Even Moses and Samuel Could Not Turn This Judgment Away

Jer 15:6 The reason of this treatment: because Jerusalem has dishonoured and rejected its God, therefore He now stretched out His hand to destroy it. To go backwards, instead of following the Lord, cf. Jer 7:24. This determination the Lord will not change, for He is weary of repenting. הנּחם frequently of the withdrawal, in grace and pity, of a divine decree to punish, cf. Jer 4:28, Gen 6:6., Joe 2:14, etc.

Jer 15:7 ואזרם is a continuation of ואט, Jer 15:6, and, like the latter, is to be understood prophetically of what God has irrevocably determined to do. It is not a description of what is past, an allusion to the battle lost at Megiddo, as Hitz. , carrying out his à priori system of slighting prophecy, supposes. To take the verbs of this verse as proper preterites, as J.

D. Mich. and Ew. also do, is not in keeping with the contents of the clauses. In the first clause Ew. and Gr. translate שׁערי gates, i. e. , exits, boundaries of the earth, and thereby understand the remotest lands of the earth, the four corners of extremities of the earth, Isa 11:12 (Ew.) But "gates" cannot be looked on as corners or extremities, nor are they ends or borders, but the inlets and outlets of cities.

For how can a man construe to himself the ends of the earth as the outlets of it? where could one go to from there? Hence it is impossible to take הארץ of the earth in this case; it is the land of Judah. The gates of the land are either mentioned by synecdoche for the cities, cf. Mic 5:5, or are the approaches to the land (cf. Nah 3:13), its outlets and inlets.

Here the context demands the latter sense. זרה, to fan, c . בּ loci , to scatter into a place, cf. Eze 12:15; Eze 30:26 : fan into the outlets of the land, i. e. , cast out of the land. שׁכּל, make the people childless, by the fall in battle of the sons, the young men, cf. Eze 5:17. The threat is intensified by אבּדתּי, added as asyndeton. The last clause: from their ways, etc.

, subjoins the reason.

Jer 15:8-9 By the death of the sons, the women lose their husbands, and become widows. לי is the dative of sympathetic interest. "Sand of the sea" is the figure for a countless number. ימּים is poetic plural; cf. Psa 78:27; Job 6:3. On these defenceless women come suddenly spoilers, and these mothers who had perhaps borne seven sons give up the ghost and perish without succour, because their sons have fallen in war.

Thus proceeds the portrayal as Hitz. has well exhibited it. על אם בּחוּר is variously interpreted. We must reject the view taken by Chr. B. Mich. from the Syr. and Arab. versions: upon mother and young man; as also the view of Rashi, Cler. , Eichh. , Dahl. , etc. , that אם means the mother-city, i. e. , Jerusalem. The true rendering is that of Jerome and Kimchi, who have been followed by J.

D. Mich. , Hitz. , Ew. , Graf, and Näg. : upon the mother of the youth or young warrior. This view is favoured by the correspondence of the woman mentioned in Job 6:9 who had borne seven sons. Both are individualized as women of full bodily vigour, to lend vividness to the thought that no age and no sex will escape destruction בּצּהרים, at clear noontide, when one least looks for an attack.

Thus the word corresponds with the "suddenly" of the next clause. עיר, Aramaic form for ציר, Isa 13:8, pangs. The bearer of seven, i. e. , the mother of many sons. Seven as the perfect number of children given in blessing by God, cf. 1Sa 2:5; Rth 4:15. "She breathes to her life," cf. Job 31:39. Graf wrongly: she sighs. The sun of her life sets (בּאה) while it is still day, before the evening of her life has been reached, cf.

Amo 8:9. "Is put to shame and confounded" is not to be referred to the son, but the mother, who, bereaved of her children, goes covered with shame to the grave. The Keri בּא for בּאה is an unnecessary change, since שׁמשׁ is also construed as fem. , Gen 15:17. The description closes with a glance cast on those left in life after the overthrow of Jerusalem. These are to be given to the sword when in flight before their enemies, cf.

Mic 6:14. Complaint of the Prophet, and Soothing Answer of the Lord. - His sorrow at the rejection by God of his petition so overcomes the prophet, that he gives utterance to the wish: he had rather not have been born than live on in the calling in which he must ever foretell misery and ruin to his people, thereby provoking hatred and attacks, while his heart is like to break for grief and fellow-feeling; whereupon the Lord reprovingly replies as in Jer 15:11-14.

Jer 15:8-9 By the death of the sons, the women lose their husbands, and become widows. לי is the dative of sympathetic interest. "Sand of the sea" is the figure for a countless number. ימּים is poetic plural; cf. Psa 78:27; Job 6:3. On these defenceless women come suddenly spoilers, and these mothers who had perhaps borne seven sons give up the ghost and perish without succour, because their sons have fallen in war.

Thus proceeds the portrayal as Hitz. has well exhibited it. על אם בּחוּר is variously interpreted. We must reject the view taken by Chr. B. Mich. from the Syr. and Arab. versions: upon mother and young man; as also the view of Rashi, Cler. , Eichh. , Dahl. , etc. , that אם means the mother-city, i. e. , Jerusalem. The true rendering is that of Jerome and Kimchi, who have been followed by J.

D. Mich. , Hitz. , Ew. , Graf, and Näg. : upon the mother of the youth or young warrior. This view is favoured by the correspondence of the woman mentioned in Job 6:9 who had borne seven sons. Both are individualized as women of full bodily vigour, to lend vividness to the thought that no age and no sex will escape destruction בּצּהרים, at clear noontide, when one least looks for an attack.

Thus the word corresponds with the "suddenly" of the next clause. עיר, Aramaic form for ציר, Isa 13:8, pangs. The bearer of seven, i. e. , the mother of many sons. Seven as the perfect number of children given in blessing by God, cf. 1Sa 2:5; Rth 4:15. "She breathes to her life," cf. Job 31:39. Graf wrongly: she sighs. The sun of her life sets (בּאה) while it is still day, before the evening of her life has been reached, cf.

Amo 8:9. "Is put to shame and confounded" is not to be referred to the son, but the mother, who, bereaved of her children, goes covered with shame to the grave. The Keri בּא for בּאה is an unnecessary change, since שׁמשׁ is also construed as fem. , Gen 15:17. The description closes with a glance cast on those left in life after the overthrow of Jerusalem. These are to be given to the sword when in flight before their enemies, cf.

Mic 6:14. Complaint of the Prophet, and Soothing Answer of the Lord. - His sorrow at the rejection by God of his petition so overcomes the prophet, that he gives utterance to the wish: he had rather not have been born than live on in the calling in which he must ever foretell misery and ruin to his people, thereby provoking hatred and attacks, while his heart is like to break for grief and fellow-feeling; whereupon the Lord reprovingly replies as in Jer 15:11-14.

Jer 15:10 "Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast born me, a man of strive and contention to all the earth! I have not lent out, nor have men lent to me; all curse me. Jer 15:11. Jahveh saith, Verily I strengthen thee to thy good; verily I cause the enemy to entreat thee in the time of evil and of trouble. Jer 15:12. Does iron break, iron from the north and brass?

Jer 15:13. Thy substance and thy treasures give I for a prey without a price, and that for all thy sins, and in all thy borders, Jer 15:14. And cause thine enemies bring it into a land which thou knowest not; for fire burneth in mine anger, against you it is kindled." Woe is me, exclaims Jeremiah in Jer 15:10, that my mother brought me forth! The apostrophe to his mother is significant of the depth of his sorrow, and is not to be understood as if he were casting any reproach on his mother; it is an appeal to his mother to share with him his sorrow at his lot.

This lament is consequently very different from Job’s cursing of the day of his birth, Job 3:1. The apposition to the suffix "me," the man of strife and contention, conveys the meaning of the lament in this wise: me, who must yet be a man, with whom the whole world strives and contends. Ew. wrongly render it: "to be a man of strife," etc. ; for it was not his mother’s fault that he became such an one.

The second clause intimates that he has not provoked the strife and contention. נשׁה, lend, i. e. , give on loan, and with בּ, to lend to a person, lend out; hence נשׁה, debtor, and נשׁה בו, creditor, Isa 24:2. These words are not an individualizing of the thought: all interchange of friendly services between me and human society is broken off (Hitz.) For intercourse with one’s fellow-men does not chiefly, or in the foremost place, consist in lending and borrowing of gold and other articles.

Borrowing and lending is rather the frequent occasion of strife and ill-will; and it is in this reference that it is here brought up. Jeremiah says he has neither as bad debtor or disobliging creditor given occasion to hatred and quarrelling, and yet all curse him. This is the meaning of the last words, in which the form מקללוני is hard to explain. The rabbinical attempts to clear it up by means of a commingling of the verbs קלל and קלה are now, and reasonably, given up.

Ew. ( Gram . §350, c ) wants to make it מקללנני; but probably the form has arisen merely out of the wrong dividing of a word, and ought to be read כּלּהם קללוּני. So read most recent scholars, after the example of J. D. Mich. ; cf. also Böttcher, Grammat . ii. S. 322, note. It is true that we nowhere else find כּלּהם; but we find an analogy in the archaic כּלּהם .

In its favour we have, besides, the circumstance, that the heavy form הם is by preference appended to short words; see Böttcher, as above, S. 21.

Jer 15:11-14 To this complaint the Lord makes answer in Jer 15:11-14, first giving the prophet the prospect of complete vindication against those that oppose him (Jer 15:11), and then (Jer 15:12-14) pointing to the circumstances that shall compel the people to this result. The introduction of God’s answer by אמר יהוה without כּה is found also in Jer 46:25, where Graf erroneously seeks to join the formula with what precedes.

In the present 11th verse the want of the כּה is the less felt, since the word from the Lord that follows bears in the first place upon the prophet himself, and is not addressed to the people. אם לא is a particle of asseveration, introducing the answer which follows with a solemn assurance. The vowel-points of שׁרותך fo require שׁריתיך, 1 pers. perf . , from שׁרה = the Aram.

שׁרא, loose, solve (Dan 5:12): I loose (free) thee to thy good. The Chet . is variously read and rendered. By reason of the preceding אם, the view is improbable that we have here an infinitive; either שׁרותך, inf. Pi . of שׁרר in the sig. inflict suffering: "thy affliction becomes welfare" (Hitz.) ; or שׁרותך, inf. Kal of שׁרה, set free: thy release falls out to thy good (Ros.

, etc.) The context suggests the 1 pers. perf . of שׁרר, against which the defective written form is no argument, since this occurs frequently elsewhere, e. g. , ענּתך, Nah 1:12. The question remains: whether we are to take שׁרר according to the Hebrew usage: I afflict thee to thy good, harass thee to thine advantage (Gesen. in the thes . p. 1482, and Näg.) , or according to the Aramaic ( ra) in the sig.

firmabo , stabiliam : I strengthen thee or support thee to thy good (Ew. , Maur.) We prefer the latter rendering, because the saying: I afflict thee, is not true of God; since the prophet’s troubles came not from God, nor is Jeremiah complaining of affliction at the hand of God, but only that he was treated as an enemy by all the world. לטוב, for good, as in Psa 119:122, so that it shall fall out well for thee, lead to a happy issue, for which we have elsewhere לטובה, Jer 14:11, Psa 86:17; Neh 5:19.

- This happy issue is disclosed in the second clause: I bring it about that the enemy shall in time of trouble turn himself in supplication to thee, because he shall recognise in the prophet’s prayers the only way of safety; cf. the fulfilment of this promise, Jer 21:1. , Jer 37:3; Jer 38:14. , Jer 42:2. הפנּיע, here causative, elsewhere only with the sig. of the Kal , e.

g. , Jer 36:25, Isa 53:12. "The enemy," in unlimited generality: each of thine adversaries.

Jer 15:11-14 To this complaint the Lord makes answer in Jer 15:11-14, first giving the prophet the prospect of complete vindication against those that oppose him (Jer 15:11), and then (Jer 15:12-14) pointing to the circumstances that shall compel the people to this result. The introduction of God’s answer by אמר יהוה without כּה is found also in Jer 46:25, where Graf erroneously seeks to join the formula with what precedes.

In the present 11th verse the want of the כּה is the less felt, since the word from the Lord that follows bears in the first place upon the prophet himself, and is not addressed to the people. אם לא is a particle of asseveration, introducing the answer which follows with a solemn assurance. The vowel-points of שׁרותך fo require שׁריתיך, 1 pers. perf . , from שׁרה = the Aram.

שׁרא, loose, solve (Dan 5:12): I loose (free) thee to thy good. The Chet . is variously read and rendered. By reason of the preceding אם, the view is improbable that we have here an infinitive; either שׁרותך, inf. Pi . of שׁרר in the sig. inflict suffering: "thy affliction becomes welfare" (Hitz.) ; or שׁרותך, inf. Kal of שׁרה, set free: thy release falls out to thy good (Ros.

, etc.) The context suggests the 1 pers. perf . of שׁרר, against which the defective written form is no argument, since this occurs frequently elsewhere, e. g. , ענּתך, Nah 1:12. The question remains: whether we are to take שׁרר according to the Hebrew usage: I afflict thee to thy good, harass thee to thine advantage (Gesen. in the thes . p. 1482, and Näg.) , or according to the Aramaic ( ra) in the sig.

firmabo , stabiliam : I strengthen thee or support thee to thy good (Ew. , Maur.) We prefer the latter rendering, because the saying: I afflict thee, is not true of God; since the prophet’s troubles came not from God, nor is Jeremiah complaining of affliction at the hand of God, but only that he was treated as an enemy by all the world. לטוב, for good, as in Psa 119:122, so that it shall fall out well for thee, lead to a happy issue, for which we have elsewhere לטובה, Jer 14:11, Psa 86:17; Neh 5:19.

- This happy issue is disclosed in the second clause: I bring it about that the enemy shall in time of trouble turn himself in supplication to thee, because he shall recognise in the prophet’s prayers the only way of safety; cf. the fulfilment of this promise, Jer 21:1. , Jer 37:3; Jer 38:14. , Jer 42:2. הפנּיע, here causative, elsewhere only with the sig. of the Kal , e.

g. , Jer 36:25, Isa 53:12. "The enemy," in unlimited generality: each of thine adversaries.

Jer 15:11-14 To this complaint the Lord makes answer in Jer 15:11-14, first giving the prophet the prospect of complete vindication against those that oppose him (Jer 15:11), and then (Jer 15:12-14) pointing to the circumstances that shall compel the people to this result. The introduction of God’s answer by אמר יהוה without כּה is found also in Jer 46:25, where Graf erroneously seeks to join the formula with what precedes.

In the present 11th verse the want of the כּה is the less felt, since the word from the Lord that follows bears in the first place upon the prophet himself, and is not addressed to the people. אם לא is a particle of asseveration, introducing the answer which follows with a solemn assurance. The vowel-points of שׁרותך fo require שׁריתיך, 1 pers. perf . , from שׁרה = the Aram.

שׁרא, loose, solve (Dan 5:12): I loose (free) thee to thy good. The Chet . is variously read and rendered. By reason of the preceding אם, the view is improbable that we have here an infinitive; either שׁרותך, inf. Pi . of שׁרר in the sig. inflict suffering: "thy affliction becomes welfare" (Hitz.) ; or שׁרותך, inf. Kal of שׁרה, set free: thy release falls out to thy good (Ros.

, etc.) The context suggests the 1 pers. perf . of שׁרר, against which the defective written form is no argument, since this occurs frequently elsewhere, e. g. , ענּתך, Nah 1:12. The question remains: whether we are to take שׁרר according to the Hebrew usage: I afflict thee to thy good, harass thee to thine advantage (Gesen. in the thes . p. 1482, and Näg.) , or according to the Aramaic ( ra) in the sig.

firmabo , stabiliam : I strengthen thee or support thee to thy good (Ew. , Maur.) We prefer the latter rendering, because the saying: I afflict thee, is not true of God; since the prophet’s troubles came not from God, nor is Jeremiah complaining of affliction at the hand of God, but only that he was treated as an enemy by all the world. לטוב, for good, as in Psa 119:122, so that it shall fall out well for thee, lead to a happy issue, for which we have elsewhere לטובה, Jer 14:11, Psa 86:17; Neh 5:19.

- This happy issue is disclosed in the second clause: I bring it about that the enemy shall in time of trouble turn himself in supplication to thee, because he shall recognise in the prophet’s prayers the only way of safety; cf. the fulfilment of this promise, Jer 21:1. , Jer 37:3; Jer 38:14. , Jer 42:2. הפנּיע, here causative, elsewhere only with the sig. of the Kal , e.

g. , Jer 36:25, Isa 53:12. "The enemy," in unlimited generality: each of thine adversaries.

Jer 15:11-14 To this complaint the Lord makes answer in Jer 15:11-14, first giving the prophet the prospect of complete vindication against those that oppose him (Jer 15:11), and then (Jer 15:12-14) pointing to the circumstances that shall compel the people to this result. The introduction of God’s answer by אמר יהוה without כּה is found also in Jer 46:25, where Graf erroneously seeks to join the formula with what precedes.

In the present 11th verse the want of the כּה is the less felt, since the word from the Lord that follows bears in the first place upon the prophet himself, and is not addressed to the people. אם לא is a particle of asseveration, introducing the answer which follows with a solemn assurance. The vowel-points of שׁרותך fo require שׁריתיך, 1 pers. perf . , from שׁרה = the Aram.

שׁרא, loose, solve (Dan 5:12): I loose (free) thee to thy good. The Chet . is variously read and rendered. By reason of the preceding אם, the view is improbable that we have here an infinitive; either שׁרותך, inf. Pi . of שׁרר in the sig. inflict suffering: "thy affliction becomes welfare" (Hitz.) ; or שׁרותך, inf. Kal of שׁרה, set free: thy release falls out to thy good (Ros.

, etc.) The context suggests the 1 pers. perf . of שׁרר, against which the defective written form is no argument, since this occurs frequently elsewhere, e. g. , ענּתך, Nah 1:12. The question remains: whether we are to take שׁרר according to the Hebrew usage: I afflict thee to thy good, harass thee to thine advantage (Gesen. in the thes . p. 1482, and Näg.) , or according to the Aramaic ( ra) in the sig.

firmabo , stabiliam : I strengthen thee or support thee to thy good (Ew. , Maur.) We prefer the latter rendering, because the saying: I afflict thee, is not true of God; since the prophet’s troubles came not from God, nor is Jeremiah complaining of affliction at the hand of God, but only that he was treated as an enemy by all the world. לטוב, for good, as in Psa 119:122, so that it shall fall out well for thee, lead to a happy issue, for which we have elsewhere לטובה, Jer 14:11, Psa 86:17; Neh 5:19.

- This happy issue is disclosed in the second clause: I bring it about that the enemy shall in time of trouble turn himself in supplication to thee, because he shall recognise in the prophet’s prayers the only way of safety; cf. the fulfilment of this promise, Jer 21:1. , Jer 37:3; Jer 38:14. , Jer 42:2. הפנּיע, here causative, elsewhere only with the sig. of the Kal , e.

g. , Jer 36:25, Isa 53:12. "The enemy," in unlimited generality: each of thine adversaries.

Jer 15:15-16 Jeremiah continues his complaint. - Jer 15:15. "Thou knowest it, Jahveh; remember me, and visit me, and revenge me on my persecutors! Do not, in Thy long-suffering, take me away; know that for Thy sake I bear reproach. Jer 15:16. Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy words were to me a delight and the joy of my heart: for Thy name was named upon me, Jahveh, God of hosts.

Jer 15:17. I sat not in the assembly of the laughers, nor was merry; because of Thy hand I sat solitary; for with indignation Thou hast filled me. Jer 15:18. Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound malignant? will not heal. Wilt Thou really be to me as a deceiving brook, a water that doth not endure?" The Lord’s answer, Jer 15:11-14, has not yet restored tranquillity to the prophet’s mind; since in it his vindication by means of the abasement of his adversaries had been kept at an indefinite distance.

And so he now, Jer 15:15, prays the Lord to revenge him on his adversaries, and not to let him perish, since for His sake he bears reproach. The object to "Thou knowest, Lord," appears from the context - namely: "the attacks which I endure," or more generally: Thou knowest my case, my distress. At the same time he clearly means the harassment detailed in Jer 15:10, so that "Thou knowest" is, as to its sense, directly connected with Jer 15:10.

But it by no means follows from this that Jer 15:11-14 are not original; only that Jeremiah did not feel his anxiety put at rest by the divine answer conveyed in these verses. In the climax: Remember me, visit me, i. e. , turn Thy care on me, and revenge me, we have the utterance of the importunity of his prayer, and therein, too, the extremity of his distress.

According to Thy long-suffering, i. e. , the long-suffering Thou showest towards my persecutors, take me not away, i. e. , do not deliver me up to final ruin. This prayer he supports by the reminder, that for the Lord’s sake he bears reproach; cf. Psa 69:8. Further, the imperative: know, recognise, bethink thee of, is the utterance of urgent prayer. In Jer 15:16 he exhibits how he suffers for the Lord’s sake.

The words of the Lord which came to him he has received with eagerness, as it had been the choicest dainties. "Thy words were found" intimates that he had come into possession of them as something actual, without particularizing how they were revealed. With the figurative expression: I ate them, cf. the symbolical embodiment of the figure, Eze 2:9; Eze 3:3, Apoc.

Jer 10:9. The Keri דּבריך is an uncalled for correction, suggested by the preceding יהי, and the Chet . is perfectly correct. Thy words turned out to me a joy and delight, because Thy name was named upon me, i. e. , because Thou hast revealed Thyself to me, hast chosen me to be the proclaimer of Thy word.

Jer 15:15-16 Jeremiah continues his complaint. - Jer 15:15. "Thou knowest it, Jahveh; remember me, and visit me, and revenge me on my persecutors! Do not, in Thy long-suffering, take me away; know that for Thy sake I bear reproach. Jer 15:16. Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy words were to me a delight and the joy of my heart: for Thy name was named upon me, Jahveh, God of hosts.

Jer 15:17. I sat not in the assembly of the laughers, nor was merry; because of Thy hand I sat solitary; for with indignation Thou hast filled me. Jer 15:18. Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound malignant? will not heal. Wilt Thou really be to me as a deceiving brook, a water that doth not endure?" The Lord’s answer, Jer 15:11-14, has not yet restored tranquillity to the prophet’s mind; since in it his vindication by means of the abasement of his adversaries had been kept at an indefinite distance.

And so he now, Jer 15:15, prays the Lord to revenge him on his adversaries, and not to let him perish, since for His sake he bears reproach. The object to "Thou knowest, Lord," appears from the context - namely: "the attacks which I endure," or more generally: Thou knowest my case, my distress. At the same time he clearly means the harassment detailed in Jer 15:10, so that "Thou knowest" is, as to its sense, directly connected with Jer 15:10.

But it by no means follows from this that Jer 15:11-14 are not original; only that Jeremiah did not feel his anxiety put at rest by the divine answer conveyed in these verses. In the climax: Remember me, visit me, i. e. , turn Thy care on me, and revenge me, we have the utterance of the importunity of his prayer, and therein, too, the extremity of his distress.

According to Thy long-suffering, i. e. , the long-suffering Thou showest towards my persecutors, take me not away, i. e. , do not deliver me up to final ruin. This prayer he supports by the reminder, that for the Lord’s sake he bears reproach; cf. Psa 69:8. Further, the imperative: know, recognise, bethink thee of, is the utterance of urgent prayer. In Jer 15:16 he exhibits how he suffers for the Lord’s sake.

The words of the Lord which came to him he has received with eagerness, as it had been the choicest dainties. "Thy words were found" intimates that he had come into possession of them as something actual, without particularizing how they were revealed. With the figurative expression: I ate them, cf. the symbolical embodiment of the figure, Eze 2:9; Eze 3:3, Apoc.

Jer 10:9. The Keri דּבריך is an uncalled for correction, suggested by the preceding יהי, and the Chet . is perfectly correct. Thy words turned out to me a joy and delight, because Thy name was named upon me, i. e. , because Thou hast revealed Thyself to me, hast chosen me to be the proclaimer of Thy word.

Jer 15:17 To this calling he has devoted his whole life: has not sat in the assembly of the laughers, nor made merry with them; but sat alone, i. e. , avoided all cheerful company. Because of Thy hand, i. e. , because Thy hand had laid hold on me. The hand of Jahveh is the divine power which took possession of the prophets, transported their spirit to the ecstatic domain of inner vision, and impelled to prophesy; cf.

Jer 20:7; Isa 8:11; Eze 1:3, etc. Alone I sat, because Thou hast filled me with indignation. זעם is the wrath of God against the moral corruptness and infatuation of Judah, with which the Spirit of God has filled Jeremiah in order that he may publish it abroad, cf. Jer 6:11. The sadness of what he had to publish filled his heart with the deepest grief, and constrained him to keep far from all cheery good fellowship.

Jer 15:18 Why is my pain become perpetual? "My pain" is the pain or grief he feels at the judgment he has to announce to the people; not his pain at the hostility he has on that account to endure. נצח adverbial = לנצח, as in Amo 1:11; Psa 13:2, etc. "My wound," the blow that has fallen on him. אנוּשׁה, malignant, is explained by "(that) will not heal," cf. Jer 30:12; Mic 1:9.

The clause 'היו still depends on למּה, and the infin. gives emphasis: Wilt Thou really be? אכזב, lit. , lying, deception, means here, and in Mic 1:16, a deceptive torrent that dries up in the season of drought, and so disappoints the hope of finding water, cf. Job 6:15. "A water," etc. , is epexegesis: water that doth not endure. To this the Lord answers -

Jer 15:19-21 By reprimanding his impatience, and by again assuring him of His protection and of rescue from the power of his oppressors. - Jer 15:19. "Therefore thus saith Jahveh: If thou return, then will I bring thee again to serve me; and if thou separate the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth. They will return to thee, but thou shalt not return unto them.

Jer 15:20. And I make thee unto this people a strong wall of brass, so that they fight against thee, but prevail not against thee; for I am with thee, to help thee and to save thee, saith Jahveh. Jer 15:21. And I save thee out of the hand of the wicked, and deliver thee out of the clutch of the violent." In the words: if thou return, lies the reproach that in his complaint, in which his indignation had hurried him on to doubt God’s faithfulness, Jeremiah had sinned and must repent.

אשׁיבך is by many commentators taken adverbially and joined with the following words: then will I again cause thee to stand before me. But this adverbial use has been proved only for the Kal of שׁוּב, not for the Hiphil, which must here be taken by itself: then will I bring thee again, sc. into proper relations with me - namely, to stand before me, i. e. , to be my servant.

עמד , of the standing of the servant before his lord, to receive his commands, and so also of prophets, cf. 1Ki 17:1; 1Ki 18:15; 2Ki 3:14, etc. In the words: if thou make to go forth, i. e. , separate the precious from the vile, we have the figure of metal-refining, in course of which the pure metal is by fusion parted from the earthy and other ingredients mixed with it.

The meaning of the figure is, however, variously understood. Some think here, unfittingly, of good and bad men; so Chald. and Rashi: if thou cause the good to come forth of the bad, turn the good into bad; or, if out of the evil mass thou cause to come forth at least a few as good, i. e. , if thou convert them (Chr. B. Mich. , Ros. , etc.) For we cannot here have to do with the issue of his labours, as Graf well remarks, since this did not lie in his own power.

Just as little is the case one of contrast between God’s word and man’s word, the view adopted by Ven. , Eichh. , Dahl. , Hitz. , Ew. The idea that Jeremiah presented man’s word for God’s word, or God’s word mixed with spurious, human additions, is utterly foreign to the context; nay, rather it was just because he declared only what God imposed on him that he was so hard bested.

Further, that idea is wholly inconsistent with the nature of true prophecy. Maurer has hit upon the truth: si quae pretiosa in te sunt, admixtis liberaveris sordibus, si virtutes quas habes maculis liberaveris impatientiae et iracundiae ; with whom Graf agrees. כּפי (with the so-called כ verit .) , as my mouth shalt thou be, i. e. , as the instrument by which I speak, cf.

Exo 4:16. Then shall his labours be crowned with success. They (the adversaries) will turn themselves to thee, in the manner shown in Jer 15:11, but thou shalt not turn thyself to them, i. e. , not yield to their wishes or permit thyself to be moved by them from the right way. Jer 15:20. After this reprimand, the Lord renews to him the promise of His most active support, such as He had promised him at his call, Jer 1:18.

; "to save thee" being amplified in Jer 15:21. Jeremiah 16:1-17:4 The Course to be Pursued by the Prophet in Reference to the Approaching Overthrow of the Kingdom of Judah. - The ruin of Jerusalem and of Judah will inevitably come. This the prophet must proclaim by word and deed. To this end he is shown in Jer 16:1-9 what relation he is to maintain towards the people, now grown ripe for judgment, and next in Jer 16:10-15 he is told the cause of this terrible judgment; then comes an account of its fulfilment (Jer 16:16-21); then again, finally, we have the cause of it explained once more (Jer 17:1-4).

Jer 15:19-21 By reprimanding his impatience, and by again assuring him of His protection and of rescue from the power of his oppressors. - Jer 15:19. "Therefore thus saith Jahveh: If thou return, then will I bring thee again to serve me; and if thou separate the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth. They will return to thee, but thou shalt not return unto them.

Jer 15:20. And I make thee unto this people a strong wall of brass, so that they fight against thee, but prevail not against thee; for I am with thee, to help thee and to save thee, saith Jahveh. Jer 15:21. And I save thee out of the hand of the wicked, and deliver thee out of the clutch of the violent." In the words: if thou return, lies the reproach that in his complaint, in which his indignation had hurried him on to doubt God’s faithfulness, Jeremiah had sinned and must repent.

אשׁיבך is by many commentators taken adverbially and joined with the following words: then will I again cause thee to stand before me. But this adverbial use has been proved only for the Kal of שׁוּב, not for the Hiphil, which must here be taken by itself: then will I bring thee again, sc. into proper relations with me - namely, to stand before me, i. e. , to be my servant.

עמד , of the standing of the servant before his lord, to receive his commands, and so also of prophets, cf. 1Ki 17:1; 1Ki 18:15; 2Ki 3:14, etc. In the words: if thou make to go forth, i. e. , separate the precious from the vile, we have the figure of metal-refining, in course of which the pure metal is by fusion parted from the earthy and other ingredients mixed with it.

The meaning of the figure is, however, variously understood. Some think here, unfittingly, of good and bad men; so Chald. and Rashi: if thou cause the good to come forth of the bad, turn the good into bad; or, if out of the evil mass thou cause to come forth at least a few as good, i. e. , if thou convert them (Chr. B. Mich. , Ros. , etc.) For we cannot here have to do with the issue of his labours, as Graf well remarks, since this did not lie in his own power.

Just as little is the case one of contrast between God’s word and man’s word, the view adopted by Ven. , Eichh. , Dahl. , Hitz. , Ew. The idea that Jeremiah presented man’s word for God’s word, or God’s word mixed with spurious, human additions, is utterly foreign to the context; nay, rather it was just because he declared only what God imposed on him that he was so hard bested.

Further, that idea is wholly inconsistent with the nature of true prophecy. Maurer has hit upon the truth: si quae pretiosa in te sunt, admixtis liberaveris sordibus, si virtutes quas habes maculis liberaveris impatientiae et iracundiae ; with whom Graf agrees. כּפי (with the so-called כ verit .) , as my mouth shalt thou be, i. e. , as the instrument by which I speak, cf.

Exo 4:16. Then shall his labours be crowned with success. They (the adversaries) will turn themselves to thee, in the manner shown in Jer 15:11, but thou shalt not turn thyself to them, i. e. , not yield to their wishes or permit thyself to be moved by them from the right way. Jer 15:20. After this reprimand, the Lord renews to him the promise of His most active support, such as He had promised him at his call, Jer 1:18.

; "to save thee" being amplified in Jer 15:21. Jeremiah 16:1-17:4 The Course to be Pursued by the Prophet in Reference to the Approaching Overthrow of the Kingdom of Judah. - The ruin of Jerusalem and of Judah will inevitably come. This the prophet must proclaim by word and deed. To this end he is shown in Jer 16:1-9 what relation he is to maintain towards the people, now grown ripe for judgment, and next in Jer 16:10-15 he is told the cause of this terrible judgment; then comes an account of its fulfilment (Jer 16:16-21); then again, finally, we have the cause of it explained once more (Jer 17:1-4).

Jer 15:19-21 By reprimanding his impatience, and by again assuring him of His protection and of rescue from the power of his oppressors. - Jer 15:19. "Therefore thus saith Jahveh: If thou return, then will I bring thee again to serve me; and if thou separate the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth. They will return to thee, but thou shalt not return unto them.

Jer 15:20. And I make thee unto this people a strong wall of brass, so that they fight against thee, but prevail not against thee; for I am with thee, to help thee and to save thee, saith Jahveh. Jer 15:21. And I save thee out of the hand of the wicked, and deliver thee out of the clutch of the violent." In the words: if thou return, lies the reproach that in his complaint, in which his indignation had hurried him on to doubt God’s faithfulness, Jeremiah had sinned and must repent.

אשׁיבך is by many commentators taken adverbially and joined with the following words: then will I again cause thee to stand before me. But this adverbial use has been proved only for the Kal of שׁוּב, not for the Hiphil, which must here be taken by itself: then will I bring thee again, sc. into proper relations with me - namely, to stand before me, i. e. , to be my servant.

עמד , of the standing of the servant before his lord, to receive his commands, and so also of prophets, cf. 1Ki 17:1; 1Ki 18:15; 2Ki 3:14, etc. In the words: if thou make to go forth, i. e. , separate the precious from the vile, we have the figure of metal-refining, in course of which the pure metal is by fusion parted from the earthy and other ingredients mixed with it.

The meaning of the figure is, however, variously understood. Some think here, unfittingly, of good and bad men; so Chald. and Rashi: if thou cause the good to come forth of the bad, turn the good into bad; or, if out of the evil mass thou cause to come forth at least a few as good, i. e. , if thou convert them (Chr. B. Mich. , Ros. , etc.) For we cannot here have to do with the issue of his labours, as Graf well remarks, since this did not lie in his own power.

Just as little is the case one of contrast between God’s word and man’s word, the view adopted by Ven. , Eichh. , Dahl. , Hitz. , Ew. The idea that Jeremiah presented man’s word for God’s word, or God’s word mixed with spurious, human additions, is utterly foreign to the context; nay, rather it was just because he declared only what God imposed on him that he was so hard bested.

Further, that idea is wholly inconsistent with the nature of true prophecy. Maurer has hit upon the truth: si quae pretiosa in te sunt, admixtis liberaveris sordibus, si virtutes quas habes maculis liberaveris impatientiae et iracundiae ; with whom Graf agrees. כּפי (with the so-called כ verit .) , as my mouth shalt thou be, i. e. , as the instrument by which I speak, cf.

Exo 4:16. Then shall his labours be crowned with success. They (the adversaries) will turn themselves to thee, in the manner shown in Jer 15:11, but thou shalt not turn thyself to them, i. e. , not yield to their wishes or permit thyself to be moved by them from the right way. Jer 15:20. After this reprimand, the Lord renews to him the promise of His most active support, such as He had promised him at his call, Jer 1:18.

; "to save thee" being amplified in Jer 15:21. Jeremiah 16:1-17:4 The Course to be Pursued by the Prophet in Reference to the Approaching Overthrow of the Kingdom of Judah. - The ruin of Jerusalem and of Judah will inevitably come. This the prophet must proclaim by word and deed. To this end he is shown in Jer 16:1-9 what relation he is to maintain towards the people, now grown ripe for judgment, and next in Jer 16:10-15 he is told the cause of this terrible judgment; then comes an account of its fulfilment (Jer 16:16-21); then again, finally, we have the cause of it explained once more (Jer 17:1-4).

Jer 16:1-4 The course to be pursued by the prophet with reference to the approaching judgment. - Jer 16:1. "And the word of Jahveh cam to me, saying: Jer 16:2. Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. Jer 16:3. For thus hath Jahveh said concerning the sons and the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bear them, and concerning their fathers that beget them in this land: Jer 16:4.

By deadly suffering shall they die, be neither lamented or buried; dung upon the field shall they become; and by sword and by famine shall they be consumed, and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of the heavens and the beasts of the field. Jer 16:5. For thus hath Jahveh said: Come not into the house of mourning, and go not to lament, and bemoan them not; for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith Jahveh, grace and mercies.

Jer 16:6. And great and small shall die in this land, not be buried; they shall not lament them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them. Jer 16:7. And they shall not break bread for them in their mourning, to comfort one for the dead; nor shall they give to any the cup of comfort for his father and his mother. Jer 16:8. And into the house of feasting go not, to sit by them, to eat and to drink.

Jer 16:9. For thus hath spoken Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I cause to cease out of this place before 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." What the prophet is here bidden to do and to forbear is closely bound up with the proclamation enjoined on him of judgment to come on sinful Judah.

This connection is brought prominently forward in the reasons given for these commands. He is neither to take a wife nor to beget children, because all the inhabitants of the land, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, are to perish by sickness, the sword, and famine (Jer 16:3 and Jer 16:4). He is both to abstain from the customary usages of mourning for the dead, and to keep away from mirthful feasts, in order to give the people to understand that, by reason of the multitude of the dead, customary mourning will have to be given up, and that all opportunity for merry-making will disappear (Jer 16:5-9).

Adapting thus his actions to help to convey his message, he will approve himself to be the mouth of the Lord, and then the promised divine protection will not fail. Thus closely is this passage connected with the preceding complaint and reproof of the prophet (Jer 15:10-21), while it at the same time further continues the threatening of judgment in Jer 15:1-9.

- With the prohibition to take a wife, cf. the apostle’s counsel, 1Co 7:26. "This place" alternates with "this land," and so must not be limited to Jerusalem, but bears on Judah at large. ילּדים, adject. verbale , as in Ex. 1:32. The form ממותי is found, besides here, only in Eze 28:8, where it takes the place of מותי, Jer 16:10. תחלאים ממותי, lit. , deaths of sicknesses or sufferings, i.

e. , deaths by all kinds of sufferings, since תחלאים is not to be confined to disease, but in Jer 14:18 is used of pining away by famine. With "they shall not be lamented," cf. Jer 25:33; Jer 8:2; Jer 14:16; Jer 7:33.

Jer 16:1-4 The course to be pursued by the prophet with reference to the approaching judgment. - Jer 16:1. "And the word of Jahveh cam to me, saying: Jer 16:2. Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. Jer 16:3. For thus hath Jahveh said concerning the sons and the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bear them, and concerning their fathers that beget them in this land: Jer 16:4.

By deadly suffering shall they die, be neither lamented or buried; dung upon the field shall they become; and by sword and by famine shall they be consumed, and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of the heavens and the beasts of the field. Jer 16:5. For thus hath Jahveh said: Come not into the house of mourning, and go not to lament, and bemoan them not; for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith Jahveh, grace and mercies.

Jer 16:6. And great and small shall die in this land, not be buried; they shall not lament them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them. Jer 16:7. And they shall not break bread for them in their mourning, to comfort one for the dead; nor shall they give to any the cup of comfort for his father and his mother. Jer 16:8. And into the house of feasting go not, to sit by them, to eat and to drink.

Jer 16:9. For thus hath spoken Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I cause to cease out of this place before 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." What the prophet is here bidden to do and to forbear is closely bound up with the proclamation enjoined on him of judgment to come on sinful Judah.

This connection is brought prominently forward in the reasons given for these commands. He is neither to take a wife nor to beget children, because all the inhabitants of the land, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, are to perish by sickness, the sword, and famine (Jer 16:3 and Jer 16:4). He is both to abstain from the customary usages of mourning for the dead, and to keep away from mirthful feasts, in order to give the people to understand that, by reason of the multitude of the dead, customary mourning will have to be given up, and that all opportunity for merry-making will disappear (Jer 16:5-9).

Adapting thus his actions to help to convey his message, he will approve himself to be the mouth of the Lord, and then the promised divine protection will not fail. Thus closely is this passage connected with the preceding complaint and reproof of the prophet (Jer 15:10-21), while it at the same time further continues the threatening of judgment in Jer 15:1-9.

- With the prohibition to take a wife, cf. the apostle’s counsel, 1Co 7:26. "This place" alternates with "this land," and so must not be limited to Jerusalem, but bears on Judah at large. ילּדים, adject. verbale , as in Ex. 1:32. The form ממותי is found, besides here, only in Eze 28:8, where it takes the place of מותי, Jer 16:10. תחלאים ממותי, lit. , deaths of sicknesses or sufferings, i.

e. , deaths by all kinds of sufferings, since תחלאים is not to be confined to disease, but in Jer 14:18 is used of pining away by famine. With "they shall not be lamented," cf. Jer 25:33; Jer 8:2; Jer 14:16; Jer 7:33.

Jer 16:1-4 The course to be pursued by the prophet with reference to the approaching judgment. - Jer 16:1. "And the word of Jahveh cam to me, saying: Jer 16:2. Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. Jer 16:3. For thus hath Jahveh said concerning the sons and the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bear them, and concerning their fathers that beget them in this land: Jer 16:4.

By deadly suffering shall they die, be neither lamented or buried; dung upon the field shall they become; and by sword and by famine shall they be consumed, and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of the heavens and the beasts of the field. Jer 16:5. For thus hath Jahveh said: Come not into the house of mourning, and go not to lament, and bemoan them not; for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith Jahveh, grace and mercies.

Jer 16:6. And great and small shall die in this land, not be buried; they shall not lament them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them. Jer 16:7. And they shall not break bread for them in their mourning, to comfort one for the dead; nor shall they give to any the cup of comfort for his father and his mother. Jer 16:8. And into the house of feasting go not, to sit by them, to eat and to drink.

Jer 16:9. For thus hath spoken Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I cause to cease out of this place before 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." What the prophet is here bidden to do and to forbear is closely bound up with the proclamation enjoined on him of judgment to come on sinful Judah.

This connection is brought prominently forward in the reasons given for these commands. He is neither to take a wife nor to beget children, because all the inhabitants of the land, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, are to perish by sickness, the sword, and famine (Jer 16:3 and Jer 16:4). He is both to abstain from the customary usages of mourning for the dead, and to keep away from mirthful feasts, in order to give the people to understand that, by reason of the multitude of the dead, customary mourning will have to be given up, and that all opportunity for merry-making will disappear (Jer 16:5-9).

Adapting thus his actions to help to convey his message, he will approve himself to be the mouth of the Lord, and then the promised divine protection will not fail. Thus closely is this passage connected with the preceding complaint and reproof of the prophet (Jer 15:10-21), while it at the same time further continues the threatening of judgment in Jer 15:1-9.

- With the prohibition to take a wife, cf. the apostle’s counsel, 1Co 7:26. "This place" alternates with "this land," and so must not be limited to Jerusalem, but bears on Judah at large. ילּדים, adject. verbale , as in Ex. 1:32. The form ממותי is found, besides here, only in Eze 28:8, where it takes the place of מותי, Jer 16:10. תחלאים ממותי, lit. , deaths of sicknesses or sufferings, i.

e. , deaths by all kinds of sufferings, since תחלאים is not to be confined to disease, but in Jer 14:18 is used of pining away by famine. With "they shall not be lamented," cf. Jer 25:33; Jer 8:2; Jer 14:16; Jer 7:33.

Jer 16:1-4 The course to be pursued by the prophet with reference to the approaching judgment. - Jer 16:1. "And the word of Jahveh cam to me, saying: Jer 16:2. Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. Jer 16:3. For thus hath Jahveh said concerning the sons and the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bear them, and concerning their fathers that beget them in this land: Jer 16:4.

By deadly suffering shall they die, be neither lamented or buried; dung upon the field shall they become; and by sword and by famine shall they be consumed, and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of the heavens and the beasts of the field. Jer 16:5. For thus hath Jahveh said: Come not into the house of mourning, and go not to lament, and bemoan them not; for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith Jahveh, grace and mercies.

Jer 16:6. And great and small shall die in this land, not be buried; they shall not lament them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them. Jer 16:7. And they shall not break bread for them in their mourning, to comfort one for the dead; nor shall they give to any the cup of comfort for his father and his mother. Jer 16:8. And into the house of feasting go not, to sit by them, to eat and to drink.

Jer 16:9. For thus hath spoken Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I cause to cease out of this place before 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." What the prophet is here bidden to do and to forbear is closely bound up with the proclamation enjoined on him of judgment to come on sinful Judah.

This connection is brought prominently forward in the reasons given for these commands. He is neither to take a wife nor to beget children, because all the inhabitants of the land, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, are to perish by sickness, the sword, and famine (Jer 16:3 and Jer 16:4). He is both to abstain from the customary usages of mourning for the dead, and to keep away from mirthful feasts, in order to give the people to understand that, by reason of the multitude of the dead, customary mourning will have to be given up, and that all opportunity for merry-making will disappear (Jer 16:5-9).

Adapting thus his actions to help to convey his message, he will approve himself to be the mouth of the Lord, and then the promised divine protection will not fail. Thus closely is this passage connected with the preceding complaint and reproof of the prophet (Jer 15:10-21), while it at the same time further continues the threatening of judgment in Jer 15:1-9.

- With the prohibition to take a wife, cf. the apostle’s counsel, 1Co 7:26. "This place" alternates with "this land," and so must not be limited to Jerusalem, but bears on Judah at large. ילּדים, adject. verbale , as in Ex. 1:32. The form ממותי is found, besides here, only in Eze 28:8, where it takes the place of מותי, Jer 16:10. תחלאים ממותי, lit. , deaths of sicknesses or sufferings, i.

e. , deaths by all kinds of sufferings, since תחלאים is not to be confined to disease, but in Jer 14:18 is used of pining away by famine. With "they shall not be lamented," cf. Jer 25:33; Jer 8:2; Jer 14:16; Jer 7:33.