecting all intercession for the apostate people. The passage reminds us of the mention of Noah, Daniel, and Job, in Ezekiel 14:14, as “able to deliver their own souls only by their righteousness.” Here Moses (Exodus 32:11; Numbers 14:13-20) and Samuel (...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6. From the rising to the setting of the sun, that is, from east to west, the whole habitable world. It is not said, "from north to south," for that would not imply the habitable world, as, "from east to west" does (Ezr 1:1, &c.). The conquest of Jerusalem by Babylon, the capital of the world, and the overthrow of Babylon and restoration of the Jews by Cyrus, who expressly acknowledged himself...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
The destruction of the wicked described. (Jr 15:1-9) The prophet laments such messages, and is reproved. (Jr 15:10-14) He supplicates pardon, and is promised protection. (Jr 15:15-21)
**Verses 1-9** The Lord declares that even Moses and Samuel must have pleaded in vain. The putting of this as a case, though they should stand before him, shows that they do not, and that saints in h...
Read full commentary →And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse specifies judgment's forms: 'And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.' Four destinies await: death (by disease), sword (militar...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Such as are for death . . .**—The difference between the first two forms of punishment is that the first points possibly to being led out to execution as criminals, as in Deuteronomy 19:6, but more probably to death from pestilence, as in Job 27:15; the second, to falling in a vain and hopeless conflict.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. form ... create--**yatzar, to give "form" to previously existing matter. Bara, to "create" from nothing the chaotic dark material.
**light ... darkness--**literally (Ge 1:1-3), emblematical also, prosperity to Cyrus, calamity to Babylon and the nations to be vanquished [Grotius] ... Isaiah refers also to the Oriental belief in two coexistent, eternal principles, ever struggling with each ot...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
The destruction of the wicked described. (Jr 15:1-9) The prophet laments such messages, and is reproved. (Jr 15:10-14) He supplicates pardon, and is promised protection. (Jr 15:15-21)
**Verses 1-9** The Lord declares that even Moses and Samuel must have pleaded in vain. The putting of this as a case, though they should stand before him, shows that they do not, and that saints in h...
Read full commentary →And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy. kinds: Heb. families
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse announces four kinds of destroyers: 'And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.' The Hebrew arba mishpachoth (אַרְבַּע מִשְׁפָּחוֹת, four families/kinds) are agents of destruction. The 'sword' (cherev) represents human enemies; 'dogs' (kelavim) are scav...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Four kinds.**—The sword, as the direct instrument of death, is followed by those that follow up its work, the beasts and birds of prey that feed on the corpses of the slain. The latter feature has naturally been from the earliest stages of human history the crowning horror of defeat. So Homer, *Il. i.* 4 :—
“And many mighty souls of heroes sent
To Hades, and their bodies made a prey
To dogs ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. Drop--**namely, the fertilizing rain (Psa 65:12).
**skies--**clouds; lower than the "heavens."
**righteousness--**that is, the dews of the Holy Spirit, whereby "righteousness" shall "spring up." (See latter end of the verse).
**earth--**figuratively for the hearts of men on it, opened for receiving the truth by the Holy Ghost (Ac 16:14).
**them--**the earth and the heavens. Horsley pr...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
The destruction of the wicked described. (Jr 15:1-9) The prophet laments such messages, and is reproved. (Jr 15:10-14) He supplicates pardon, and is promised protection. (Jr 15:15-21)
**Verses 1-9** The Lord declares that even Moses and Samuel must have pleaded in vain. The putting of this as a case, though they should stand before him, shows that they do not, and that saints in h...
Read full commentary →And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. cause: Heb. give them for a removing
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse identifies the cause: 'And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.' The Hebrew za'avah (זַעֲוָה, horror, trembling object) describes Israel becoming something that horrifies observers. 'Because of Manasseh' names the specific king whose sins sealed Judah's fate. 2 Kings 21:...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Manasseh the son of Hezekiah.**—The horror of that long and evil reign still lingered in the minds of men, and the prophet saw in it the beginning of the evils from which his people were now suffering. The name of Hezekiah may have been inserted as an aggravation of the guilt of his successor.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9. Anticipating the objections which the Jews might raise as to why God permitted their captivity, and when He did restore them, why He did so by a foreign prince, Cyrus, not a Jew (Is 40:27, &c.), but mainly and ultimately, the objections about to be raised by the Jews against God's sovereign act in adopting the whole Gentile world as His spiritual Israel (Is 45:8, referring to this catholic ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
The destruction of the wicked described. (Jr 15:1-9) The prophet laments such messages, and is reproved. (Jr 15:10-14) He supplicates pardon, and is promised protection. (Jr 15:15-21)
**Verses 1-9** The Lord declares that even Moses and Samuel must have pleaded in vain. The putting of this as a case, though they should stand before him, shows that they do not, and that saints in h...
Read full commentary →For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest? how: Heb. of thy peace?
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse expresses divine disengagement: 'For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask of thy welfare?' Three rhetorical questions expect answer 'no one.' 'Pity' (chamal, חָמַל) is tender compassion; 'bemoan' (nud, נוּד) is to shake the head in sympathy; 'ask of welfare' (sha'al leshalom) is standard greeting inquiry. Jerusalem will find ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **To ask how thou doest?**—This is a fair paraphrase of the original, but it wants the Oriental colouring of the more literal *to ask after thy peace. *As “Peace be with thee” was the usual formula of salutation, sc.,” Is it peace?” was the equivalent for our more prosaic question, “How do you do?” (Genesis 43:27; Judges 18:15). The same phrase meets us in Exodus 18:7, “They asked each other o...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10. If it be wrong for a child, born in less favorable circumstances, to upbraid his parents with having given him birth, a fortiori, it is, to upbraid God for His dealings with us. Rather translate, "a father ... a woman." The Jews considered themselves exclusively God's children and were angry that God should adopt the Gentiles besides. Woe to him who says to one already a father, Why dost thou ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
The destruction of the wicked described. (Jr 15:1-9) The prophet laments such messages, and is reproved. (Jr 15:10-14) He supplicates pardon, and is promised protection. (Jr 15:15-21)
**Verses 1-9** The Lord declares that even Moses and Samuel must have pleaded in vain. The putting of this as a case, though they should stand before him, shows that they do not, and that saints in h...
Read full commentary →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 weary with repenting.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse expresses divine exhaustion: '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 weary with repenting.' 'Forsaken me' (natash, נָטַשׁ) indicates abandonment; 'gone backward' (achar, אָחוֹר) describes retreat from relationship. God's response: 'stretch out my hand' (natah yad) for destruction. The stunn...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Thou hast forsaken me.**—The Hebrew word has the stronger sense of rejecting or repudiating as well as simply leaving, and gives the reason for a like rejection on the part of Jehovah.
**I am weary with repenting.**—The long-suffering of God is described, as before, in anthropomorphic language (comp. 1Samuel 15:35). He had “repented,” i.e., changed His purpose of punishing, but patience was ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. Ask ... command--**Instead of striving with Me in regard to My purposes, your wisdom is in prayer to ask, and even command Me, in so far as it is for My glory, and for your real good (Mr 11:24; Joh 16:23, 13, latter part of the verse; 1Jo 3:22).
**sons--**(Is 54:13; Ga 3:26).
**work of my hands--**spiritually (Ep 2:10); also literal Israel (Is 60:21). Maurer translates, instead of "comma...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
The destruction of the wicked described. (Jr 15:1-9) The prophet laments such messages, and is reproved. (Jr 15:10-14) He supplicates pardon, and is promised protection. (Jr 15:15-21)
**Verses 1-9** The Lord declares that even Moses and Samuel must have pleaded in vain. The putting of this as a case, though they should stand before him, shows that they do not, and that saints in h...
Read full commentary →And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways. children: or, whatsoever is dear
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse describes comprehensive judgment: 'And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways.' 'Fan with a fan' (zaritim bemizreh) uses winnowing imagery—separating chaff from grain, scattering the worthless. 'In the gates of the land' suggests border locations where enemies enter. 'Bereave o...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **I will fan them with a fan.**—The image is, of course, the familiar one of the threshing-floor and the winnowing-fan or shovel (Psalm 1:4; Psalm 35:5; Matthew 3:12). The tenses should be past in both clauses—*I have winnowed** . . .*** *I have bereaved *. . . *I* *have destroyed.*
**In the gates of the land . . .**—Possibly the “gates” stand for the fortified cities of Judah, the chief part ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
12. The same argument for prayer, drawn from God's omnipotence and consequent power, to grant any request, occurs in Is 40:26-31.
**I, even my hands--**so Hebrew (Psa 41:2), "Thou ... thy hand" (both nominatives, in apposition).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
The destruction of the wicked described. (Jr 15:1-9) The prophet laments such messages, and is reproved. (Jr 15:10-14) He supplicates pardon, and is promised protection. (Jr 15:15-21)
**Verses 1-9** The Lord declares that even Moses and Samuel must have pleaded in vain. The putting of this as a case, though they should stand before him, shows that they do not, and that saints in h...
Read full commentary →Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city. the mother: or, the mother city a young man spoiling, etc, or, the mother and the young men
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse quantifies widow suffering: 'Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas.' The Hebrew rabbu (רַבּוּ, increased, multiplied) with 'above the sand of the seas' (mechol yammim) indicates innumerable widows—mass male mortality in warfare. 'I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday.' The 'mother' (em bachur) represents families losing t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **I have brought . . .**—Better, *I have brought upon them, even upon the mother of the young warrior *(*i.e., *upon the woman who rejoices most in her son’s heroism), *a spoiler at noon-day, i.e., *coming, when least expected, at the hour when most armies rested. (See Note on Jeremiah 6:4.)
**I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly . . .**—Better, *I have brought suddenly upon her *(the “m...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. him--**Cyrus, type of Messiah, who redeems the captives of Satan "without money and without price" (Is 55:1), "freely" (gratuitously) (Is 52:3; 61:1; Zec 9:11; Ro 3:24).
**in righteousness--**to fulfil My righteous purpose (see on Is 41:2; Is 42:6; Jr 23:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
The destruction of the wicked described. (Jr 15:1-9) The prophet laments such messages, and is reproved. (Jr 15:10-14) He supplicates pardon, and is promised protection. (Jr 15:15-21)
**Verses 1-9** The Lord declares that even Moses and Samuel must have pleaded in vain. The putting of this as a case, though they should stand before him, shows that they do not, and that saints in h...
Read full commentary →She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day : she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse describes maternal devastation: 'She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day.' A woman who bore seven children—symbol of complete blessing (Ruth 4:15, 1 Samuel 2:5)—now 'languishes' (amlela). 'Given up the ghost' (naphcha nafshah) means she has expired—mother dies after children. 'Her sun is gone down while yet day'—prema...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **She that hath borne seven.**—In the picture of the previous verse the glory of the mother was found in the valour of her son, here in the number of her children. “Seven,” as the perfect number, represented, as in 1Samuel 2:5, Ruth 4:15, the typical completeness of the family.
**Her sun is gone down while it was yet day.**—The image of this eclipse of all joy and brightness may possibly have ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
14. The language but cursorily alludes to Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba, being given to Cyrus as a ransom in lieu of Israel whom he restored (Is 43:3), but mainly and fully describes the gathering in of the Gentiles to Israel (Ac 2:10, 11; 8:27-38), especially at Israel's future restoration (Is 2:2; 14:1, 2; 19:18-22; 60:3-14; 49:23; Psa 68:31; 72:10, 11).
**labour--**wealth acquired by labor (Jr 3:...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
The destruction of the wicked described. (Jr 15:1-9) The prophet laments such messages, and is reproved. (Jr 15:10-14) He supplicates pardon, and is promised protection. (Jr 15:15-21)
**Verses 1-9** The Lord declares that even Moses and Samuel must have pleaded in vain. The putting of this as a case, though they should stand before him, shows that they do not, and that saints in h...
Read full commentary →Jeremiah's Complaint
Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse begins Jeremiah's personal lament: 'Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!' The Hebrew oi li (אוֹי לִי, woe to me) opens personal complaint. 'Man of strife' (ish riv) and 'man of contention' (ish madon) describe his experience as constant conflict. 'To the whole earth' (lekhol ha'arets) indicates universal opposition. 'I...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Woe is me . . .**—The abruptness of the transition suggests the thought that we have a distinct fragment which has been merged in the artificial continuity of the chapter. Possibly, as some have thought, Jeremiah 15:10-11 have been misplaced in transcription, and should come after Jeremiah 15:14, where they fit in admirably with the context. The sequence of thought may, however, be that the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. God that hidest thyself--**Horsley, after Jerome, explains this as the confession of Egypt, &c., that God is concealed in human form in the person of Jesus. Rather, connected with Is 45:9, 10, the prophet, contemplating the wonderful issue of the seemingly dark counsels of God, implies a censure on those who presume to question God's dealings (Is 55:8, 9; De 29:29). Faith still discerns,...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-14** Jeremiah met with much contempt and reproach, when they ought to have blessed him, and God for him. It is a great and sufficient support to the people of God, that however troublesome their way may be, it shall be well with them in their latter end. God turns to the people. Shall the most hardy and vigorous of their efforts be able to contend with the counsel of God, or with the a...
Read full commentary →The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant ; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction. cause: or, intreat the enemy for thee
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KJV Study Commentary
God responds to Jeremiah's complaint (15:10): 'The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.' The promise is specific: Jeremiah will survive and even be treated well by conquering forces. The word 'remnant' can mean either Jeremiah's remaining days or those he influences. This promise w...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Verily it shall be well with thy remnant.**—The passage is obscure, and the reading uncertain; (1) *Thy freedom shall be for good, *or (2) *I afflict thee for thy good, *or (3) *I strengthen thee for thy good, *have been proposed as better renderings. The second seems to give the meaning most in harmony with the context. Jehovah comforts the despairing prophet by the promise that in due tim...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16. ashamed--**"disappointed" in their expectation of help from their idols (see on Is 42:17; Psalm 97. 7).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-14** Jeremiah met with much contempt and reproach, when they ought to have blessed him, and God for him. It is a great and sufficient support to the people of God, that however troublesome their way may be, it shall be well with them in their latter end. God turns to the people. Shall the most hardy and vigorous of their efforts be able to contend with the counsel of God, or with the a...
Read full commentary →Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel?
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KJV Study Commentary
A rhetorical question emphasizing impossibility: 'Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel?' The 'northern iron' refers to Babylon—superior in strength like high-quality iron from the north. Regular iron (Judah) cannot break northern iron (Babylon). This illustrates that Judah cannot resist Babylon's invasion through military means. The underlying message: God has ordained this judgment; r...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Shall iron break . . .**?—The abruptness of the question and the boldness of the imagery make the interpretation difficult. That which most harmonises with the context (assuming this verse to carry on the thought of Jeremiah 15:1-9, after the interruption, possibly the interpolation, of Jeremiah 15:10-11) is, that the prayer of the prophet, strong though it may be, cannot change the inflexi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. in the Lord--**(Is 45:24, 25), contrasted with the idols which cannot give even temporary help (Is 45:16); in Jehovah there is everlasting salvation (Is 26:4).
**not ... ashamed--**opposed to the doom of the idolaters, who, in the hour of need, shall be "ashamed" (see on Is 45:16).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-14** Jeremiah met with much contempt and reproach, when they ought to have blessed him, and God for him. It is a great and sufficient support to the people of God, that however troublesome their way may be, it shall be well with them in their latter end. God turns to the people. Shall the most hardy and vigorous of their efforts be able to contend with the counsel of God, or with the a...
Read full commentary →Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders.
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KJV Study Commentary
The prophecy of comprehensive loss: 'Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders.' Total economic devastation is prophesied: substance and treasures taken 'without price' (meaning not through fair commerce but plunder). The reason: 'for all thy sins'—comprehensive sin brings comprehensive loss. The phrase 'in all thy bo...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Thy substance and thy treasures . . .**—Assuming the words to stand in their right place, we must look on them as addressed to Jeremiah as the intercessor, and therefore the representative, of his people. If we admit a dislocation, of which there seem many signs, we may connect them with Jeremiah 15:5-6, and then they are spoken to Jerusalem. The recurrence of the words in Jeremiah 17:3-4, ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
18. (See on Is 45:12).
**not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited--**Therefore, Judah, lying waste during the Babylonish captivity, shall be peopled again by the exiles. The Jews, from this passage, infer that, after the resurrection, the earth shall be inhabited, for there can be no reason why the earth should then exist in vain any more than now (2Pe 3:13).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-14** Jeremiah met with much contempt and reproach, when they ought to have blessed him, and God for him. It is a great and sufficient support to the people of God, that however troublesome their way may be, it shall be well with them in their latter end. God turns to the people. Shall the most hardy and vigorous of their efforts be able to contend with the counsel of God, or with the a...
Read full commentary →And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.
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KJV Study Commentary
The consequence continues: 'And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.' Exile to unknown lands is threatened. The phrase 'pass with thine enemies' depicts deportation as captives. The destination—'a land which thou knowest not'—emphasizes the disorientation and trauma of forced relocation. The ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **I will make thee to pass with thine enemies . . .**—The Hebrew text is probably corrupt, and a slight variation of the reading of one word brings the verse into harmony with the parallel passage of Jeremiah 17:4, and gives a better meaning, *I will make thee serve thine enemies in a land thou dost not know. *As it stands without the pronoun “thee” in the Hebrew we may take it, with some com...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. not ... secret--**not like the heathen oracles which gave their responses from dark caverns, with studied obscurity (Is 48:16). Christ plainly quotes these words, thereby identifying Himself with Jehovah (Joh 18:20).
**I said not ... Seek ... in vain--**When I commanded you to seek Me (Jehovah did so, Is 45:11, "Ask Me," &c.), it was not in order that ye might be sent empty away (De 32...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-14** Jeremiah met with much contempt and reproach, when they ought to have blessed him, and God for him. It is a great and sufficient support to the people of God, that however troublesome their way may be, it shall be well with them in their latter end. God turns to the people. Shall the most hardy and vigorous of their efforts be able to contend with the counsel of God, or with the a...
Read full commentary →O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering : know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse expresses Jeremiah's complaint about suffering: 'O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors.' The Hebrew yada'ta (יָדַעְתָּ, thou knowest) appeals to divine omniscience—God sees Jeremiah's faithful suffering. 'Remember' (zakhar), 'visit' (paqad), and 'revenge' (naqam) request divine attention, action, and vindication against persecutors. 'Take me n...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **O Lord, thou knowest . . .**—The prophet continues in the bitterness of his spirit the complaint that had begun in Jeremiah 15:10. The words remind us of the imprecations of the so-called vindictive psalms (such, *e.g., *as Psalms 69, 109), and may help us to understand the *genesis *of the emotions which they express. Not even the promise of Jeremiah 15:11 has given rest to his soul. He cr...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. escaped of the nations--**those of the nations who shall have escaped the slaughter inflicted by Cyrus. Now, at last, ye shall see the folly of "praying to a god that cannot save" (Is 45:16). Ultimately, those that shall be "left of all the nations which shall come against Jerusalem" are meant (Zec 14:16). They shall then all be converted to the Lord (Is 66:23, 24; Jr 3:17; Zec 8:20-23).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-21** It is matter of comfort that we have a God, to whose knowledge of all things we may appeal. Jeremiah pleads with God for mercy and relief against his enemies, persecutors, and slanderers. It will be a comfort to God's ministers, when men despise them, if they have the testimony of their own consciences. But he complains, that he found little pleasure in his work. Some good people ...
Read full commentary →Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. I am: Heb. thy name is called upon me
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse describes the joy of receiving God's word: 'Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.' The Hebrew matsa (מָצָא, found) and akal (אָכַל, eat) picture discovering and consuming Scripture as nourishment. 'Joy' (sason) and 'rejoicing' (simchah) of heart describes the initial delight of divine revelation. 'For I am called by thy n...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **Thy words were found . . .**—The words *go *back to the mission of Jeremiah 1, and paint, with a wonderful power, the beginning of a prophet’s work, the new-born intensity of joy in the sense of communion with the Eternal. The soul feeds on the words that come to it (see the same figure in a bolder form in Ezekiel 2:8; Ezekiel 3:1-3; Revelation 10:9). They are “sweeter than honey and the ho...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
21. Challenge the worshippers of idols (Is 41:1).
**take counsel together--**as to the best arguments wherewith to defend the cause of idolatry.
**who ... from that time--**(Is 41:22, 23; see on Is 44:8). Which of the idols has done what God hath, namely, foretold, primarily as to Cyrus; ultimately as to the final restoration of Israel hereafter? The idolatry of Israel before Cyrus' time will ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-21** It is matter of comfort that we have a God, to whose knowledge of all things we may appeal. Jeremiah pleads with God for mercy and relief against his enemies, persecutors, and slanderers. It will be a comfort to God's ministers, when men despise them, if they have the testimony of their own consciences. But he complains, that he found little pleasure in his work. Some good people ...
Read full commentary →I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jeremiah returns to complaint/prayer: 'O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors.' The appeal 'thou knowest' assumes God's omniscience of Jeremiah's suffering. Three requests: 'remember me' (don't forget my plight), 'visit me' (intervene on my behalf), 'revenge me of my persecutors' (execute justice). The plea 'take me not away in thy longsuffering' asks tha...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **In the assembly of the mockers.**—Rather, *of the mirthful. *The word, which is the same as that found in Isaac (= laughter), does not necessarily imply an evil or cynical mirth, like that of the “scorner” of Psalm 1:1. What is meant is, that from the time of his consecration to his office the prophet’s life had not been as the life of other men, but had been marked by a strange loneliness,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22. Look ... and be ye saved--**The second imperative expresses the result which will follow obedience to the first (Ge 42:18); ye shall be saved (Joh 3:14, 15). Nu 21:9: "If a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass he lived." What so simple as a look? Not do something, but look to the Saviour (Ac 16:30, 31). Believers look by faith, the eye of the soul. The look is that...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-21** It is matter of comfort that we have a God, to whose knowledge of all things we may appeal. Jeremiah pleads with God for mercy and relief against his enemies, persecutors, and slanderers. It will be a comfort to God's ministers, when men despise them, if they have the testimony of their own consciences. But he complains, that he found little pleasure in his work. Some good people ...
Read full commentary →Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? fail: Heb. be not sure?
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KJV Study Commentary
Jeremiah describes his relationship to God's word: 'Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.' The metaphor 'I did eat them' depicts thorough internalization of Scripture (cf. Ezekiel 3:1-3; Revelation 10:9-10). Despite the harsh content of his prophetic message, God's word brought 'joy ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar . . .?**—The words express a bitter sense of failure and disappointment. God had not prospered the mission of His servant as He had promised. The Hebrew, however, is not so startlingly bold as the English, and is satisfied by the rendering, *wilt thou be unto me as a winter torrent, i.e., *as in Job 6:15, like one which flows only in that season, an...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23. sworn by myself--**equivalent to, "As I live," as Ro 14:11 quotes it. So Nu 14:21. God could swear by no greater, therefore He swears by Himself (He 6:13, 16).
**word ... in righteousness--**rather, "the truth (see on Is 45:19) is gone forth from My mouth, the word (of promise), and it shall not return (that is, which shall not be revoked)" [Lowth]. But the accents favor English Version.
...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-21** It is matter of comfort that we have a God, to whose knowledge of all things we may appeal. Jeremiah pleads with God for mercy and relief against his enemies, persecutors, and slanderers. It will be a comfort to God's ministers, when men despise them, if they have the testimony of their own consciences. But he complains, that he found little pleasure in his work. Some good people ...
Read full commentary →Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jeremiah protests his isolation: 'I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.' His separation from 'mockers' was deliberate—faithfulness to God necessitated separation from the ungodly. The phrase 'I sat alone' describes the loneliness of prophetic ministry. The cause: 'thy hand'—God's calling isolated him. Bein...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Therefore thus saith the Lord . . .**—The Divine voice within makes answer to the passionate complaint. The prophet also needs, not less than the people, to “return” to his true mind, to repent of his murmurings and distrust. Upon that condition only can he again “stand before” the Lord in the full sense of that word, and minister to Him as a prophet-priest (comp. 1Kings 17:1; 1Kings 18:15;...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
24. Rather, "Only in Jehovah shall men say of me (this clause is parenthetical), is there righteousness" (which includes salvation, Is 45:21, "a just God and a Saviour," Is 46:13), &c. [Maurer].
**strength--**namely, to save.
**shall men come--**Those who have set themselves up against God shall come to Him in penitence for the past (Is 19:22).
**ashamed--**(Is 45:16; Is 54:17; 41:11).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-21** It is matter of comfort that we have a God, to whose knowledge of all things we may appeal. Jeremiah pleads with God for mercy and relief against his enemies, persecutors, and slanderers. It will be a comfort to God's ministers, when men despise them, if they have the testimony of their own consciences. But he complains, that he found little pleasure in his work. Some good people ...
Read full commentary →And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jeremiah's anguish deepens: 'Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?' The questions express profound suffering: perpetual pain, incurable wounds, refusal of healing. The bold accusation—will God be 'as a liar, and as waters that fail'—protests apparent unfulfillment of God's promises of prote...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **I will make thee unto this people . . .**—It is significant that the promise reproduced the very words which the prophet had heard when he was first summoned to his work (see Note on Jeremiah 1:18-19). Jehovah had not been unfaithful to His word, but, like all promises, it depended on implied conditions, and these the faint-hearted, desponding prophet had but imperfectly fulfilled. Let him ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. all ... Israel--**the spiritual Israel (Ro 2:29) and the literal Israel, that is, the final remnant which shall all be saved (Is 45:17; Ro 11:26).
**justified--**treated as if they were just, through Christ's righteousness and death (Jr 23:5).
**glory--**literally, "sing" in His praise (Jr 9:24; 1Co 1:31).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-21** It is matter of comfort that we have a God, to whose knowledge of all things we may appeal. Jeremiah pleads with God for mercy and relief against his enemies, persecutors, and slanderers. It will be a comfort to God's ministers, when men despise them, if they have the testimony of their own consciences. But he complains, that he found little pleasure in his work. Some good people ...
Read full commentary →And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.
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KJV Study Commentary
God responds to Jeremiah's complaint: 'Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth.' The condition 'if thou return' doesn't mean Jeremiah had apostatized but that he needed to return to proper spiritual perspective. The promise: restoration to prophetic mini...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-21** It is matter of comfort that we have a God, to whose knowledge of all things we may appeal. Jeremiah pleads with God for mercy and relief against his enemies, persecutors, and slanderers. It will be a comfort to God's ministers, when men despise them, if they have the testimony of their own consciences. But he complains, that he found little pleasure in his work. Some good people ...
Read full commentary →