26 Daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and roll thyself in ashes: make mourning, [as] for an only son -- bitter lamentation; for the spoiler cometh suddenly upon us.
And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look on me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for an only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn.
For this, gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl! for the fierce anger of Jehovah is not turned away from us.
Go to now, ye rich, weep, howling over your miseries that [are] coming upon [you].
Be wretched, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and [your] joy to heaviness.
For this will I lament, and I will howl; I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches. For her wounds are incurable; for it is come even unto Judah, it reacheth unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem. Tell it not in Gath, weep not at all; at Beth-le-aphrah roll thyself in the dust.
And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning for an only [son], and the end thereof as a bitter day.
and shall cause their voice to be heard over thee, and shall cry bitterly; and they shall cast up dust upon their heads; they shall wallow themselves in ashes. And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird themselves with sackcloth; and they shall weep for thee in bitterness of soul with bitter mourning.
And they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, every one for his iniquity. All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall melt into water. And they shall gird on sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.
The hands of pitiful women have boiled their own children: they were their meat in the ruin of the daughter of my people.
Even the jackals offer the breast, they give suck to their young; the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.
Mine eye runneth down with streams of water for the ruin of the daughter of my people.
For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water: for the comforter that should revive my soul is far from me; my children are desolate, for the enemy hath prevailed.
Therefore said I, Look away from me; let me weep bitterly: labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.
And the slain of Jehovah shall [be] at that day from [one] end of the earth even unto the [other] end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the face of the ground. Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves [in the dust], noble ones of the flock: for the days of your slaughter are accomplished, and I will disperse you; and ye shall fall like a precious vessel.
Their widows are increased to me more than the sand of the seas; I have brought upon them, against the mother of the young men, a spoiler at noonday; I have caused anguish and terror to fall upon her suddenly.
And thou shalt say this word unto them: Let mine eyes run down with tears, night and day, and not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.
Spoilers are come upon all heights in the wilderness; for the sword of Jehovah devoureth from one end of the land even to the [other] end of the land: no flesh hath peace.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider, and call for the mourning women, that they may come, and send for the skilful women, that they may come; and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids pour forth waters. For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled, sorely put to shame! For we have forsaken the land, for they have cast down our dwellings. Hear then the word of Jehovah, ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and each one her companion lamentation. For death is come up through our windows, is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from the street, the young men from the broadways. Speak, Thus saith Jehovah: Yea, the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the reaper, and there shall be none to gather.
For the mountains will I take up weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness, a lamentation; for they are burnt up, so that none passeth through them; and the voice of the cattle is not heard. Both the fowl of the heavens and the beasts are fled; they are gone.
Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people, from a very far country: Is not Jehovah in Zion? Is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, with foreign vanities?
And they have healed the breach of the daughter of my people lightly, saying, Peace, peace! when there is no peace.
At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A hot wind [cometh] from the heights in the wilderness, on the way of the daughter of my people, not for fanning, nor for cleansing.
Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones; strip you, and make you bare, and gird [sackcloth] on your loins!
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Jeremiah 6
Commentary on Jeremiah 6 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 6
Jer 6:1-30. Zion's Foes Prepare War against Her: Her Sins Are the Cause.
1. Benjamin—Jerusalem was situated in the tribe of Benjamin, which was here separated from that of Judah by the valley of Hinnom. Though it was inhabited partly by Benjamites, partly by men of Judah, he addresses the former as being his own countrymen.
blow … trumpet … Tekoa—Tikehu, Tekoa form a play on sounds. The birthplace of Amos.
Beth-haccerem—meaning in Hebrew, "vineyard-house." It and Tekoa were a few miles south of Jerusalem. As the enemy came from the north, the inhabitants of the surrounding country would naturally flee southwards. The fire-signal on the hills gave warning of danger approaching.
2. likened—rather, "I lay waste." Literally, "O comely and delicate one, I lay waste the daughter of Zion," that is, "thee." So Zec 3:9, "before Joshua," that is, "before thee" [Maurer].
3. shepherds—hostile leaders with their armies (Jer 1:15; 4:17; 49:20; 50:45).
feed—They shall consume each one all that is near him; literally, "his hand," that is, the place which he occupies (Nu 2:17; see on Isa 56:5).
4, 5. The invading soldiers encourage one another to the attack on Jerusalem.
Prepare—literally, "Sanctify" war, that is, Proclaim it formally with solemn rites; the invasion was solemnly ordered by God (compare Isa 13:3).
at noon—the hottest part of the day when attacks were rarely made (Jer 15:8; 20:16). Even at this time they wished to attack, such is their eagerness.
Woe unto us—The words of the invaders, mourning the approach of night which would suspend their hostile operations; still, even in spite of the darkness, at night they renew the attack (Jer 6:5).
6. cast—Hebrew, "pour out"; referring to the emptying of the baskets of earth to make the mound, formed of "trees" and earthwork, to overtop the city walls. The "trees" were also used to make warlike engines.
this—pointing the invaders to Jerusalem.
visited—that is, punished.
wholly oppression—or join "wholly" with "visited," that is, she is altogether (in her whole extent) to be punished [Maurer].
7. fountain—rather, a well dug, from which water springs; distinct from a natural spring or fountain.
casteth out—causeth to flow; literally, "causeth to dig," the cause being put for the effect (2Ki 21:16, 24; Isa 57:20).
me—Jehovah.
8. Tender appeal in the midst of threats.
depart—Hebrew, "be torn away"; Jehovah's affection making Him unwilling to depart; His attachment to Jerusalem was such that an effort was needed to tear Himself from it (Eze 23:18; Ho 9:12; 11:8).
9. The Jews are the grapes, their enemies the unsparing gleaners.
turn back … hand—again and again bring freshly gathered handfuls to the baskets; referring to the repeated carrying away of captives to Babylon (Jer 52:28-30; 2Ki 24:14; 25:11).
10. ear is uncircumcised—closed against the precepts of God by the foreskin of carnality (Le 26:41; Eze 44:7; Ac 7:51).
word … reproach—(Jer 20:8).
11. fury of … Lord—His denunciations against Judah communicated to the prophet.
weary with holding in—(Jer 20:9).
I will pour—or else imperative: the command of God (see Jer 6:12), "Pour it out" [Maurer].
aged … full of days—The former means one becoming old; the latter a decrepit old man [Maurer] (Job 5:26; Isa 65:20).
12. The very punishments threatened by Moses in the event of disobedience to God (De 28:30).
turned—transferred.
13. (Jer 8:10; Isa 56:11; Mic 3:11).
14. hurt—the spiritual wound.
slightly—as if it were but a slight wound; or, in a slight manner, pronouncing all sound where there is no soundness.
saying—namely, the prophets and priests (Jer 6:13). Whereas they ought to warn the people of impending judgments and the need of repentance, they say there is nothing to fear.
peace—including soundness. All is sound in the nation's moral state, so all will be peace as to its political state (Jer 4:10; 8:11; 14:13; 23:17; Eze 13:5, 10; 22:28).
15. Rosenmuller translates, "They ought to have been ashamed, because … but," &c.; the Hebrew verb often expressing, not the action, but the duty to perform it (Ge 20:9; Mal 2:7). Maurer translates, "They shall be put to shame, for they commit abomination; nay (the prophet correcting himself), there is no shame in them" (Jer 3:3; 8:12; Eze 3:7; Zep 3:5).
them that fall—They shall fall with the rest of their people who are doomed to fall, that is, I will now cease from words; I will execute vengeance [Calvin].
16. Image from travellers who have lost their road, stopping and inquiring which is the right way on which they once had been, but from which they have wandered.
old paths—Idolatry and apostasy are the modern way; the worship of God the old way. Evil is not coeval with good, but a modern degeneracy from good. The forsaking of God is not, in a true sense, a "way cast up" at all (Jer 18:15; Ps 139:24; Mal 4:4).
rest—(Isa 28:12; Mt 11:29).
17. watchmen—prophets, whose duty it was to announce impending calamities, so as to lead the people to repentance (Isa 21:11; 58:1; Eze 3:17; Hab 2:1).
18. congregation—parallel to "nations"; it therefore means the gathered peoples who are invited to be witnesses as to how great is the perversity of the Israelites (Jer 6:16, 17), and that they deserve the severe punishment about to be inflicted on them (Jer 6:19).
what is among them—what deeds are committed by the Israelites (Jer 6:16, 17) [Maurer]. Or, "what punishments are about to be inflicted on them" [Calvin].
19. (Isa 1:2).
fruit of … thoughts—(Pr 1:31).
nor to my law, but rejected it—literally, "and (as to) My law they have rejected it." The same construction occurs in Ge 22:24.
20. Literally, "To what purpose is this to Me, that incense cometh to Me?"
incense … cane—(Isa 43:24; 60:6). No external services are accepted by God without obedience of the heart and life (Jer 7:21; Ps 50:7-9; Isa 1:11; Mic 6:6, &c.).
sweet … sweet—antithesis. Your sweet cane is not sweet to Me. The calamus.
21. stumbling-blocks—instruments of the Jews' ruin (compare Mt 21:44; Isa 8:14; 1Pe 2:8). God Himself ("I") lays them before the reprobate (Ps 69:22; Ro 1:28; 11:9).
fathers … sons … neighbour … friend—indiscriminate ruin.
22. north … sides of the earth—The ancients were little acquainted with the north; therefore it is called the remotest regions (as the Hebrew for "sides" ought to be translated, see on Isa 14:13) of the earth. The Chaldees are meant (Jer 1:15; 5:15). It is striking that the very same calamities which the Chaldeans had inflicted on Zion are threatened as the retribution to be dealt in turn to themselves by Jehovah (Jer 50:41-43).
23. like the sea—(Isa 5:30).
as men for war—not that they were like warriors, for they were warriors; but "arrayed most perfectly as warriors" [Maurer].
24. fame thereof—the report of them.
25. He addresses "the daughter of Zion" (Jer 6:23); caution to the citizens of Jerusalem not to expose themselves to the enemy by going outside of the city walls.
sword of the enemy—literally, "there is a sword to the enemy"; the enemy hath a sword.
26. wallow … in ashes—(Jer 25:34; Mic 1:10). As they usually in mourning only "cast ashes on the head," wallowing in them means something more, namely, so entirely to cover one's self with ashes as to be like one who had rolled in them (Eze 27:30).
as for an only son—(Am 8:10; Zec 12:10).
lamentation—literally, "lamentation expressed by beating the breast."
27. tower … fortress—(Jer 1:18), rather, "an assayer (and) explorer." By a metaphor from metallurgy in Jer 6:27-30, Jehovah, in conclusion, confirms the prophet in his office, and the latter sums up the description of the reprobate people on whom he had to work. The Hebrew for "assayer" (English Version, "tower") is from a root "to try" metals. "Explorer" (English Version, "fortress") is from an Arabic root, "keen-sighted"; or a Hebrew root, "cutting," that is, separating the metal from the dross [Ewald]. Gesenius translates as English Version, "fortress," which does not accord with the previous "assayer."
28. grievous revolters—literally, "contumacious of the contumacious," that is, most contumacious, the Hebrew mode of expressing a superlative. So "the strong among the mighty," that is, the strongest (Eze 32:21). See Jer 5:23; Ho 4:16.
walking with slanders—(Jer 9:4). "Going about for the purpose of slandering" [Maurer].
brass, &c.—that is, copper. It and "iron" being the baser and harder metals express the debased and obdurate character of the Jews (Isa 48:4; 60:17).
29. bellows … burned—So intense a heat is made that the very bellows are almost set on fire. Rosenmuller translates not so well from a Hebrew root, "pant" or "snort," referring to the sound of the bellows blown hard.
lead—employed to separate the baser metal from the silver, as quicksilver is now used. In other words, the utmost pains have been used to purify Israel in the furnace of affliction, but in vain (Jer 5:3; 1Pe 1:7).
consumed of the fire—In the Chetib, or Hebrew text, the "consumed" is supplied out of the previous "burned." Translating as Rosenmuller, "pant," this will be inadmissible; and the Keri (Hebrew Margin) division of the Hebrew words will have to be read, to get "is consumed of the fire." This is an argument for the translation, "are burned."
founder—the refiner.
wicked … not plucked away—answering to the dross which has no good metal to be separated, the mass being all dross.
30. Reprobate—silver so full of alloy as to be utterly worthless (Isa 1:22). The Jews were fit only for rejection.