5 I have made the earth, man and beast that are upon the face of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I give them unto whom it seemeth right in mine eyes.
Blessed is he who hath the ùGod of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in Jehovah his God, Who made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is therein; who keepeth truth for ever;
Ye are blessed of Jehovah, who made the heavens and the earth. The heavens are the heavens of Jehovah, but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
-- Do ye not know? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood the foundation of the earth? [It is] he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a gauze curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in; that bringeth the princes to nothing, that maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely are they sown, scarcely hath their stock taken root in the earth, but he also bloweth upon them and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble. To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and see! Who hath created these things, bringing out their host by number? He calleth them all by name; through the greatness of his might and strength of power, not one faileth.
Thus shall ye say unto them: The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under the heavens. He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
And, *Thou* in the beginning, Lord, hast founded the earth, and works of thy hands are the heavens. They shall perish, but *thou* continuest still; and they all shall grow old as a garment,
To him that by understanding made the heavens, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; To him that stretched out the earth above the waters, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; To him that made great lights, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; The sun for rule over the day, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, The moon and stars for rule over the night, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever:
In [the] beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. *He* was in the beginning with God. All things received being through him, and without him not one [thing] received being which has received being.
Praise ye him, all his angels; praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise the name of Jehovah, for he it is that commanded, and they were created:
And let the fear of you and the dread of you be upon every animal of the earth, and upon all fowl of the heavens: upon all that moveth [on] the ground; and upon all the fishes of the sea: into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be food for you: as the green herb I give you everything.
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb producing seed that is on the whole earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree producing seed: it shall be food for you; and to every animal of the earth, and to every fowl of the heavens, and to everything that creepeth on the earth, in which is a living soul, every green herb for food. And it was so.
Moses my servant is dead; and now, rise up, go over this Jordan, thou and all this people, into the land which I give unto them, to the children of Israel. Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread have I given to you, as I said unto Moses.
The shades tremble beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof; Sheol is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering. He stretcheth out the north over empty space, he hangeth the earth upon nothing; He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not rent under them. He covereth the face of his throne, he spreadeth his cloud upon it. He hath traced a fixed circle over the waters, unto the confines of light and darkness. The pillars of the heavens tremble and are astonished at his rebuke. He stirreth up the sea by his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab. By his Spirit the heavens are adorned; his hand hath formed the fleeing serpent. Lo, these are the borders of his ways; but what a whisper of a word do we hear of him! And the thunder of his power, who can understand?
Where wast thou when I founded the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding. Who set the measures thereof -- if thou knowest? or who stretched a line upon it? Whereupon were the foundations thereof sunken? or who laid its corner-stone, When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? And who shut up the sea with doors, when it burst forth, issuing out of the womb? When I made the cloud its garment, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it; When I cut out for it my boundary, and set bars and doors, And said, Hitherto shalt thou come and no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? Hast thou since thy days commanded the morning? hast thou caused the dawn to know its place, That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked might be shaken out of it? It is changed like the signet-clay; and [all things] stand forth as in a garment: And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the uplifted arm is broken. Hast thou entered as far as the springs of the sea? and hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? and hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death? Hath thine understanding compassed the breadths of the earth? Declare if thou knowest it all. Where is the way to where light dwelleth? and the darkness, where is its place, That thou shouldest take it to its bound, and that thou shouldest know the paths to its house? Thou knowest, for thou wast then born, and the number of thy days is great! Hast thou entered into the storehouses of the snow, and hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail, Which I have reserved for the time of distress, for the day of battle and war? By what way is the light parted, [and] the east wind scattered upon the earth? Who hath divided a channel for the rain-flood, and a way for the thunder's flash; To cause it to rain on the earth, where no one is; on the wilderness wherein there is not a man; To satisfy the desolate and waste [ground], and to cause the sprout of the grass to spring forth? Hath the rain a father? or who begetteth the drops of dew? Out of whose womb cometh the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who bringeth it forth? When the waters lie hidden as in stone, and the face of the deep holdeth fast together. Canst thou fasten the bands of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion? Dost thou bring forth the constellations each in its season? or dost thou guide the Bear with her sons? Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? dost thou determine their rule over the earth? Dost thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that floods of waters may cover thee? Dost thou send forth lightnings that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are? Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the mind? Who numbereth the clouds with wisdom? or who poureth out the bottles of the heavens, When the dust runneth as into a molten mass, and the clods cleave fast together? Dost thou hunt the prey for the lioness, and dost thou satisfy the appetite of the young lions, When they crouch in [their] dens, [and] abide in the thicket to lie in wait? Who provideth for the raven his food, when his young ones cry unto ùGod, [and] they wander for lack of meat?
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Jeremiah 27
Commentary on Jeremiah 27 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 27
Jer 27:1-22. The Futility of Resisting Nebuchadnezzar Illustrated to the Ambassadors of the Kings, Desiring to Have the King of Judah Confederate with Them, under the Type of Yokes. Jeremiah Exhorts Them and Zedekiah to Yield.
1. Jehoiakim—The prophecy that follows was according to this reading given in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, fifteen years before it was published in the reign of Zedekiah to whom it refers; it was thus long deposited in the prophet's bosom, in order that by it he might be supported under trials in his prophetic career in the interim [Calvin]. But "Zedekiah" may be the true reading. So the Syriac and Arabic Versions. Jer 27:3, 12; Jer 28:1, confirm this; also, one of Kennicott's manuscripts. The English Version reading may have originated from Jer 26:1. "Son of Josiah" applies to Zedekiah as truly as to "Jehoiakim" or "Eliakim." The fourth year may, in a general sense here, as in Jer 28:1, be called "the beginning of his reign," as it lasted eleven years (2Ki 24:18). It was not long after the fourth year of his reign that he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 51:59; 52:3; 2Ki 24:20), in violation of an oath before God (2Ch 36:13).
2. bonds—by which the yoke is made fast to the neck (Jer 5:5).
yokes—literally, the carved piece of wood attached at both ends to the two yokes on the necks of a pair of oxen, so as to connect them. Here the yoke itself. The plural is used, as he was to wear one himself, and give the others to the ambassadors; (Jer 27:3; 28:10, 12) proves that the symbolical act was in this instance (though not in others, Jer 25:15) actually done (compare Isa 20:2, &c.; Eze 12:3, 11, 18).
3. And send them to the king of Edom, &c.—Appropriate symbol, as these ambassadors had come to Jerusalem to consult as to shaking off the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar. According to Pherecydes in Clement of Alexandria [Miscellanies, 567], Idanthura, king of the Scythians, intimated to Darius, who had crossed the Danube, that he would lead an army against him, by sending him, instead of a letter, a mouse, a frog, a bird, an arrow, and a plough. The task assigned to Jeremiah required great faith, as it was sure to provoke alike his own countrymen and the foreign ambassadors and their kings, by a seeming insult, at the very time that all were full of confident hopes grounded on the confederacy.
5. God here, as elsewhere, connects with the symbol doctrine, which is as it were its soul, without which it would be not only cold and frivolous, but even dead [Calvin]. God's mention of His supreme power is in order to refute the pride of those who rely on their own power (Isa 45:12).
given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me—(Ps 115:15, 16; Da 4:17, 25, 32). Not for his merits, but of My own sole good pleasure [Estius].
6. beasts of the field—not merely the horses to carry his Chaldean soldiers, and oxen to draw his provisions [Grotius]; not merely the deserts, mountains, and woods, the haunts of wild beasts, implying his unlimited extent of empire [Estius]; but the beasts themselves by a mysterious instinct of nature. A reproof to men that they did not recognize God's will, which the very beasts acknowledged (compare Isa 1:3). As the beasts are to submit to Christ, the Restorer of the dominion over nature, lost by the first Adam (compare Ge 1:28; 2:19, 20; Ps 8:6-8), so they were appointed to submit to Nebuchadnezzar, the representative of the world power and prefigurer of Antichrist; this universal power was suffered to be held by him to show the unfitness of any to wield it "until He come whose right it is" (Eze 21:27).
7. son … son's son—(2Ch 36:20). Nebuchadnezzar had four successors—Evil-merodach, his son; Neriglissar, husband of Nebuchadnezzar's daughter; his son, Labosodarchod; and Naboned (with whom his son, Belshazzar, was joint king), son of Evil-merodach. But Neriglissar and Labosodarchod were not in the direct male line; so that the prophecy held good to "his son and his son's son," and the intermediate two are omitted.
time of his land—that is, of its subjugation or its being "visited" in wrath (Jer 27:22; Jer 25:12; 29:10; 50:27; Da 5:26).
serve themselves of him—make him their servant (Jer 25:14; Isa 13:22). So "his day" for the destined day of his calamity (Job 18:20).
8. until I have consumed them by his hand—until by these consuming visitations I have brought them under his power.
9. ye—the Jews especially, for whom the address to the rest was intended.
enchanters—augurs [Calvin], from a root, the "eyes," that is, lookers at the stars and other means of taking omens of futurity; or another root, a "fixed time," observers of times: forbidden in the law (Le 19:26; De 18:10, 11, 14).
10. to remove you—expressing the event which would result. The very thing they profess by their enchantments to avert, they are by them bringing on you. Better to submit to Nebuchadnezzar, and remain in your land, than to rebel, and be removed from it.
11. serve … till it—The same Hebrew root expresses "serve" and "till," or "cultivate." Serve ye the king of Babylon, and the land will serve you [Calvin].
12. I spake also—translate, "And I spake," &c. Special application of the subject to Zedekiah.
13. Why … die—by running on your own ruin in resisting Nebuchadnezzar after this warning (Eze 18:31).
14. lie—(Jer 14:14).
15. in my name—The devil often makes God's name the plea for lies (Mt 4:6; 7:22, 23; Jer 27:15-20, the test whereby to know false prophets).
16. The "vessels" had been carried away to Babylon in the reign of Jeconiah (2Ki 24:13); also previously in that of Jehoiakim (2Ch 36:5-7).
18. at Jerusalem—that is, in other houses containing such vessels, besides the house of God and the king's palace. Nebuzara-dan, captain of the guard under Nebuchadnezzar, carried all away (2Ki 25:13-17; 2Ch 36:18). The more costly vessels had been previously removed in the reigns of Jehoiakim and Jeconiah.
19. (Jer 52:17, 20, 21).
22. until … I visit them—in wrath by Cyrus (Jer 32:5). In seventy years from the first carrying away of captives in Jehoiachin's reign (Jer 29:10; 2Ch 36:21).
restore them—by the hand of Cyrus (Ezr 1:7). By Artaxerxes (Ezr 7:19).