King James Version
Jeremiah 16
21 verses with commentary
Day of Disaster
The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying,
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
God commands Jeremiah not to marry or have children in this place. This prohibition serves as a prophetic sign - the coming judgment makes family life futile. The Hebrew 'ben' (son) and 'bat' (daughter) emphasize the personal cost of this command. Jeremiah's celibacy witnesses to judgment's severity. His personal sacrifice authenticates his prophetic message about impending destruction.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XVI.
(1) **The word of the Lord came also unto me.—**The formula introduces a new and distinct message, extending to Jeremiah 17:18, and it is one even more terrible in its threatenings than any that have preceded it. There is nothing in its contents to fix the date with any certainty, but we may think of it as probably about the close of the reign of Jehoiakim, when that king was trusting in an a...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 46 Is 46:1-13. Babylon's Idols Could Not Save Themselves, Much Less Her. But God Can and Will Save Israel: Cyrus Is His Instrument.
**1. Bel--**the same as the Phoenician Baal, that is, lord, the chief god of Babylon; to it was dedicated the celebrated tower of Babylon, in the center of one of the two parts into which the city was divided, the palace being in the center of the other. Iden...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Prohibitions given to the prophet. (Jr 16:1-9) The justice of God in these judgments. (Jr 16:10-13) Future restoration of the Jews, and the conversion of the Gentiles. (Jr 16:14-21)
**Verses 1-9** The prophet must conduct himself as one who expected to see his country ruined very shortly. In the prospect of sad times, he is to abstain from marriage, mourning for the dead, and plea...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
God gives Jeremiah unusual command: 'Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place.' This prohibition against marriage and family is unique among prophets and served symbolic purpose. The reason follows in subsequent verses: children born in Judah will face horrors of siege and conquest. Jeremiah's celibacy symbolized the futility of normal life pursuits ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Thou shalt not take thee a wife . . .**—The words came to an Israelite and to a priest with a force which we can hardly understand. With them marriage, and the hopes which it involved, was not only a happiness but a duty, and to be cut off from it was to renounce both, because the evil that was coming on the nation was such as to turn both into a curse. We may compare cur Lord’s words in Mat...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. deliver--**from the enemies' hands.
**burden--**their images laid on the beasts (Is 46:1).
**themselves--**the gods, here also distinguished from their images.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Prohibitions given to the prophet. (Jr 16:1-9) The justice of God in these judgments. (Jr 16:10-13) Future restoration of the Jews, and the conversion of the Gentiles. (Jr 16:14-21)
**Verses 1-9** The prophet must conduct himself as one who expected to see his country ruined very shortly. In the prospect of sad times, he is to abstain from marriage, mourning for the dead, and plea...
Read full commentary →For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land;
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The reason for the marriage prohibition: 'For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land.' This introduces explanation for why Jeremiah shouldn't have children. The specificity ('sons,' 'daughters,' 'mothers,' 'fathers') emphasizes that all f...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3. in contrast to what precedes: Babylon's idols, so far from bearing its people safely are themselves borne off, a burden to the laden beast; but Jehovah bears His people in safety even from the womb to old age (Is 63:9; De 32:11; Psa 71:6, 18). God compares Himself to a nurse tenderly carrying a child; contrast Moses' language (Nu 11:12).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Prohibitions given to the prophet. (Jr 16:1-9) The justice of God in these judgments. (Jr 16:10-13) Future restoration of the Jews, and the conversion of the Gentiles. (Jr 16:14-21)
**Verses 1-9** The prophet must conduct himself as one who expected to see his country ruined very shortly. In the prospect of sad times, he is to abstain from marriage, mourning for the dead, and plea...
Read full commentary →They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The horrific fate described: 'They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth.' Multiple horrors: grievous deaths, no mourning, no burial, bodies left as refuse ('dung'). Continued: 'and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and f...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Of grievous deaths.**—Literally, *deaths from diseases, *including, perhaps, famine (as in Jeremiah 14:18), as contrasted with the more immediate work of the sword.
**They shall not be lamented.**—Among a people who attached such importance to the due observance of funeral obsequies as the Jews did, the neglect of those obsequies was, of course, here, as in Jeremiah 22:18, a symptom of extre...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. old age--**As "your"--"you"--"you," are not in the Hebrew, the sentiment is more general than English Version, though of course it includes the Jews from the infancy to the more advanced age of their history (Is 47:6).
**I am he--**that is, the same (Psa 102:27; Joh 8:24; He 13:8).
**I will bear ... carry--**Not only do I not need to be borne and carried Myself, as the idols (Is 46:1).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Prohibitions given to the prophet. (Jr 16:1-9) The justice of God in these judgments. (Jr 16:10-13) Future restoration of the Jews, and the conversion of the Gentiles. (Jr 16:14-21)
**Verses 1-9** The prophet must conduct himself as one who expected to see his country ruined very shortly. In the prospect of sad times, he is to abstain from marriage, mourning for the dead, and plea...
Read full commentary →For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies. mourning: or, mourning feast
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Further prohibitions: 'For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies.' Jeremiah is forbidden to participate in mourning rituals. The reason: God has withdrawn 'peace,' 'lovingkindness,' and 'mercies.' These three terms (shalom, chesed, rachamim) re...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **The house of mourning.**—Better, *mourning-feast. *The word is found only here and in Amos 6:7, where it is translated “banquet.” So the Vulg. gives here *domus convivii, *and the LXX. the Greek word for a “drinking party.” The word literally means a “shout,” and is so far applicable to either joy or sorrow. The context seems decisive in favour of the latter meaning, but the idea of the “fea...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5. (Is 40:18, 25).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Prohibitions given to the prophet. (Jr 16:1-9) The justice of God in these judgments. (Jr 16:10-13) Future restoration of the Jews, and the conversion of the Gentiles. (Jr 16:14-21)
**Verses 1-9** The prophet must conduct himself as one who expected to see his country ruined very shortly. In the prospect of sad times, he is to abstain from marriage, mourning for the dead, and plea...
Read full commentary →Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them:
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The prophecy of comprehensive death: 'Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them.' Death crosses all classes ('great and small'). The mourning practices (cutting, baldness) were pagan-influenced customs forbidden by law (Leviticus 19:28; Deuteronomy 14:1) yet practiced. The ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Nor cut themselves, nor make themselves** **bald.**—Both practices were forbidden by the Law (Leviticus 19:28; Leviticus 21:5; Deuteronomy 14:1), probably in order to draw a line of demarcation between Israel and the nations round, among whom such practices prevailed (1Kings 18:28). Both, however, seem to have been common, and probably had gained in frequency under Ahaz and Manasseh (Jeremia...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6. (Is 40:19, 20; 41:7.) They lavish gold out of their purses and spare no expense for their idol. Their profuseness shames the niggardliness of professors who worship God with what cost them nothing. Sin is always a costly service.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Prohibitions given to the prophet. (Jr 16:1-9) The justice of God in these judgments. (Jr 16:10-13) Future restoration of the Jews, and the conversion of the Gentiles. (Jr 16:14-21)
**Verses 1-9** The prophet must conduct himself as one who expected to see his country ruined very shortly. In the prospect of sad times, he is to abstain from marriage, mourning for the dead, and plea...
Read full commentary →Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother. tear: or, break bread for them
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
More mourning customs suspended: 'Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.' The 'cup of consolation' was likely ceremonial drink shared at funerals. These social comforts will cease. The phrase 'to comfort them for the dead' emphasizes mourning's consolator...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Neither shall men tear themselves.**—The marginal reading, “Neither shall men *break bread for them,*” as in Isaiah 58:7; Lamentations 4:4, gives the true meaning. We are entering upon another region of funeral customs, reminding us of some of the practices connected with the “wakes” of old English life. After the first burst of sorrow and of fasting, as the sign of sorrow (2Samuel 1:12; 2Sa...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. cry ... can ... not ... save--**(Is 45:20, with which contrast Is 45:19).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Prohibitions given to the prophet. (Jr 16:1-9) The justice of God in these judgments. (Jr 16:10-13) Future restoration of the Jews, and the conversion of the Gentiles. (Jr 16:14-21)
**Verses 1-9** The prophet must conduct himself as one who expected to see his country ruined very shortly. In the prospect of sad times, he is to abstain from marriage, mourning for the dead, and plea...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Prohibition from joyful gatherings: 'Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink.' Jeremiah must avoid both mourning and celebration. His absence from feasting symbolizes the cessation of joy under coming judgment. This sign-act demonstrates that normal life—both its sorrows and joys—will be disrupted. The prophet's lifestyle becomes a living sermon: nei...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Into the house of feasting.**—Literally, *the house of drinking, i.e., *in this case, as interpreted by the next verse, of festive and mirthful gathering. This prohibition follows *à fortiori *from the other. If it was unmeet for the prophet to enter into the house of mourning, much more was he to hold himself aloof from mirth. He was to stand apart, in the awful consciousness of his solitar...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. show yourselves men--**Renounce the childishness of idolatry as shown in what precedes (1Co 14:20; 16:13; Ep 4:14). In order to be manly we must be godly; for man was made "in the image of God," and only rises to his true dignity when joined to God; virtue is derived from the Latin vir, "a man."
**bring ... to mind--**rather, "lay it to heart."
**transgressors--**addressed to the idolater...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Prohibitions given to the prophet. (Jr 16:1-9) The justice of God in these judgments. (Jr 16:10-13) Future restoration of the Jews, and the conversion of the Gentiles. (Jr 16:14-21)
**Verses 1-9** The prophet must conduct himself as one who expected to see his country ruined very shortly. In the prospect of sad times, he is to abstain from marriage, mourning for the dead, and plea...
Read full commentary →For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The theological reason given: 'For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.' The comprehensive silencing of joy ('mirth,' 'gladness,' wedding celebrations) will occur 'in your eyes' (they will witness it) and...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **The voice of mirth . . .**—The words had been used once before (Jeremiah 7:34), and will meet us yet again (Jeremiah 25:10; Jeremiah 33:11), but they gain rather than lose in their solemnity by this verbal iteration.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. former--**namely, proofs of the sole Godship of Jehovah, from predictions fulfilled, and interpositions of God in behalf of Israel (Is 45:5).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Prohibitions given to the prophet. (Jr 16:1-9) The justice of God in these judgments. (Jr 16:10-13) Future restoration of the Jews, and the conversion of the Gentiles. (Jr 16:14-21)
**Verses 1-9** The prophet must conduct himself as one who expected to see his country ruined very shortly. In the prospect of sad times, he is to abstain from marriage, mourning for the dead, and plea...
Read full commentary →And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Jeremiah anticipates the people's response: 'And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?' Three questions reveal spiritual blindness: (1) Why has God pronounced judgment? (2) Wh...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **What is our iniquity? . . .**—Now, as before (Jeremiah 5:19), the threatenings of judgment are met with words of real or affected wonder. “What have we done to call for all this? In what are we worse than our fathers, or than other nations?” All prophets had more or less to encounter the same hardness. It reaches its highest form in the reiterated questions of the same type in Malachi 1, 2.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10. (Is 45:21; 41:22, 23; 44:26).
**yet--**not in the Hebrew. Translate, "What had not been done" [Horsley].
**do all my pleasure--**(Is 53:10; Ro 9:19).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-13** Here seems to be the language of those who quarrel at the word of God, and instead of humbling and condemning themselves, justify themselves, as though God did them wrong. A plain and full answer is given. They were more obstinate in sin than their fathers, walking every one after the devices of his heart. Since they will not hearken, they shall be hurried away into a far country,...
Read full commentary →Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
God provides the answer Jeremiah should give: 'Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law.' The indictment lists specific sins: (1) forsook Yahweh, (2) followed other gods, (3) served them, (4) worshipped them, (5) forsook Yahwe...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. ravenous bird--**Cyrus so called on account of the rapidity of his marches from the distant regions of Persia to pounce on his prey (see on Is 41:2; Is 41:25; Jr 49:22; Eze 17:3). The standard of Cyrus, too, was a golden eagle on a spear (see the heathen historian, Xenophon, 7, where almost the same word is used, aetos, as here, ayit).
**executeth my counsel--**(Is 44:28; 45:13). Babylon r...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-13** Here seems to be the language of those who quarrel at the word of God, and instead of humbling and condemning themselves, justify themselves, as though God did them wrong. A plain and full answer is given. They were more obstinate in sin than their fathers, walking every one after the devices of his heart. Since they will not hearken, they shall be hurried away into a far country,...
Read full commentary →And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me: imagination: or, stubbornness
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The indictment continues, addressing the current generation: 'And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me.' Not only have they continued ancestral sins, they've exceeded them ('worse than your fathers'). The phrase 'imagination of his evil heart' identifies the source: internal corruption produc...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Imagination.**—Better, as before, *stubbornness.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. stout-hearted--**stubborn in resisting God (Psa 76:5; Ac 7:51).
**far from righteousness--**(Is 59:9; Ha 2:4).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-13** Here seems to be the language of those who quarrel at the word of God, and instead of humbling and condemning themselves, justify themselves, as though God did them wrong. A plain and full answer is given. They were more obstinate in sin than their fathers, walking every one after the devices of his heart. Since they will not hearken, they shall be hurried away into a far country,...
Read full commentary →Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The sentence pronounced: 'Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; for I will not shew you favour.' The punishment fits the crime: they chose other gods, so they'll be exiled to serve them exclusively. The ironic justice: in the foreign land they'll serve pagan gods 'day and night' witho...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **There shall ye serve other gods day and night.**—The words are spoken in the bitterness of irony: “You have chosen to serve the gods of other nations here in your own land; therefore, by a righteous retribution, you shall serve them in another sense, as being in bondage to their worshippers, and neither night nor day shall give you respite.”
**Where I will not shew you favour.**—Better, *si...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. near--**antithetical to "far" (Is 46:12; Is 51:5; 56:1; 61:10, 11; Ro 10:6-8).
**righteousness--**answering to "salvation" in the parallel clause; therefore it means here, "my righteous deliverance"; righteous, because proving the truth of God's promises, and so contrived as to not compromise, but vindicate, His righteousness (Is 42:21; Ro 3:26).
**Zion ... my glory--**rather, "I will gi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-13** Here seems to be the language of those who quarrel at the word of God, and instead of humbling and condemning themselves, justify themselves, as though God did them wrong. A plain and full answer is given. They were more obstinate in sin than their fathers, walking every one after the devices of his heart. Since they will not hearken, they shall be hurried away into a far country,...
Read full commentary →Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
This prophecy points to a 'second exodus' that would surpass even the deliverance from Egypt. The Hebrew 'hineh yamim ba'im' (behold, days are coming) introduces an eschatological promise fulfilled initially in the return from Babylonian exile, but ultimately pointing to the greater spiritual deliverance through Christ. Reformed theology sees this as progressive fulfillment - God's redemptive acts...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14, 15) **Behold, the days come . . .**—Judgment and mercy are tempered in the promise. Here the former is predominant. Afterwards, in Jeremiah 23:5-8, where it is connected with the hope of a personal Deliverer, the latter gains the ascendant. As yet the main thought is that the Egyptian bondage shall be as a light thing compared with that which the people will endure in the “land of the north,”...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 14-21** The restoration from the Babylonish captivity would be remembered in place of the deliverance from Egypt; it also typified spiritual redemption, and the future deliverance of the church from antichristian oppression. But none of the sins of sinners can be hidden from God, or shall be overlooked by him. He will find out and raise up instruments of his wrath, that shall destroy the ...
Read full commentary →But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Despite judgment, hope appears: 'Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.' This introduces comparison between past and future redemption. The Exodus was Israel's defining redemptive event, constantly remembered in liturgy and covenant recitals. However, a future deliverance wil...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 47 Is 47:1-15. The Destruction of Babylon Is Represented under the Image of a Royal Virgin Brought Down in a Moment from Her Magnificent Throne to the Extreme of Degradation.
**1. in the dust--**(See on Is 3:26; Job 2:13; La 2:10).
**virgin--**that is, heretofore uncaptured [Herodotus, 1.191].
**daughter of Babylon--**Babylon and its inhabitants (see on Is 1:8; Is 37:22).
**no thron...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 14-21** The restoration from the Babylonish captivity would be remembered in place of the deliverance from Egypt; it also typified spiritual redemption, and the future deliverance of the church from antichristian oppression. But none of the sins of sinners can be hidden from God, or shall be overlooked by him. He will find out and raise up instruments of his wrath, that shall destroy the ...
Read full commentary →Behold, I will send for many fishers , saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
God promises to send 'fishers' and 'hunters' to gather His people from exile. This dual imagery suggests both gentle gathering (fishing) and forceful compulsion (hunting). Applied to the return from Babylon initially, it points ultimately to the gospel's spread gathering God's elect from all nations (Matt 4:19). God's determination to restore His people overcomes all obstacles.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **I will send for many fishers . . .**—The words refer to the threat, not to the promise. The “fishers,” as in Amos 4:2; Habakkuk 1:15, are the invading nations, surrounding Judah and Jerusalem as with a drag-net, and allowing none to escape. The process is described under this very name of “drag-netting” the country by Herodotus (iii. 149, 6:31), as applied by the army of Xerxes to Samos, Ch...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. millstones--**like the querns or hand-mills, found in this country, before the invention of water mills and windmills: a convex stone, made by the hand to turn in a concave stone, fitted to receive it, the corn being ground between them: the office of a female slave in the East; most degrading (Job 31:10; Mt 24:41).
**uncover thy locks--**rather, "take off thy veil" [Horsley]: perhaps the r...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 14-21** The restoration from the Babylonish captivity would be remembered in place of the deliverance from Egypt; it also typified spiritual redemption, and the future deliverance of the church from antichristian oppression. But none of the sins of sinners can be hidden from God, or shall be overlooked by him. He will find out and raise up instruments of his wrath, that shall destroy the ...
Read full commentary →For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Shift in focus: 'Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.' Before restoration (v. 15), comes thorough judgment. The 'fishers' and 'hunters' represent agents of judgment (likely Babylonian forces) who will comprehensivel...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Mine eyes are upon all their ways.**—The context shows that here also the thought is presented on its severer side. The sins of Israel have not escaped the all-seeing eye of Jehovah.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. not meet ... as a man--**rather, "I will not meet a man," that is, suffer man to intercede with me--give man an audience [Horsley]. Or, "I will not make peace with any man," before all are destroyed. Literally, "strike a league with"; a phrase arising from the custom of striking hands together in making a compact [Maurer], (see on Pr 17:18; Pr 22:26; 11:15, Margin). Or else from striking the ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 14-21** The restoration from the Babylonish captivity would be remembered in place of the deliverance from Egypt; it also typified spiritual redemption, and the future deliverance of the church from antichristian oppression. But none of the sins of sinners can be hidden from God, or shall be overlooked by him. He will find out and raise up instruments of his wrath, that shall destroy the ...
Read full commentary →And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The reason for thorough judgment: 'For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.' God's omniscience means comprehensive knowledge of all sins. The threefold emphasis (eyes upon ways, not hid from face, iniquity not hid from eyes) stresses divine awareness of all wrongdoing. This establishes accountability—no sin escapes divine n...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double.**—A restitution, or fine, to double the amount of the wrong done was almost the normal standard of punishment under the Law of Moses (Exodus 22:4; Exodus 22:7). The words threaten accordingly a full punishment according to the utmost rigour. In Isaiah 40:2 the same thought is presented in its brighter aspect. Israel has received “double...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. As for--**rather supply, "Thus saith our Redeemer" [Maurer]. Lowth supposes this verse to be the exclamation of a chorus breaking in with praises, "Our Redeemer! Jehovah of hosts," &c. (Jr 50:34).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 14-21** The restoration from the Babylonish captivity would be remembered in place of the deliverance from Egypt; it also typified spiritual redemption, and the future deliverance of the church from antichristian oppression. But none of the sins of sinners can be hidden from God, or shall be overlooked by him. He will find out and raise up instruments of his wrath, that shall destroy the ...
Read full commentary →O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
This verse envisions Gentile nations turning from idolatry to worship the true God - a remarkable prophecy of global gospel expansion. The threefold confession 'lies,' 'vanity,' and 'things wherein there is no profit' echoes Paul's language about the emptiness of idol worship (1 Cor 8:4). God's sovereignty extends to all nations; He will draw them to Himself through the proclamation of His truth.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **O Lord, my strength, and my fortress.**—The words speak of a returning confidence in the prophet’s mind, and find utterance in what is practically (though the Hebrew words are not the same) an echo of Psalm 18:2, or more closely of Psalm 28:1; Psalm 28:8; Psalm 59:17; 2Samuel 22:3.
**The Gentiles shall come unto thee.**—The sin and folly of Israel are painted in contrast with the prophet’s ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. Sit--**the posture of mourning (Ezr 9:4; Job 2:13; La 2:10).
**darkness--**mourning and misery (La 3:2; Mi 7:8).
**lady of kingdoms--**mistress of the world (Is 13:19).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 14-21** The restoration from the Babylonish captivity would be remembered in place of the deliverance from Egypt; it also typified spiritual redemption, and the future deliverance of the church from antichristian oppression. But none of the sins of sinners can be hidden from God, or shall be overlooked by him. He will find out and raise up instruments of his wrath, that shall destroy the ...
Read full commentary →Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
This rhetorical question highlights the absurdity of idolatry: 'Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?' The Hebrew verb 'make' (asah, עָשָׂה) emphasizes human manufacture—these 'gods' are human artifacts, not divine beings. The phrase 'unto himself' (lo, לוֹ) underscores the self-serving nature of idolatry—people create deities that conform to their desires rather than submittin...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6. reason for God's vengeance on Babylon: in executing God's will against His people, she had done so with wanton cruelty (Is 10:5, &c.; Jr 50:17; 51:33; Zec 1:15).
**polluted my inheritance--**(Is 43:28).
**the ancient--**Even old age was disregarded by the Chaldeans, who treated all alike with cruelty (La 4:16; 5:12) [Rosenmuller]. Or, "the ancient" means Israel, worn out with calamities...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 14-21** The restoration from the Babylonish captivity would be remembered in place of the deliverance from Egypt; it also typified spiritual redemption, and the future deliverance of the church from antichristian oppression. But none of the sins of sinners can be hidden from God, or shall be overlooked by him. He will find out and raise up instruments of his wrath, that shall destroy the ...
Read full commentary →Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The LORD. The LORD: or, JEHOVAH
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
God declares His purpose in judgment and subsequent restoration: 'they shall know that my name is The LORD.' The Hebrew name YAHWEH signifies God's self-existence and covenant faithfulness. Knowledge of God is the goal of all His actions - even judgment serves pedagogical purposes. This experiential knowledge transcends intellectual assent to include relationship and trust.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **I will this once cause them to know . . .**—The warning comes with all the emphasis of iteration, *this once. *As in a way without a parallel, once for all, they should learn that the name of the God they had rejected was Jehovah, the Eternal (Exodus 3:14), unchangeable in His righteousness. The thought is parallel to that of Ezekiel 12:15.
**Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
Text ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. so that--**Through thy vain expectation of being a queen for ever, thou didst advance to such a pitch of insolence as not to believe "these things" (namely, as to thy overthrow, Is 47:1-5) possible.
**end of it--**namely, of thy insolence, implied in her words, "I shall be a lady for ever."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 14-21** The restoration from the Babylonish captivity would be remembered in place of the deliverance from Egypt; it also typified spiritual redemption, and the future deliverance of the church from antichristian oppression. But none of the sins of sinners can be hidden from God, or shall be overlooked by him. He will find out and raise up instruments of his wrath, that shall destroy the ...
Read full commentary →