21 Do not abhor `us', for thy name's sake; do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.
Though our iniquities testify against us, work thou for thy name's sake, O Jehovah; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.
And he remembered for them his covenant, And repented according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, let thine anger and thy wrath, I pray thee, be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are round about us. Now therefore, O our God, hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness, but for thy great mercies' sake. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God, because thy city and thy people are called by thy name.
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I do not `this' for your sake, O house of Israel, but for my holy name, which ye have profaned among the nations, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which hath been profaned among the nations, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the nations shall know that I am Jehovah, saith the Lord Jehovah, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
Thou hast abhorred the covenant of thy servant: Thou hast profaned his crown `by casting it' to the ground. Thou hast broken down all his hedges; Thou hast brought his strongholds to ruin.
Yea, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the host; and it took away from him the continual `burnt-offering', and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And the host was given over `to it' together with the continual `burnt-offering' through transgression; and it cast down truth to the ground, and it did `its pleasure' and prospered. Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said unto that certain one who spake, How long shall be the vision `concerning' the continual `burnt-offering', and the transgression that maketh desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
And he said unto me, Son of man, `this is' the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, and by the dead bodies of their kings `in' their high places;
O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of face, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by himself, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts: I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces; therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.
To show mercy towards, our fathers, And to remember his holy covenant;
And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all the nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
But now hath he obtained a ministry the more excellent, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises. For if that first `covenant' had been faultless, then would no place have been sought for a second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, That I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers In the day that I took them by the hand to lead them forth out of the land of Egypt; For they continued not in my covenant, And I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, And on their heart also will I write them: And I will be to them a God, And they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his fellow-citizen, And every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: For all shall know me, From the least to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And their sins will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new `covenant' he hath made the first old. But that which is becoming old and waxeth aged is nigh unto vanishing away.
And the court which is without the temple leave without, and measure it not; for it hath been given unto the nations: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
Be not wroth very sore, O Jehovah, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, look, we beseech thee, we are all thy people. Thy holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned with fire; and all our pleasant places are laid waste. Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O Jehovah? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?
And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.
then will I remember my covenant with Jacob; and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. The land also shall be left by them, and shall enjoy its sabbaths, while it lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity; because, even because they rejected mine ordinances, and their soul abhorred my statutes. And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them; for I am Jehovah their God; but I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am Jehovah.
Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy Spirit from me.
Remember thy congregation, which thou hast gotten of old, Which thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of thine inheritance; `And' mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt. Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual ruins, All the evil that the enemy hath done in the sanctuary. Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of thine assembly; They have set up their ensigns for signs. They seemed as men that lifted up Axes upon a thicket of trees. And now all the carved work thereof They break down with hatchet and hammers. They have set thy sanctuary on fire; They have profaned the dwelling-place of thy name `by casting it' to the ground.
Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Jehovah, And that a foolish people hath blasphemed thy name. Oh deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the wild beast: Forget not the life of thy poor for ever. Have respect unto the covenant; For the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of violence.
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name; And deliver us, and forgive our sins, for thy name's sake. Wherefore should the nations say, Where is their God? Let the avenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed Be known among the nations in our sight.
Therefore was the wrath of Jehovah kindled against his people, And he abhorred his inheritance.
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul loathed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and, behold, dismay!
The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: For she hath seen that the nations are entered into her sanctuary, Concerning whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thine assembly.
And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden; he hath destroyed his place of assembly: Jehovah hath caused solemn assembly and sabbath to be forgotten in Zion, And hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest. The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath abhorred his sanctuary; He hath given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces: They have made a noise in the house of Jehovah, as in the day of a solemn assembly.
See, O Jehovah, and behold to whom thou hast done thus! Shall the women eat their fruit, the children that are dandled in the hands? Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?
As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty; but they made the images of their abominations `and' their detestable things therein: therefore have I made it unto them as an unclean thing. And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall profane it. My face will I turn also from them, and they shall profane my secret `place'; and robbers shall enter into it, and profane it.
Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left behind shall fall by the sword.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Jeremiah 14
Commentary on Jeremiah 14 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 14
Jer 14:1-22. Prophecies on the Occasion of a Drought Sent in Judgment on Judea.
1. Literally, "That which was the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah concerning the dearth"
drought—literally, the "withholdings," namely, of rain (De 11:17; 2Ch 7:13). This word should be used especially of the withholding of rain because rain is in those regions of all things the one chiefly needed (Jer 17:8, Margin).
2. gates—The place of public concourse in each city looks sad, as being no longer frequented (Isa 3:26; 24:4).
black—that is, they mourn (blackness being indicative of sorrow), (Jer 8:21).
unto the ground—bowing towards it.
cry—of distress (1Sa 5:12; Isa 24:11).
3. little ones—rather, "their inferiors," that is, domestics.
pits—cisterns for collecting rain water, often met with in the East where there are no springs.
covered … heads—(2Sa 15:30). A sign of humiliation and mourning.
5. The brute creation is reduced to the utmost extremity for the want of food. The "hind," famed for her affection to her young, abandons them.
6. wild asses—They repair to "the high places" most exposed to the winds, which they "snuff in" to relieve their thirst.
dragons—jackals [Henderson].
eyes—which are usually most keen in detecting grass or water from the "heights," so much so that the traveller guesses from their presence that there must be herbage and water near; but now "their eyes fail." Rather the reference is to the great boas and python serpents which raise a large portion of their body up in a vertical column ten or twelve feet high, to survey the neighborhood above the surrounding bushes, while with open jaws they drink in the air. These giant serpents originated the widely spread notions which typified the deluge and all destructive agents under the form of a dragon or monster serpent; hence, the dragon temples always near water, in Asia, Africa, and Britain; for example, at Abury, in Wiltshire; a symbol of the ark is often associated with the dragon as the preserver from the waters [Kitto, Biblical Cyclopædia].
7. do thou it—what we beg of Thee; interpose to remove the drought. Jeremiah pleads in the name of his nation (Ps 109:21). So "work for us," absolutely used (1Sa 14:6).
for thy name's sake—"for our backslidings are so many" that we cannot urge Thee for the sake of our doings, but for the glory of Thy name; lest, if Thou give us not aid, it should be said it was owing to Thy want of power (Jos 7:9; Ps 79:9; 106:8; Isa 48:9; Eze 20:44). The same appeal to God's mercy, "for His name's sake," as our only hope, since our sin precludes trust in ourselves, occurs in Ps 25:11.
8. The reference is, not to the faith of Israel which had almost ceased, but to the promise and everlasting covenant of God. None but the true Israel make God their "hope." (Jer 17:13).
turneth aside to tarry—The traveller cares little for the land he tarries but a night in; but Thou hast promised to dwell always in the midst of Thy people (2Ch 33:7, 8). Maurer translates, "spreadeth," namely, his tent.
9. astonied—like a "mighty man," at other times able to help (Isa 59:1), but now stunned by a sudden calamity so as to disappoint the hopes drawn from him.
art in the midst of us—(Ex 29:45, 46; Le 26:11, 12).
called by thy name—(Da 9:18, 19) as Thine own peculiar people (De 9:29).
10. Jehovah's reply to the prayer (Jer 14:7-9; Jer 2:23-25).
Thus—So greatly.
loved—(Jer 5:31).
not refrained … feet—They did not obey God's command; "withhold thy foot" (Jer 2:25), namely, from following after idols.
remember … iniquity—(Ho 8:13; 9:9). Their sin is so great, God must punish them.
11. (Jer 7:16; Ex 32:10).
12. not hear—because their prayers are hypocritical: their hearts are still idolatrous. God never refuses to hear real prayer (Jer 7:21, 22; Pr 1:28; Isa 1:15; 58:3).
sword … famine … pestilence—the three sorest judgments at once; any one of which would be enough for their ruin (2Sa 24:12, 13).
13. Jeremiah urges that much of the guilt of the people is due to the false prophets' influence.
assured peace—solid and lasting peace. Literally, "peace of truth" (Isa 39:8).
14. (Jer 23:21).
15. (Jer 5:12, 13).
By sword and famine … consumed—retribution in kind both to the false prophets and to their hearers (Jer 14:16).
16. none to bury—(Ps 79:3).
pour their wickedness—that is, the punishment incurred by their wickedness (Jer 2:19).
17. (Jer 9:1; La 1:16). Jeremiah is desired to weep ceaselessly for the calamities coming on his nation (called a "virgin," as being heretofore never under foreign yoke), (Isa 23:4).
18. go about—that is, shall have to migrate into a land of exile. Horsley translates, "go trafficking about the land (see Jer 5:31, Margin; 2Co 4:2; 2Pe 2:3), and take no knowledge" (that is, pay no regard to the miseries before their eyes) (Isa 1:3; 58:3). If the literal sense of the Hebrew verb be retained, I would with English Version understand the words as referring to the exile to Babylon; thus, "the prophet and the priest shall have to go to a strange land to practise their religious traffic (Isa 56:11; Eze 34:2, 3; Mic 3:11).
19. The people plead with God, Jeremiah being forbidden to do so.
no healing—(Jer 15:18).
peace … no good—(Jer 8:15).
20. (Da 9:8).
21. us—"the throne of Thy glory" may be the object of "abhor not" ("reject not"); or "Zion" (Jer 14:19).
throne of thy glory—Jerusalem, or, the temple, called God's "footstool" and "habitation" (1Ch 28:2; Ps 132:5).
thy covenant—(Ps 106:45; Da 9:19).
22. vanities—idols (De 32:21).
rain—(Zec 10:1, 2).
heavens—namely, of themselves without God (Mt 5:45; Ac 14:17); they are not the First Cause, and ought not to be deified, as they were by the heathen. The disjunctive "or" favors Calvin's explanation: "Not even the heavens themselves can give rain, much less can the idol vanities."
art not thou he—namely, who canst give rain?