King James Version
Jeremiah 45
5 verses with commentary
A Message to Baruch
The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,</strong> This chapter provides personal pastoral counsel to Jeremiah's faithful scribe Baruch. The chronological notation (fourth year of Jehoiakim, 605 BCE) links this directly t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bible Hub
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. speckled bird--**Many translate, "a ravenous beast, the hyena"; the corresponding Arabic word means hyena; so the Septuagint. But the Hebrew always elsewhere means "a bird of prey." The Hebrew for "speckled" is from a root "to color"; answering to the Jewish blending together with paganism the altogether diverse Mosaic ritual. The neighboring nations, birds of prey like herself (for she had s...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 45
The deliverance of the Jews by Cyrus. (Is. 45:1-4) God calls for obedience to his almighty power. (Is. 45:5-10) The settlement of his people. (Is. 45:11-19) The conversion of the Gentiles. (Is. 45:20-25)
**Verses 1-4** Cyrus is called God's anointed; he was designed and qualified for his great service by the counsel of God. The gates of Babylon which led to the river, were left op...
Read full commentary →Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch;
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch</strong>—The prophetic formula introduces a personal oracle to Jeremiah's faithful scribe Baruch ben Neriah. The title <em>Elohei Yisrael</em> (אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, God of Israel) emphasizes covenant relationship despite national apostasy. This chapter provides rare biblical insight into a secondary figure's spiritual struggle duri...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. pastors--**the Babylonian leaders (compare Jr 12:12; Jr 6:3).
**my vineyard--**(Is 5:1, 5).
**trodden my portion--**(Is 63:18).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 45
The deliverance of the Jews by Cyrus. (Is. 45:1-4) God calls for obedience to his almighty power. (Is. 45:5-10) The settlement of his people. (Is. 45:11-19) The conversion of the Gentiles. (Is. 45:20-25)
**Verses 1-4** Cyrus is called God's anointed; he was designed and qualified for his great service by the counsel of God. The gates of Babylon which led to the river, were left op...
Read full commentary →Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Baruch laments 'Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow.' Faithful service often brings grief rather than reward. Baruch served as Jeremiah's scribe for decades, sharing his suffering and rejection. His honest lament acknowledges the cost of prophetic ministry. God doesn't rebuke his grief but redirects his expectations.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. mourneth unto me--**that is, before Me. Eichorn translates, "by reason of Me," because I have given it to desolation (Jr 12:7).
**because no man layeth it to heart--**because none by repentance and prayer seek to deprecate God's wrath. Or, "yet none lays it to heart"; as in Jr 5:3 [Calvin].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 45
The deliverance of the Jews by Cyrus. (Is. 45:1-4) God calls for obedience to his almighty power. (Is. 45:5-10) The settlement of his people. (Is. 45:11-19) The conversion of the Gentiles. (Is. 45:20-25)
**Verses 1-4** Cyrus is called God's anointed; he was designed and qualified for his great service by the counsel of God. The gates of Babylon which led to the river, were left op...
Read full commentary →Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land.</strong> God's answer to Baruch begins not with comfort but with sobering theological reality. The imagery of building/breaking and planting/plucking reverses the language of Jeremiah's original commission (1:10)—there ca...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. high places--**Before, He had threatened the plains; now, the hills.
**wilderness--**not an uninhabited desert, but high lands of pasturage, lying between Judea and Chaldea (Jr 4:11).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 45
The deliverance of the Jews by Cyrus. (Is. 45:1-4) God calls for obedience to his almighty power. (Is. 45:5-10) The settlement of his people. (Is. 45:11-19) The conversion of the Gentiles. (Is. 45:20-25)
**Verses 1-4** Cyrus is called God's anointed; he was designed and qualified for his great service by the counsel of God. The gates of Babylon which led to the river, were left op...
Read full commentary →And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
God's word to Baruch addresses the temptation to seek personal greatness during national catastrophe. The rhetorical question 'seekest thou great things for thyself?' rebukes ambition when God is bringing judgment. Yet God promises Baruch his life as 'a prey' - survival amid destruction. Contentment with God's preservation rather than advancement is wisdom during judgment. Christ later taught simi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
13. Description in detail of the devastation of the land (Mi 6:15).
**they shall be ashamed of your--**The change of persons, in passing from indirect to direct address, is frequent in the prophets. Equivalent to, "Ye shall be put to the shame of disappointment at the smallness of your produce."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-10** There is no God beside Jehovah. There is nothing done without him. He makes peace, put here for all good; and creates evil, not the evil of sin, but the evil of punishment. He is the Author of all that is true, holy, good, or happy; and evil, error, and misery, came into the world by his permission, through the wilful apostacy of his creatures, but are restrained and overruled to h...
Read full commentary →